Mediterranean Green Bean Salad

Take a break from the norm with one of our favorite ways to enjoy green beans – Mediterranean Green Bean Salad! It’s full of bright flavors and colors, with tender green beans, feta cheese, Kalamata olives, chickpeas and tomatoes and a zesty Greek vinaigrette.

Enjoy a break from your typical lettuce based salad with this crave-worthy green bean salad. We love serving it as a side dish for Baked Lemon Chicken or Pan Roasted Chicken Thighs and it’s a refreshing cold salad that pairs perfectly with grilled meats like Grilled Steak and Grilled Chicken Kabobs. Plus, it’s super easy to double the recipe making it a great potluck addition.

I love Greek and Mediterranean flavors. Just check out my Grilled Salmon Salad, Greek Pasta Salad or Greek Salad Pinwheels. The creamy tangy Feta cheese and salty olives paired with juicy tomatoes gets me every time. There is so much color and flavor, it’s totally addictive. I am also a huge fan of green beans – they are one of my favorite vegetables. So pairing one of my favorite veggies with some of my favorite flavors was a no brainer.

How to Cook Green Beans for a Salad

For green bean salad, you want your beans to be cooked to a tender-crisp. This basically means that they are easy to bite and chew, but not mushy.

1. Set a pot of salted water on the stove to boil while you trim the green beans. Slice the pointed stems off each end of each bean. You can keep the green beans long or cut them short and bite-sized. After they are trimmed, place them in a colander and rinse them in cold water.
2. Boil the green beans for about 3-4 minutes. They will turn a bright green color and you should be able to pierce one with a fork with little resistance. When you bite into one, it should not be tough, but also not mushy.
3. Drain the green beans in a colander and immediately rinse with cold water until they’ve cooled down. This stops the cooking process and keep the beans from getting too soft.

How to Make Green Bean Salad

Once the beans are cooked and cooled, you can make your green bean salad!

1. Make the dressing. Whisk or shake together the ingredients listed in the recipe below.
2. Toss salad together. Combine green beans with feta cheese, Kalamata olives, red onion, tomatoes, chickpeas and fresh parsley.
3. Dress. Pour about half of the dressing over the salad. Toss together and add more dressing as desired.

Top Tips

• Can you use canned green beans? You can, but the flavor and texture will be very different. I recommend using fresh if you can, or even frozen as an alternative.
• Can Green Bean Salad be made ahead of time? Yes! You can mix the salad with the dressing up to a day in advance. Just toss again right before serving.
• Storing leftovers. Keep the salad in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3-4 day. The flavors will get more pronounced the longer it sits and the green beans may start to wilt.

Mediterranean Green Bean Salad Variations

• Add pine nuts or sliced almonds in place of or in addition to the chickpeas.
• Sub goat cheese or fresh Parmesan for the feta.
• Add other veggies like diced cucumber or artichokes.
• Instead of the dressing, use Tzaziki sauce.

More Greek Inspired Recipes to Try

• Greek Salsa
• Greek Lemon Chicken Soup
• Bean Salad with Greek Vinaigrette
• Baked Greek Feta Fries

Recipe

Mediterranean Green Bean Salad

4.89 from 18 votes

Kristin Maxwell

Mediterranean Green Bean Salad is full of bright flavors and colors, with Feta cheese, Kalamata olives, chickpeas, tomatoes and a tangy Greek vinaigrette.

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 3 minutes mins

Total Time 18 minutes mins

Servings 8 servings

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Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Green Bean Salad

• 1 ½ pounds fresh green beans
• ½ cup red onion minced
• ½ cup feta cheese
• 1 tablespoon fresh minced parsley
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes sliced in half
• ½ cup pitted kalamata olives well drained
• 15 ounce can chickpeas well drained

Vinaigrette

• ¼ cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 1 garlic clove finely minced
• Salt and pepper to taste

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Instructions

 

Green Bean Salad:

• Boil water in a 3-quart pot and add 1 tablespoon of salt. While the water is coming to a boil, rinse green beans and trim off the stem ends.
• Add the trimmed green beans to boiling water for about 3-4 minutes. Beans should be bright green in color and the texture tender but still crisp. Strain into a calendar and rinse beans with cold water to stop the cooking process. Pat dry with paper towels to remove any extra water.
• In a large serving bowl, toss salad ingredients together. Add dressing (recipe below) and toss again to coat.
• Serve at room temperature.

Dressing:

• In a small bowl, whisk together dressing ingredients until well combined. You could also shake in a tightly sealed jar or pulse in a blender. Set aside until you are ready to dress your green bean salad, or store it in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Notes

Salad ingredients may be adjust based on taste.

Salad can be made up to 24 hours ahead of time and store in the fridge in an airtight container.

Keyword green bean salad

Nutrition

Calories: 180kcalCarbohydrates: 16gProtein: 6gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 8mgSodium: 399mgPotassium: 317mgFiber: 5gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 801IUVitamin C: 17mgCalcium: 109mgIron: 2mg

Nutritional Disclaimer Kristin Maxwell of "Yellow Bliss Road" is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. For accurate calorie counts and other nutritional values, we recommend running the ingredients through your preferred online nutritional calculator. Calories and other nutritional values can vary depending on which brands were used.

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