This Green Bean Salad with tomatoes and creamy feta is made with fresh green beans, cherry or grape tomatoes, and creamy Danish feta. A tangy homemade honey, mustard and lemon dressing brings the salad together. Serve it warm or cold for an easy side dish or light vegetarian meal!
Salads are a mainstay on our table – sometimes just a light spinach salad like this one and other times we like more hearty salads with rice or pasta. But Green Bean Salad is a favourite especially this one with tomatoes and creamy Danish feta.
Ingredients needed for Green Bean Salad with tomatoes and feta.
You won’t need many ingredients for this salad so be sure to use the freshest. You will need:-
- green beans.
- grape or cherry tomatoes or better still and assortment.
- creamy Danish marinated feta.
- good EVO oil.
- lemon juice.
- red wine vinegar.
- garlic.
- honey.
- Dijon mustard.
To serve, sprinkle with toasted almond flakes which give the salad a nutty, toasty finish.
How to cook green beans.
Green beans can be soggy and mushy if overcooked. At the same time if not cooked well you will find beans unpleasantly squeaky between your teeth. Not nice! To cook green beans well:-
- Half fill a large saucepan with water and add a tablespoon of salt.
- Bring water to the boil.
- Trim both ends of the beans and cut into 5cm/2inch lengths.
- Add green beans to boiling water.
- Boil fast for 5-8 minutes.
- Taste to check for doneness at 5 minutes and check regularly if not done.
- When cooked to your taste, drain very well.
- Pat dry with some paper towel if still wet.
How to properly dress this salad for maximum flavour.
Warm green beans absorb so much flavour so this is the time to add the dressing. Use a large bowl so that you can mix the warm green beans gently but thoroughly with the dressing. If you don’t have a large enough bowl, use a large platter. This also ensures that the beans cool quickly and don’t continue to cook. Please don’t rinse the beans or you will rinse away flavour!
The Hero of this salad is creamy feta.
Danish feta is creamy, tangy and salty all at the same time. Combine with the green beans, tomatoes and dressing only at the end and mix lightly. You will find that the creamy feta mixes with the dressing to add another element to the salad. Without the creamy Danish feta with Green Bean Salad is just another salad.
What goes with Green Bean Salad?
This Green Bean Salad goes with anything. Eat it on its own for a light or vegetarian meal. Roast chicken is complete with a side of this salad and so is a frittata. Actually, you could serve this with almost anything – steak, chicken or fish.
Remember to click on ‘US Customary’ in the recipe card for measurement conversions.
Are you looking for more salad recipes? Try these:-
Green Bean Salad with Tomatoes and Creamy Feta
Ingredients
- 1¾ lbs (800 grams) green beans
- 1½ cups (250 grams) cherry or grape tomatoes
- ¾ cup (125 grams) marinated danish feta
Dressing
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 garlic clove crushed or finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 4 teaspoon lemon juice
- 4 teaspoon red wine vinegar
- 3 teaspoons honey
- ¼ teaspoon salt or to taste
- Freshly ground pepper
To serve
- 2 tablespoons toasted flaked almonds
Instructions
- Trim the end of the beans and cut into 2inch/5cm lengths.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil.
- Add the beans and cook for 5-8 minutes until tender.
- While the beans are cooking, cut the tomatoes halves or quarters depending on size and make the dressing. Cut the feta into small pieces.
- Drain beans well.
- While beans are still warm toss in the dressing. Allow to cool to room temp.
- Gently combine tomatoes with the beans.
- Add feta and mix until just combined.
- Transfer to serving plate and sprinkle with toasted almonds.
- Serve at room temperature.
Make the dressing.
- In a large bowl whisk together all the dressing ingredients until thoroughly combined. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. Take particular care with not adding too much salt because the beans have already been cooked in salted water and the feta is salty.
Notes
Marcellina's Tips
How to cook green beans.
- Bring water to the boil.
- Trim both ends of the beans and cut into 5cm/2inch lengths.
- Add green beans to boiling water.
- Boil fast for 5-8 minutes.
- Taste to check for doneness at 5 minutes and check regularly if not done.
- When cooked to your taste, drain very well.
- Pat dry with some paper towel if still wet.
I just pinned this recipe so it means I must like it- YES!
Thank you so much, Fran!
happy new year marcellina. this looks tasty. i love green beans and i love fetta (not so much with the tomatoes) so this looks great for this hot summer we’re having. cheers sherry
Happy New Year, Sherry!! Yes, we need lots of salads at the moment, don’t we? For sure, leave the tomatoes out if you don’t like them or sub a bit of red capsicum instead. Thanks for popping by! xx
We make a somewhat similar green bean + tomato dish, but I’m seriously loving the addition of creamy feta here. Feta makes everything better, and now I want to put this dish on the menu for next week! As long as the snow holds off, then I could grill up a steak or a chicken breast and serve this alongside. Sounds delicious!
I’m unfamiliar with Danish feta, so thanks for showing a picture of it. Now that I see it, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen it in the cheese shop. Nice recipe!
Jeff, you could also use Persian feta. Both are soft and creamy. Glad the pictures helped!
Looks lovely, Marcellina. This is the kind of simple, honest cooking that I like best.