Easy Green Bean Salad with Tomatoes and Feta combines the fresh flavors of green beans and tomatoes with herbs and salty feta cheese to make a wonderful side dish for any meal.
This easy green bean salad is at its best at the peak of the growing season when fresh tomatoes and green beans are plentiful in every grocery store, farmer's market, and garden. Crisp green beans, tomatoes bursting with flavor, and fresh herbs will make this a side dish you'll want to serve every night in the summer.
It's so good that you might just spend the rest of the year thinking about it and waiting for that moment when the ingredients are at their freshest yet again. (We garden as much as possible and I wait for those fresh flavors all year long!)
Easy Green Bean Salad with Tomatoes and Feta is a side dish I serve often in the summer because it's quick (it takes less than 20 minutes to make — perfect for when you'd rather spend your long summer days doing anything but cooking) and it's also versatile in that it can be served as a cold green bean salad recipe or a warm green bean salad recipe. I almost always serve it cold, but I occasionally serve it warm for something different. Try it both ways and see how you like it!
5 Tips for Making Easy Green Bean Salad with Tomatoes and Feta
I've made this recipe time and time again, so here are my top tips:
Tip #1: Use a combination of yellow grape tomatoes and red grape tomatoes. Not only does the combination make for a pretty salad, but using both enhances the flavor profile. Yellow grape tomatoes are less acidic with a milder flavor, so they add a subtle difference in flavor to the salad.
Tip #2: Grow your herbs at home if you can. Not everyone has a green thumb when it comes to growing vegetables and fruits (we gardened on and off growing up, but I am certainly not a pro at it!), but an herb garden is almost impossible to mess up. Freshly cut herbs taste so much better than what you can buy at the store. I find that "fresh" herbs at the grocery store have already started to lose flavor, and a little extra herby flavor can make a huge difference in a recipe.
Tip #3: This can be made into a French green bean salad. French green beans are shorter, thinner, and more tender when cooked than standard green beans. If you prefer French green beans, feel free to use them in this easy green bean salad, but keep in mind that they cook in less time (about half the time). Adjust your cooking time accordingly.
Tip #4: You can use frozen green beans in this salad when you can't find fresh. You can also make canned green bean salad, but I've found that reheated frozen green beans taste much better. There is no comparison to fresh, but if green beans are out of season and you want a healthy vegetable side dish, frozen will do! You probably won't find tomatoes with much flavor at that time, but sometimes you just really want a green bean, tomato, and feta salad!
Tip #5: This pairs perfectly with a simple protein as the main dish. A serving of Easy Green Bean Salad with Tomatoes and Feta with a simple grilled chicken breast or grilled steak makes for a very easy dinner.
More Healthy Green Bean Recipes
If you're a fan of green beans, you'll love these recipes:
I hope you love this simple green bean, tomato, and feta salad!
Easy Green Bean Salad with Tomatoes and Feta
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds fresh green beans tips removed and cut in half
- 1- pint grape tomatoes washed and cut in half
- 1 tablespoon fresh basil leaves finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley leaves finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
- Sea salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- 1 cup Feta cheese crumbled
Instructions
- Add salt to a large pot and bring it to a boil over high heat. Add green beans to boiling water and cook for approximately 3-4 minutes (until crisp-tender). Drain the pot and immediately transfer the green beans to a large bowl of ice water.
- After beans have cooled, remove them from the ice water and pat them dry. Add them to a large glass bowl or other non-reactive bowl. To the green beans, add tomatoes, basil, parsley, olive oil, and vinegar. Toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Fold in Feta cheese gently. Serve immediately for a warm salad, or chill it in the fridge for a cold salad.
Nutrition
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