Fasolakia (Greek Green Beans And Potatoes)

Why you’ll love fasolakia

There’s a big possibility that if you make green beans Greek style, like this, you’ll be able to convert even the most ardent green bean hater! Here’s why:

• Will remind you of your holidays in Greece: This is a very traditional recipe that you’ll find both in Greek restaurants and many kitchens throughout Greece. Get a very smug feeling by making this dish for yourself at home!
• Quick and easy to make in one pot on the stovetop: Simply give the onion and potatoes a head start on the stove, then simmer for around 45 minutes. No need to turn on your oven.
• Enjoy by themselves or as an all-in-one side dish: What a versatile dish! These are just as delicious eaten for lunch with feta cheese by themselves, or why not serve as a nutritious side with meat or fish?
• Perfect for Mediterranean diet lovers: With the rich tomato-olive oil sauce, and all those vegetables, you can’t get more classically ‘Mediterranean diet’ than this!
• Extremely delicious: This is objective, of course! But as long as you take my advice to serve your green bean stew with big hunks of feta cheese and crusty bread, these are a very tasty way to eat this humble green vegetable.

About the ingredients

You’ll find a full list of ingredients with amounts in the recipe card below. But here’s a summary of what you need to know.

• Extra virgin olive oil: Believe it or not, this is a key ingredient in the recipe. If you can, use a high quality brand. In case you’re curious, I found this article on how to buy and use olive oil very interesting and useful!
• Chopped onion: I suggest using a yellow or brown onion for the most intense flavor.
• Potatoes: Any will work, but waxy potatoes such as Yukon gold or red potatoes are ideal since they hold their shape well when cooked. You don’t need too many – just 1 large potato or a few smaller ones.
• Green beans: Since these are the star of the show, I like to use nice fresh green beans. If they aren’t in season, however, feel free to use frozen green beans instead. If you do this, I recommend whole frozen green beans rather than chopped (they just look better in the dish).
• Garlic: If you like to taste the garlic in the sauce (I do!), I suggest 3 to 4 large cloves. Finely sliced is nice, but crushed is OK too.
• Canned tomatoes: Many fasolakia recipes suggest using grated tomatoes, but I’ll be honest – I use canned tomatoes to keep the dish nice and simple. The sauce is just as delicious this way.
• Salt, pepper and sugar: To season the dish. I suggest tasting at the end, and adding more if you think the dish needs it.
• Fresh parsley: This is stirred through at the end (a whole bunch!) for beautiful fresh flavor. If you like, you can also add fresh dill and a little dried oregano, too.
• Feta cheese: Although I didn’t include this in the photo above, I would highly recommend serving the beans with a generous amount of feta cheese. Try and see for yourself how delicious they are that way! I recommend an authentic style Greek feta such as Dodoni.

How to make Greek green beans

First, heat the olive oil in a heavy pot with a lid (a cast iron pot works well). Add the onions and potatoes and cook for around 5 minutes.

Then stir in the beans and garlic and cook for about a minute longer.

Stir in all the other ingredients (apart from the parsley), then add around a cup of water, or around enough to half cover the bean mixture.

Once the mixture has come to a boil, turn it down, put the lid on the pot, and simmer for around 45 minutes. If you like, you can take the lid off the pot around 10 to 15 minutes before the end of cooking to let the sauce evaporate and thicken a little.

Here’s a ‘before and after simmering’:

All you have to do now is stir through the parsley and taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

How to eat them

• For a light and simple lunch or dinner by themselves: When I lived in Greece, there was a traditional little lunch café near my work place that sold traditional dishes like this. I would often grab a portion of it for lunch. It was served with just generous hunks of feta cheese and crusty bread (try this easy Greek style bread). It might sound strange to you to have a dish of green beans for lunch, but it’s absolutely delicious, I promise you!
• As an all-in-one vegetable and potato side dish. No need to make two side dishes for dinner, since you already have a few potatoes in this. Try with simple grilled or baked fish or meat. Or how about ‘chicken keftedes‘ (meatballs made in your air fryer or oven), mustard crusted chicken, or any of these Greek recipes with chicken.
• As leftovers with an egg on top! Not at all traditional, but I’ve tried this, and it was delicious!