Fasolakia is an easy-to-make traditional Greek green bean and potato dish in tomato sauce. It can be enjoyed hot or at room temperature and is perfect as a main meal or side dish.
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Hearty and healthy Fasolakia is a Greek green bean and potato dish that is easy to make and can be dished up hot or cold.
Cost To Make
Estimated cost = $4.65 or $1.17 a serve (does not include feta cheese or a side serving of bread)
Why You'll Love This Recipe:
You will love this Greek green bean and potato side dish because:
- This simple recipe for Greek-style green beans is gluten-free and suitable for vegan and vegetarian diets.
- This recipe is budget-friendly.
- Fasolakia can be made with either fresh green beans or frozen.
- Fasolakia can be eaten hot or cold, so it is suitable for any time of the year.
- It can be enjoyed as a simple healthy meal on its own.
- Serve it as a side dish to just about any meal or on occasions like Thanksgiving and Easter.
- Great for taking to summer barbeques or picnics because it can be made ahead and served cold.
- It can be made up to three days in advance and reheated if required.
What is Fasolakia
Fasolakia or Fasolakia Lathera is a Greek dish of braised green beans in tomato sauce.
There are many variations of this dish, but most will always use a generous amount of extra virgin olive oil, tomatoes, potatoes, and sometimes zucchini.
Unlike other recipes that can use up to half a cup of olive oil, our recipe uses only two tablespoons, making it lighter and healthier.
However, if you like olive oil, you can increase the amount to ¼ cup or more.
Traditionally the potatoes and beans are cooked together, which can lead to overcooked, mushy beans because they cook quicker than potatoes.
Mushy beans are not a favorite thing in our house - so, in our version, we partially cook the potatoes to almost done and then add the beans and cook until tender.
Ingredients In This Recipe
You can download a printable version of this recipe below. It lists all the ingredients you need and gives clear, step-by-step instructions to help you make it.
Extra virgin olive oil is a traditional ingredient in a Mediterranean diet.
It is one of the healthiest oils you can cook with, has a good source of polyphenols with antioxidant properties.
Onion – adds flavor to the recipe.
Garlic – use fresh garlic cloves if you can. If you can not get fresh garlic, use 1 to 1 ½ teaspoons of garlic paste.
Tomato paste - will help intensify the tomato flavor in this dish.
Diced tomato - we used a can of diced tomatoes, but you could also use 3-4 medium ripe fresh tomatoes finely chopped or pureed.
Flavorings - cumin powder, dried oregano, bay leaf, and sugar.
Potatoes make the dish more filling. They can be peeled or unpeeled. If using them with the peel on, give them a good scrub and cut out any blemishes before cutting them into pieces.
Green beans - Use fresh or frozen. If using fresh green beans, trim them and wash them well before using them.
Parsley - chopped fresh parsley works well in this recipe and adds a lovely peppery and earthiness to the dish.
Lemon juice as well as salt and pepper for adding flavor.
Step By Step Instructions
Step 1 - Add olive oil to a pan and saute the onion over low/medium heat until soft, then add the garlic and fry for 30 seconds.
Step 2 - Add the tomato paste, stir and cook for about 1 minute. Doing this will enhance the tomato flavor in this dish and help to create a thick and rich tomato sauce.
Step 3 - Add the canned tomato, potatoes, sugar, cumin powder, oregano, bay leaf, and ½ cup water.
Push the potatoes into the liquid, turn up the heat, bring to a boil, cover, turn down the heat to a simmer, and cook the potatoes until almost done - about 10 - 15 minutes, depending on the size of the potatoes.
Stir the mixture from time to time to prevent sticking, and if it looks like it is becoming too dry, add a little more water.
Step 4 - When the potatoes are more than half-cooked, add the green beans arranging them in an even layer over the top of the potatoes, but don't stir them in just yet.
Pour in about 1 cup of water (or more), so the water sits just below the top of the beans, then stir the mixture.
Cover the pot with the lid and simmer for 10 - 15 minutes. Or until the beans and potatoes are tender and the liquid has reduced to a thick sauce.
