Green Bean Salad with Toasted Almonds & Feta
This green bean salad is the best! Perfectly cooked green beans tossed in a lemony dressing with toasted almonds, feta and basil. Learn how to make it here!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on September 3, 2024
I didn’t intend to eat green beans for dinner last night, but it happened. I’ve learned a new trick to cooking them that yields tender-but-not-waterlogged (and definitely not mushy) green beans. I tossed my perfectly cooked green beans in a lemony sauce with savory toasted almonds, creamy and salty feta, and fresh basil.
I couldn’t stop myself, not that I wanted to. Who am I? This is coming from a girl who used to refuse her grandmother’s home-grown green beans as a kid.
I got the inspiration for this recipe from Sarah’s Instagram account (I love her stories). She shared a few snaps of a green bean salad with feta, and it looked so summery and delicious. I should have just asked for her recipe, but instead I took the more difficult route and created my own version.
I borrowed the cooking technique from America’s Test Kitchen. Instead of simmering the green beans in water, you cook them in a skillet, covered with a small amount of water, then uncover, raise the heat, and cook until it has evaporated. You end up with green beans with a lot more flavor than the watery, simmered variety. Try it!
Watch How to Make Green Bean Salad
More Green Bean Recipes to Enjoy
A short list of must-make green bean dishes:
- Best Ever Green Beans (Green Beans Amandine)
- Blistered Green Bean and Corn Quinoa Salad
- Perfect Roasted Green Beans
Green Bean Salad with Toasted Almonds & Feta
This green bean salad is the best! Perfectly cooked green beans are tossed in a lemony dressing with toasted almonds, feta and basil. Recipe yields 4 side servings.
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup sliced almonds
- 1 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 2 to 3” long pieces
- ¼ cup water
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, divided
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice (about ½ lemon)
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 small-to-medium clove garlic
- Several twists of freshly ground black pepper
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup crumbled feta cheese, divided
- 3 to 4 large basil leaves, torn or chopped, for garnish
- Lemon zest from about ½ lemon, for garnish
Instructions
- Start with a large skillet over medium heat. Add the almonds and cook, stirring frequently (careful, they burn quickly). After 3 minutes, reduce the heat to medium-low, and continue stirring until they are fragrant and turning golden on the edges, about 1 to 3 more minutes. Transfer the almonds to a bowl to cool.
- Make sure the heat is set to medium-low and place the skillet back on the heat. Immediately add the green beans, water and ¼ teaspoon salt. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the beans are nearly tender, about 7 to 10 minutes. Remove the lid, raise heat to medium-high, and cook until the liquid evaporates, 2 to 5 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and set aside.
- Meanwhile, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, black pepper, red pepper flakes and remaining ¼ teaspoon salt. Set aside.
- Once the green beans are done cooking, whisk the olive oil mixture once more, then pour it into the skillet. Pour the almonds back into the skillet, and add about half of the feta, reserving the other half for garnish. Toss to combine, then taste and add more lemon juice or black pepper if necessary.
- Transfer the green beans to a serving bowl or platter. Sprinkle the remaining feta and the torn basil leaves on top. Lightly grate some lemon zest on top, and serve promptly.
Notes
Green bean cooking technique adapted from The Complete America’s Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook.
Make it dairy free/vegan: Omit the feta cheese, and replace it with an equivalent amount of Kalamata olives (pitted and thinly sliced) and/or sun-dried tomatoes (the oil-packed variety, rinsed and drained).
Make it nut free: I haven’t tried, but I think this recipe would be good with toasted sunflower seeds instead of the almonds.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
I love this dish. I’ve made it a couple times for potlucks and people always ask for the recipe.
Great to hear! Thanks for sharing, Remo.
Loved it (and so did everyone else)!
I’m happy to hear that, Megs!
I added orzo to this and topped it with canned tuna for a delicious lunch!! Absolutely delicious, the toasted almonds really add a nice crunch
Thanks for sharing, Ellie!
Made this as a side dish but it was so delicious, would have it all by itself next time! Beans were the perfect texture!
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Sophie!
