Spotted in an old Bon Appetit magazine, this French Goat Cheese Salad is full of goodies: green beans, walnuts, tomato, and avocado with vinaigrette and goat cheese croutes.
French Goat Cheese Salad
In France a salad is usually simple mixed greens with a vinaigrette. The addition of green beans, avocados and goat cheese would be a bit crazy in France, but the goat cheese croutes are very common to serve with a French salad.
🛒 Ingredients Needed:
- sherry vinegar
- freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Dijon mustard
- walnut oil or olive oil
- haricot verts (thin French green beans)
- French bread
- log of goat cheese
- Bibb (butter) lettuce
- red leaf lettuce
- avocado
- tomato
- walnuts
✏️ How to make French Goat Cheese Salad
The full, printable recipe is at the end of this post.
PREPARE THE DRESSING:
In a bowl, combine the vinegar, fresh lemon juice and Dijon mustard. Gradually whisk in the oil. Season the salad dressing to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead- cover and refrigerate.)
ASSEMBLE THE SALAD:
- Meanwhile line the plates with alternating Boston and red lettuce leaves. Mound the green beans in the center of the leaves.
- Bring a pot of salted water to boil. Add the green beans and cook until just tender, about 4 minutes. Drain and refresh with cold water, then drain again. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the bread slices on a baking sheet and bake until golden, about 5 minutes. Top the bread with cheese. Bake until the cheese softens and is heated through, about 10 minutes.
Cut the avocado into thin slices and fan around the beans. Place the cheese croutes on one side of the salad. Garnish with tomato wedges. Drizzle with vinaigrette and sprinkle with walnuts.
Recipe Tip
Look for haricot verts at your local Costco. I always spot them there! Otherwise, in the U.S., they usually have them in a little packet where they have other ready-cut types of vegetables.
❤️ What I Love About This Recipe:
- This here is no average salad. My family thinks it’s crazy-good!
- It would make a nice main-dish salad with all of these great additions. I serve it with some grilled chicken, and we are perfectly satisfied… and stuffed.
- The dressing is a simple one- a sherry vinaigrette with lemon and dijon. It works.
Favorite Salad Recipes:
French Goat Cheese Salad
Ingredients
DRESSING
- 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 4 tablespoons walnut oil or olive oil
SALAD
- 1 pound haricot verts or slender green beans, trimmed
- Four ¾-inch thick slices French bread
- 3 ounce log of goat cheese, cut into ½ inch slices
- 1 head Bibb (butter) lettuce
- 1 head red leaf lettuce
- 2 medium avocados, peeled and pitted
- 2 medium tomatoes, cut into wedges
- ½ cup chopped walnuts, toasted
Instructions
PREPARE THE DRESSING:
- In a bowl, combine the vinegar, fresh lemon juice and Dijon mustard. Gradually whisk in the oil. Season the salad dressing to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead- cover and refrigerate.)
ASSEMBLE THE SALAD:
- Bring a pot of salted water to boil. Add the green beans and cook until just tender, about 4 minutes. Drain and refresh with cold water, then drain again. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the bread slices on a baking sheet and bake until golden, about 5 minutes. Top the bread with cheese. Bake until the cheese softens and is heated through, about 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile line the plates with alternating Boston and red lettuce leaves. Mound the green beans in the center of the leaves.
- Cut the avocado into thin slices and fan around the beans. Place the cheese croutes on one side of the salad. Garnish with tomato wedges. Drizzle with vinaigrette and sprinkle with walnuts.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