Step 5 - Remove from the heat, mix in half of the parsley, season with salt and pepper, and add a squeeze of lemon juice to taste.
Serve warm or at room temperature with crumbled feta cheese, chopped parsley, and crusty bread.
Recipe Tips
For quicker cooking
If you have big chunky potato pieces, they will take longer to cook than smaller pieces.
So cut the potatoes into even-sized cubes about 1 cm - 2.5 cm ( ½ - 1 inch) thick to shorten the cooking time.
Potatoe skin on or off?
The potatoes can be peeled or have the skin left on. If using unpeeled, give the potatoes a good scrub under cold tap water before cutting them into small pieces.
Trim fresh beans
Top and tail the fresh beans - use a small sharp knife to cut the top and bottom ends from the beans and wash well in cool tap water.
Frozen beans
If using frozen green beans for this recipe, cook the potatoes a little longer until they are almost tender before adding the beans.
This is because frozen beans are already partially cooked due to blanching and require a shorter cooking time.
Watery sauce
If at the end of cooking time the sauce has not thickened. Cook uncovered over medium heat for a few minutes to allow the liquid to evaporate and become thick.
Serving Size
This recipe serves 4 as a main meal or 6-8 as a side dish.
Calories Per Serve
The calories for this recipe based on four servings is 194 calories per serve and does not include feta cheese garnish.
Serving Suggestions
Fasolakia is a great stand-alone dish that can be enjoyed on its own or with feta cheese and a slice of fresh bread or good pita bread.
If you wanted to, you could serve it as a side to roasted, pan-fried, or barbequed meats.
Storage
Refrigeration - Leftovers should be cooled and stored in a well-sealed airtight container. It will keep for about 4-5 days in the fridge.
Freezing – This dish is not suitable for freezing.
Reheating
Leftovers can be reheated in the microwave oven.
I do hope that you try this easy green beans and potato recipe. If you do, please come back and leave a comment below because I would love to know how you went.
Fasolakia Greek Green Beans and Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 200 grams ((7 ounces, 1 large) onion, diced
- 3 - 6 garlic cloves minced or finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 x 400 gram (14 ounces) canned diced tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon sugar optional
- 250 grams (½ pound) potatoes scrubbed and cut into pieces no bigger than 5 cm (2 inches)
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 – 1 ½ cups water the amount required will vary see recipe for details
- 500 grams (1 pound) green beans fresh or frozen, trimmed cut into 4 cm (⅕ inch) pieces
- ½ cup chopped fresh parsley
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Fresh lemon juice to taste
Garnish
- Feta cheese
- Chopped parsley
Instructions
- Add olive oil to a pan and saute the onion over low/medium heat until soft, then add the garlic and fry for 30 seconds.
- Add the tomato paste, stir and cook for about 1 minute. Doing this will enhance the tomato flavor in this dish and help to create a thick and rich tomato sauce.
- Add the canned tomato, potatoes, sugar, cumin powder, oregano, bay leaf, and ½ cup water. Push the potatoes into the liquid, turn up the heat, bring to a boil, cover, turn down the heat to a simmer, and cook the potatoes until almost done - about 10 - 15 minutes, depending on the size of the potatoes. Stir the mixture from time to time to prevent sticking, and if it looks like it is becoming too dry, add a little more water.
- When the potatoes are more than half-cooked, add the green beans arranging them in an even layer over the top of the potatoes, but don't stir them in just yet. Pour in about 1 cup of water (or more), so the water sits just below the top of the beans, then stir the mixture. Cover the pot with the lid and simmer for 10 - 15 minutes. Or until the beans and potatoes are tender and the liquid has reduced to a thick sauce.
- Remove from the heat, mix in half of the parsley, season with salt and pepper, and add a squeeze of lemon juice to taste.
- Serve warm or at room temperature with crumbled feta cheese, chopped parsley, and crusty bread.
Jasmine says
Delicious recipe, and I like it because it has less oil than other recipes I have seen.