I made it yesterday and it was delicious. My daughter declared it her favourite green bean salad rightaway! Thanks for sharing. In fact I (and my family) LOVE all of your salads . At least all we tried so far – as there were the favourite broccoli salad, the lemony roasted broccoli and arugula salad with lentils and of course the orzo salad with toasted almonds, raisins, feta and orange juice dressing! Also your best veggie lasagna recipe is very tasty and a real alternative to the original one. I got the link to your blog from my friend in Bali and I became a true fan.
Best regards from Germany
Thank you, Regina!
So delicious, full of flavor and healthy!
Thank you, Ann!
The green beans were amazing. My 9 year old gobbled them up. I added one extra tbsp of lemon juice and a tish more Dijon. No almonds cause they were from 2017. In my pantry
Hooray! That’s great that your kiddo loved it.
Once again, I am prepping this recipe for a holiday dinner on request by family! I love this recipe and so does everyone to whom I serve it. It’s fresh, it’s easy and everyone gobbles these down, warm, cold or room temperature.
Thanks for sharing, Cara!
Made this tonight as a side for some instant pot risotto. sub out the almonds for pumpkin seeds because that’s what I had. It was so delicious and easy!! A nice way to dress up green beans! Salty and crunchy!
Just made this recipe . IT IS A KEEPER! Love it ! ( but then again you had me at feta cheese ).
Ha, I love it! Thanks, Olga.
Made this last night and the Hubby and I LOVED IT!! I eyeballed the ingredients and modified the recipe slightly to my liking (ie added more almonds and feta). I will definitely be making this again!
Glad to hear it was a hit with you both, Jane! Thanks for your review.
Yum Yum Yum! Thanks for the recipe!
I had a whole bunch of green beans from the garden and was trying to figure out a way to prepare them. I don’t regret this – it was delicious. The steam-bean-cooking-method is a winner! I think paying attention is key.
I tried adding a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and a little pinch of fresh herbs to the dressing. The lemon zest paired nicely too! I took your advice & added olives. Used chèvre bc that’s what I had on hand.
I’ll make this again soon, maybe with dried cranberries and sunflower seeds
You’re welcome, Kait!
So yummy!!! Perfect side dish with some fish for a light and healthy (and delish) meal.
All my fave recipes come from your blog – great work and thanks!!
getting ready to make this now, with all of the fresh, different varieties of green beans from my garden and a coworkers garden, who keeps bringing sack fulls to work!
i think your idea of sun dried tomatoes in this sounds really good, but im sticking with just the almonds and feta for today. we are huge toasted almond and lemon lovers, so im excited – and hungry!
thanks for such a fresh, summery recipe.
Just made this for breakfast and it was absolutely amazing! Loved every bit of it. Thank you for this beautiful recipe :)
You’re welcome!
This recipe has changed my view of green beans forever. I served as a cold salad for lunch- delicious!
These were great! Had to use up some green beans from the farmer’s market. My had seconds so I know they were good!
So simple yet so tasty! Will definitely make this again
Great to hear, Anouk!
I made this today with sun-dried tomatoes instead of feta and sesame seeds instead of almonds, per your suggestions. It was too good! We skipped the basil because we just didn’t have any on hand but it was still so yummy my boyfriend polished off the batch before I had my fill. I’ll have to make it again, what a treat!
Love the recipe, just came across it the other day! Have forwarded it to other family members!
I love everything about this recipe! My mom is on a low-carb diet, so I sent it to her too. Thank you! :)
This was delicious! I loved it. Just skipped the lemon zest because my husband isn’t a fan. Loves lemons but hates lemon zest! Figure that one out. Thank you for such a good recipe. Sort of sick of the same old green bean recipes.
This green bean salad is SO delicious! It’s flavorful, healthy, and simple to make. I made it for the first time last week, and my husband already requested it again this week. It’s a new staple in our household!
Delicious- my green beans were kind of sad to begin with and overcooked a little, but were still very yummy…i can’t wait to try this again with fresh ones from the garden. I always do a garlicky green bean saute and was ready for something different, this was perfect, trying not to eat it all before everyone comes home for dinner, thank you!
This was one of the best dishes I’ve made on your blog, wow! Thank you so much! I’m so excited to be using in-season veggies in June :)
This was WONDERFUL. I rarely dress up side veggies, this was absolutely worth a little effort.
I’m happy you enjoyed it, Lynn!
