The original recipe for Greek green beans! Smooth and velvety green beans with potatoes stewed in tomato, herbs and olive oil. They will melt in your mouth! Perfect as a main course or a side. And they are vegan and gluten free.
This particular recipe is a classic. Green beans stewed in olive oil, tomato, onions and herbs. We call them fasolakia lathera (pronounced fah-soh-LAH-kiah). Served with feta and bread it is delicious! Some people make them plain, others add potato and carrots as well. It is very easy, but the secret to making it delicious, is the olive oil. Do not -I repeat- Do not, try and make this with a few teaspoons of olive oil, you will need 1/3 cup of olive oil per one pound of vegetables.
Lathera – Greek Technique of Cooking
This dish belongs to the Greek category of “Lathera” dishes, it is a whole category of Greek recipes where vegetables are cooked in olive oil and tomato along with herbs. The word lathera refers to dishes cooked in olive oil. I love lathera! We eat this as a main course along with bread and feta cheese. I would say that this is the secret weapon of the Greek diet, it is why Greeks consistently have the highest intake of vegetables (per person) in the world. These dishes are very filling, because you basically consume about 4 servings of vegetables in one sitting, plus the olive oil provides satiety.
You probably will have guessed this, but lathera are very healthy. Not only are they a vegetable based meal, they are rich in fiber, antioxidants, good fats, vitamins and they are cheap. One serving does not cost more than 2 dollars.
And yes, they are easy to make. Lathera are made with seasonal vegetables. For example in the winter a typical dish is cauliflower, in the summer green beans and okra are very common. But lathera are perfect for the summer, especially as the warm weather has us craving vegetables rather than meat.
Greek Green Beans Ingredients
- Green Beans: Ideally you would want fresh green beans, nothing beats the flavour of fresh., Having said that I use frozen green beans all the time and the dish will come out wonderfully. However, DO NOT use canned green beans, it will ruin the flavour, beauty and nutritional value of this recipe.
- Olive Oil: Remember, these type of dishes belong to the category of lathera, they need the olive oil. Use extra virgin olive oil and use the amount that is required in the recipe. Do not try and use less, you will just end up with a watery and tasteless green bean dish.
- Tomatoes: If making this in the summer, fresh tomatoes are the best. You can grate them or chop them. In the winter I use crushed tomatoes (I look for BPA free containers) for a smoother texture or chopped tomatoes if you want a slightly chunkier version.
- Sugar: This can be optionally but my yiayia would add a pinch.
- Potatoes: Potatoes are typically added to this dish to provide some sustenance as this was consumed as a main course, but I sometimes leave them out.
How to Make the best Greek Green Beans- Fasolakia Lathera
- Start with the sauteing. Add the olive oil in the pan and saute the chopped onion. Just to understand the importance of olive oil in these dishes, the word “lathera” means “the ones with the oil”. Not adding the olive oil will result in watery green beans that will taste bland. Olive oil helps bring out all the flavors and make this dish feel rich. You may be worried about calories, but remember that this is a main course and the rest of the ingredients pretty much have minimal calories so the result is a moderate calorie dish.
- Add the potatoes (if using). You may soak the potatoes in water for 20 minutes ahead. Continue stirring for 2-3 minutes until the potatoes are coated in olive oil.
- Add the green beans and stir some more.
- Now you add the rest of the ingredients: parsley, salt, sugar and pepper. stor until everything is mixed.
- Now add just enough hot water to cover the beans halfway. Do not cover completely, better to start off with less water and add as needed. You do not want watery green beans. Authentic Greek beans are soft and velvety in their sauce (olive oil and tomato) there should be no water left.
- Simmer with the lid on for about 40 minutes (do not boil). Check the water levels. The beans are ready once there is no water left and the beans are soft.
- Turn off the heat and let them sit with the cover on for 10 minutes. Enjoy warm or at room temperature.
- Accompany with bread and feta.
- Store i the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
What to serve with Greek Green Beans
Greeks usually enjoy this as a main course as I mentioned earlier. It is served with a slice of bread and feta cheese. You eat a large portion and it is filling. It also work well as a side dish, it pairs well with Juicy Roasted Greek Meatballs – Keftedakia, 5 Ingredient Glazed Honey Lemon Chicken Legs or Greek Burgers – Biftekia. And it’s great as a Thanksgiving side dish.
