This creamy, chilled, curried green bean salad is a fabulous new way to get green beans on the table! A breeze to whip up, this dish is ideal for your weekly meal prep or for a bring-a-dish potluck.
You know the saying, necessity is the mother of all invention? This recipe was invented out of necessity. I NEEDED to find a new and fabulous way to enjoy green beans. You see, I started another garden this year and it’s going well. Like, surprisingly well. I have a full garden post planned for you (packed with my personal lessons learned), so know that I’ll cover the full details soon. I decided to plant some green beans this year and goodness gracious, they are LOVING life. I tell you what, I think those 6 little plants yield us about a pound of green beans each week. Each week!
Now, those of you who have a copy of my Fed & Fit book know, my favorite way to enjoy green beans is tossed in oil, salt, pepper, and plenty of garlic. They’re then roasted until crispy …resulting in a kind of garlic green bean fry. While I do still love those, I NEEDED another way to diversify the green beans showing up on our daily plate.
After chatting it over with my Project Manager, Amber, she suggested a chilled salad and BOOM, my mind went to curry. Curried Green Bean Salad was born!
This salad comes together simply and results in nice big flavor. Best of all, it’s one of those dishes that just continues to get better with time, so don’t be afraid to make a big batch. It’s the perfect lunch or dinnertime easy vegetable, ready to be spooned onto a plate next to some kind of tasty protein (maybe roasted chicken?).
The salad starts off by cleaning, cutting, and then quickly boiling the green beans for about 5 minutes. I then placed the green beans in an ice bath to help keep them from getting mushy, to preserve their bright color, and to get their temperature down (I think this salad is best served cold).
While the green chill, whip up the dressing with a little mayo, lemon juice, curry powder, and just a smidge of salt (but only if needed).
Once the green beans are chilled and well drained (too much extra water will cause the dressing to thin), toss them in the dressing with a handful of (if you have them handy) fabulous golden berries. Golden berries are tart and offer a nice contrast to the beans and savory dressing. Currants or dried cherries would make other great options! Toss to evenly combine and then garnish with fresh cilantro.
BAM! This Curried Green Bean Salad is the perfect unique (but still healthy) BBQ potluck dish and/or a great option for weekly meal prep. I especially love pairing them with something easy and hearty like these beef sliders from the blog!
Curried Green Bean Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh green beans trimmed and cut into 1 to 2-inch pieces
- 1/3 cup avocado or olive oil mayo recipe in my book
- 1 large or 2 small lemons, juiced
- 2 tablespoons curry powder
- Black pepper to taste
- Fine sea salt to taste
- 1/4 cup golden berries currants, or dried cherries
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Add the green beans and let them simmer for 5 minutes. While the green beans cook, prepare an ice bath by placing several cups of ice in a large bowl with about 4 cups water. Once the beans are finished cooking, spoon them into the ice bath and let them cool for another 5 minutes. Once cooled, allow them to drain completely.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the mayo, lemon juice, curry, pepper, and sea salt (if using).
- Add the green beans and golden berries to the bowl with the dressing and toss to combine.
- Serve with additional berries (if desired), cilantro, and a sprinkle of curry powder (if desired).
- Will keep for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
Cassy! This was absolutely perfect! Made it for a side salad for Father’s Day lunch! You’re recipes are the best!
This was so delicious! Thank you for the recipe.