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
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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.
Should the dressing go on just before serving.. or can it go in ahead of time ?
I’d do it right before serving!
This salad is like a full meal! Tons of flavor!
I was looking for a quick green bean salad for dinner last night when I found this recipe. I did not have feta or olives on hand. I made the Greek dressing using fresh oregano instead of dried. And I made the salad as the recipe directed and my herbs were curly parsley Thai basil and a green onion that I cut up really fine. It came out absolutely delicious even with the missing ingredients . I will definitely be making this again!!
Great recipe! Enjoyed the combination of feta and kalamata olives. Thanks for sharing!
Can this be made with frozen green beans?
Yes just thaw and pat them dry!
CAN you make this ahead of time?
That’s fine, add the feta right before serving!
Very flavorful salad! I served it with warm bread and we loved it!
Is there a store-bought dressing I could pair this with?
Any Greek style dressing should work!
I love everything about this salad! Packed full of flavors!
Such an easy salad to throw together, yet so full of flavor too! Perfectly light and filling!
This is such a great salad for barbecues! Light and fresh.
YUM!! I LOVE green beans!! This is perfect for lunch!
I love a good green bean salad! Thesis a huge crowd pleaser!
This looks really delicious!! It might be a great way for me to get my kids to eat green beans! Looks super easy to make, too!
I love everything about this salad! Who doesn’t love green beans?!
I’ve never made a green bean salad, but this one looks fabulous! A must try recipe!
I know for sure this would be a huge hit in my house!
Looks so delish! Such a hearty and easy to make recipe, definitely having this in our house!
I have never tried a Green Bean Salad, this looks so delicious!
I love this green salad salad idea. So perfect for a summer barbecue!