This green bean salad is made with fresh green beans, tomatoes, feta cheese and olives, all tossed in a Greek style dressing. An easy and satisfying salad that’s full of bright flavors and colors.
Salads don’t need to contain lettuce. In fact, some of my favorite salads are lettuce-free such as black bean and corn salad, cherry tomato salad and this amazingly delicious green bean salad.
I’m always looking for chunky, veggie based salads to take to my next gathering. Lettuce tends to wilt and get soggy when it sits on a buffet, but chopped salads fare much better. This green bean salad is a unique take on a Greek salad, with many of the same ingredients. This salad is sure to get rave reviews at any potluck!
Enjoy this salad with warm weather favorites like BBQ pork chops, grilled chicken wings and beer can chicken!
Green Bean Salad Ingredients
To make this green bean salad you will need green beans, cherry tomatoes, red onion, feta cheese, kalamata olives and fresh herbs like dill, parsley, chives or basil. For the salad dressing make sure you have olive oil, Dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, garlic powder, onion powder, dried oregano, salt and black pepper.
How Do You Make Green Bean Salad?
To make this green bean salad recipe, start by blanching trimmed green beans. Place them in boiling water and cook them for 2-3 minutes. Remove them from the boiling water and place the beans in a large bowl of ice water. Pat the beans dry. The blanched green beans go in a large bowl with halved cherry tomatoes, sliced red onion, crumbled feta cheese, sliced olives and fresh herbs. Next, in a small bowl whisk together extra-virgin olive oil, Dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, garlic powder, onion powder, dried oregano, salt and black pepper. Pour the Greek dressing over the salad and gently toss to combine. Enjoy your salad!
Tips For The Perfect Green Bean Salad
- This recipe calls for blanching the green beans. Blanching is a process where you simmer the beans in salted water until they’re just tender, then the beans get transferred to an ice bath to stop the cooking process. The end result is perfectly cooked, bright green beans!
- Use tongs or a strainer to remove the green beans from the boiling water.
- Use a sharp knife or a mandoline to thinly slice your red onion.
- You can make the dressing for this salad up to 5 days in advance.
- I always purchase a block of feta cheese and crumble it myself rather than using crumbled feta cheese.
- I like to use a combination of fresh chopped parsley and dill in this salad. Other great options are chives, green onions or fresh basil.
Quick Tip
You can make this salad with any type of fresh bean such as wax beans, romano beans or even French haricot vert green beans.
Recipe FAQs
To get your green beans ready to be blanched, all you need to do is give them a good wash, then trim off the stem end. The fastest way to trim off the stem end is to line up a handful of green beans, then cut the stems off all at once. It makes prep time go much faster.
Yes, people eat cold green beans. You can wash and trim green beans and enjoy them as a snack with herb veggie dip or bacon ranch dip. You can also enjoy blanched and cooled green beans like in my green bean salad recipe.
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Flavor Variations
There are so many different ways to customize green bean salad to your taste preferences!
- Nuts: Add 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts, sliced almonds or chopped walnuts.
- Cheese: Substitute goat cheese or shaved parmesan cheese for the feta.
- Vegetables: You can use other vegetables such as marinated artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, cucumber, capers or diced green bell pepper.
- Egg: Try adding sliced hard-boiled eggs to this salad.
- Dressing: Enjoy this salad with a variety of dressings. You can try Italian dressing, homemade ranch dressing, blue cheese dressing or balsamic vinaigrette.
I love to make this salad in the warmer months when green beans are in season, but it’s really a great choice all year round. You’ll get tons of compliments on this unique side dish!
More Great Salad Recipes
Farro Salad with Feta
30 mins
Brussels Sprout Salad
21 mins
Mexican Coleslaw
16 mins
Ramen Noodle Salad
16 mins
Love This Recipe?
Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
Green Bean Salad
Ingredients
For the salad
- 1 pound green beans trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 1/4 cup red onion thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup feta cheese crumbled
- 1/3 cup kalamata olives sliced
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs such as dill, parsley, chives and/or basil
For the dressing
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the green beans and cook for 2-3 minutes until just tender.
- Drain the green beans and place them in a bowl of ice water to cool. Place on a paper towel and pat dry.
- Add the green beans, tomatoes, onion, feta cheese, olives and herbs to a large bowl.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, Dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, garlic powder, onion powder, dried oregano and salt and pepper.
- Pour the dressing over the vegetables and toss to coat, then serve.
Notes
- You can make this salad with any type of fresh bean such as wax beans, romano beans or even French haricot vert green beans.
- Use a sharp knife or a mandoline to thinly slice your red onion.
- I like to purchase a block of feta cheese and crumble it myself rather than using crumbled feta cheese.
I love this salad I’ve been making it for years now. Sometimes I sub out the green beans for asparagus or cucumber depending what I have in the fridge. I also like to cook up some barley or farrow to make it a little more filling and kid friendly
So yummy I could eat it 24/7.
I love the zesty Greek-style salad dressing with the tender green beans and added Greek salad ingredients! And it was super easy to make.
The crisp beans paired perfectly with the tangy dressing, and the added crunch from the nuts was a fantastic touch. It’s a light and refreshing side dish that’s perfect for summer gatherings.
I made this and it tasted wonderful, I had never used green beans in a salad before but the combination is excellent.
I made this salad for dinner last night, and it was a hit with everyone at the table! The crunchy green beans paired perfectly with the tangy vinaigrette.
Green bean salad + feta are a match made in heaven! This was positively delish!
How many portions are there in this dish?
It’s 4 servings