You may also like these recipes
- Greek Style Peas-Arakas Latheros
- Greek Braised Cauliflower with Tomato – Kounoupidi Kapama
- Greek Spinach and Rice – Spanakorizo
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Greek Green Beans-Fasolakia Lathera
Ingredients
Instructions
- In a medium pot, heat olive oil at medium to low heat. Sauté onion until soft.
- Add potatoes and heat for 2-3 minutes.
- Add beans and mix until covered with the olive oil.
- Add the tomatoes, parsley, sugar and salt and pepper and mix.
- Add hot water just enough to half cover the beans.
- Simmer with the lid on for about 40 minutes (do not boil).
- The beans are ready once there is no water left and the beans are soft.
- Enjoy with bread and feta cheese
Notes
- Enjoy warm or at room temperature.
- Accompany with bread and feta.
- Store i the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
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Photos by Elena Paravantes © All Rights Reserved
141 Comments
This is the best recipe for Greek lathera beans. The secret of the dish is to use fresh ingredients and the best quality of olive oil. I leave potatoes out because they release starch and alternate the texture. I prefer to use the flat green beans,
I made this a couple of times and it always comes up so good! Sometimes I substitute potatoes with sweet potatoes or taro because these are more cheaper in my country. Thanks for this.
I just made and followed the recipe to a T and while they were really good I’m a bit perplexed about the word herbs in the title when it only calls for chopped parsley. Are there other herbs I could add like greek oregano or dill?
When using frozen green beans , do you thaw them or throw them in frozen?
No, you don’t thaw them, they go directly from the freezer to the pot.
[…] […]
Excellent. This tastes just like my aunts in Greece!
[…] Paravantes explained this is an easy way to eat various servings of veggies in just one sitting, and explained her favourite dish is environmentally friendly beans and potatoes cooked in tomatoes and olive oil. […]
[…] Paravantes said that this is an easy way to eat several servings of vegetables at one sitting and said that his favorite dish is green beans and potatoes cooked in tomatoes and olive oil. […]
[…] Paravantes said this is an easy way to eat multiple servings of vegetables in one sitting, and said her favorite dish is green beans and potatoes cooked in tomatoes and olive oil. […]
[…] Paravantes said this is an easy way to eat multiple servings of vegetables in one sitting, and said her favorite dish is green beans and potatoes cooked in tomatoes and olive oil. […]
[…] and cumin known as lubee and the Greek style green beans with parsley and a little sugar known as fasolakia lathera. Both are […]
This was delicious. So easy and was able to cook on stove, no oven. Had to cook my beans a little longer, guess they were a little older. Came out perfect. Will be making this often as we love green beans.
Made these as written (with canned tomato option) in cookbook and they were FANTASTIC! Only wish I had doubled it for more leftovers as they were even better the next day and we were all fighting over who would get the leftovers (ME!)! LOL I’m glad you have serving size adjustments on your website here! I’ll need it for future recipes for my family! 🙂 Served these Greek green beans as a main meal with feta cheese and a crusty sourdough. Fabulous! My husband who is part Greek was in heaven! 🙂 So glad I got your cookbook! Can’t wait to try more of your recipes! BTW: the Greek Chicken and Potatoes from your book is…to-die-for! It’s a weekly go-to now! Thank you, Elena!
This are the best green beans I have ever had! I added more potatoes and served it with chicken tenders. The next day I ate them without meat. The olive oil gives this dish so much flavour! I will make this at least once a week now. I want to eat mediteranean dishes only, because those people are much healthier, I just started to eat this way a few days ago (after a very bad stomach flu) and allready have so much more energy, I love it. I do not see it as a diet, for me it is a lifestyle. Your recipes are very helpfull, so thank you for sharing them.
Greetings from Belgium.
Very good. Next time I’ll leave out the water when simmering, tomatoes provides enough liquid to cook green beans soft, but still had texture.
These are delicious. I use parts of this recipe and parts of a different recipe and add seasonings like garlic and oregano as the beans are cooking, then finish them with fresh parsley and lemon juice. This is such an easy side dish to feed a crowd. My mom & I prepare 25 servings of mains or sides for a sort of community soup kitchen every week. This is a tasty and inexpensive dish, considering 1lb of beans is less than $2 and can easily feed 8 as a side.