We want to take this to friends for dinner but the gentleman is not a fan of feta cheese. Anyone try the recipe using something other than feta? If so, was the dish as good? We love the recipe as is, really don’t like making changes. Thank you!
Hi Anni! Goat cheese can usually make a good sub for feta. Let me know what you think!
Okay, wow!!! So green beans are usually something that looks great to me at the market, but then ends up slowly rotting in the fridge because I couldn’t figure out what to do with it. THIS RECIPE is what to do with green beans! Such a surprising technique, my husband and I ate the whole bowl full of it. I used chopped whole almonds because I didn’t have slivered on hand, and it was a-frickin-mazing.
Yum!!! This is incredibly delicious! Homegrown green beans infused with lots of flavor & love! Will definitely be serving this again and again! Thank you Kate (and Cookie)!
Made it with the olives and it was just delicious! I’m looking forward to making the feta version and the sundried tomato version as well!
Thank you for sharing this recipe! Amazing flavour. I didn’t have any fresh basil so I lightly sprinkled dry basil on top then put it in the fridge to soak up the flavour
Absolutely amazing!!!!
Wow! So easy, so flavorful! Made it with farmers market fresh green beans. Sorry no pic, cause we devoured them! Even my “no green food” hubby!
That’s great, Cyndi! Thank you for your review.
This (like every recipe of yours I try) was amazing. Thank you. We’ll be making it often.
That’s great to hear!
So yummy! We struggle with getting vegetables in, and this was a great way to have the green beans shine. Loved the green bean cooking hack — perfectly cooked and crisp! We are vegetarians and added this on top of cous cous so it could be filling enough for dinner.
Thank you for your comment, Kelly!
My six year old grandson planted green beans this year–called “snap beans” where I’m from–and I picked a pound this morning. This recipe came together so quickly,and I’ve been nibbling on it all day. It is delicious. I made it exactly as directed, but I haven’t added the basil garnish yet. If any of this salad lasts until dinnertime, I’ll add the garnish then!
Amazing recipe! I went looking for a green bean salad recipe and found this one. So glad I did. I made it today and I’ll be making it again and again. The flavours are just wonderful and the beans cooked beautifully. Thank you.
You’re welcome, Libby!
Literally the best green bean recipe I’ve ever made. (I’ve tried quite a few and always thought I just hated the vegetable itself.) The beans were crisp to the bite and flavors were spot on. My new go-to. Thanks so much, Kate!
Absolutely delicious. Thank you for sharing.
outstanding with toasted sunflower seeds. thank you!
Really like the dressing for your recipe. Think I’ll prep the almonds and make the salad a day in advance, omitting the cheese as I’m lactose intolerant. Bring to room temp on Thanksgiving and garnish w/ lemon zest + almonds before serving.
PS. I liked D’s tip on blanching in microwave too! You’re the best, Kate!!
Thank you for sharing, Cindy!
Made this for Christmas and have since made it twice more!
This recipe makes the humble bean a real star. Delicious!
So excited to try this recipe after reading all the comments. I am using a mix broccoli, beans, peas, cauliflower. Love your recipes , have tried so many now and never been disappointed. Your book is my bible lol
Thank you, Amanda! I’m happy you are enjoying all my recipes.
One of my sisters asked me recently if I liked green beans, and I told her I didn’t think I did, since I hated them growing up, and I just have never made them as an adult. But when I found out my husband loves them, I started pinning a few different green beans recipes, and this was one of them. These green beans are SO delicious! Such yummy flavor. My husband and I truly enjoyed eating these tonight! The only change I made was to cook the beans in chicken stock instead of water. This recipe is a keeper! Thank you!
Hooray! Thank you for letting me know, Kristin.
I made this tonight to go alongside baked chicken. It was amazing and has given me a new way to cook one of the few veggies I can eat on keto. Thank you!
I made this salad in Sydney with just picked beans from my garden and accidentally put feta in warm beans. Delicious
Can this dish be served cold
Sure! Let me know what you think.
So good! I sometimes mix with broccoli for another vegetable.
That sounds delicious, Emma!
Delicious!!! I prefer it cold and served is as a side on a hot summer day after cooling in for two hours. I added the almonds just before serving so they stayed crispy.
This was so good! My husband wanted to know the exact name of it so he could ask for it again by name. Lol