Name: Fasolakia Lathera-Greek Green Beans In Tomato Sauce
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 50 min
Ingredients: 2 lbs fresh green beans (rinsed, drained and trimmed); ⅔ lb baby potatoes (cut in half); ⅔ cup extra virgin olive oil; 28 oz San Marzano tomatoes (like Gustarosso); 1 onion (diced); 3 garlic cloves (minced); 2 tablespoons fresh herbs (like parsley, basil, or oregano chopped); dried oregano; freshly ground pepper; sea salt

Fasolakia lathera is green beans and potatoes simmered slowly in tomato and a great deal of olive oil until everything is soft, silky, and swimming in a thick red sauce. It’s one of the most-cooked dishes in Greece, the kind of thing that appears on the table once a week. If you grew up calling them string beans, these are the same beans, treated very differently.

My mother made this every summer with beans from the farmers market, still warm from the crate, and served it with a wedge of feta and a lot of bread. That’s still how I eat it. It’s vegan as written, better the next day, and one of the cheapest good meals there is.

If you love Fasolakia–Greek green beans, you will also love Arakas-Greek sweet peas, Greek Potato Stew-Patates Yahni, or Gemista – Stuffed Tomatoes & Peppers!

A plate with Fasolakia Ladsera Greek green beans with potatoes in tomato sauce, some fresh basil. On the table, a napkin, utensils and bread.

Overview

What is fasolakia lathera?

Lathera — you’ll also see it written ladera — comes from ladi λάδι , oil. It describes a whole family of Greek vegetable dishes where the olive oil isn’t a cooking medium, it’s the sauce. So when you see the amount in the recipe below, don’t flinch and don’t cut it back. The olive oil, the tomato, and the starch from the potatoes come together into something you’ll want to mop up with bread until the pot is embarrassing.

The other thing to know: these beans are meant to be soft. Not crisp, not bright green, not tender-crisp. Properly cooked fasolakia are olive-drab and yielding, and they’ve given up their structure to the sauce.

If you’ve only ever had green beans as a crisp side dish, give this one the full simmer before you judge it.

What cooks say:

“This is the best recipe I’ve found for Greek Green Beans. The ratio of ingredients is perfect. After reading this recipe the first time, I was skeptical about the amount of liquid needed to cook all the vegetables. I admit it was perfect! I have done this dozens of times. However, I’ve been making mine mostly with dried herbs. Fresh herbs make it fantastic for a celebration dinner or to impress friends… Yummy!!”

LISA

Why you will love fasolakia

FLAVOR – It’s traditional, delicious Greek cuisine. Greek Green beans in olive oil-fasolakia ladera is one of the most excellent and healthy foods in Greek cuisine.
EASE – This recipe is a breeze. The beans are cooked just enough to hold their shape, and their freshness shows in every bite. There is just enough extra-virgin olive oil to give the dish a rich, not oily, taste.

Planning meals for Lent? Browse our 17 Greek Recipes for Lent — easy, flavorful dishes the whole family will love, from traditional to flexible options.

Here is what you need

Ingredients for making fasolakia / greek beans in tomato sauce on a butcher block.

Green beans. You can use fresh or frozen green beans. To use fresh beans, first wash them in plenty of water and drain them well. Then, trim both ends. The frozen green beans can go right into the pot without thawing.
Baby potatoes. They are optional. You opt out of using potatoes. Instead of baby ones, you can use regular potatoes, any kind.
Extra virgin olive oil, onion, and garlic.
Canned tomatoes. I love using authentic San Marzano tomatoes like Gustarosso.
Dried oregano, freshly ground pepper, and sea salt. The three staples for Greek seasoning.
Fresh herbs. Usually, I use whatever is in my fridge or garden. It can be parsley, basil, thyme, or oregano. It’s all good. If am out, I use their dried versions.

Making the most of summer produce? Don’t miss my 21 favorite Greek tomato recipes — salads, toasts, ladera, and one jar of confit for winter.

How to make fasolakia ladera

Green beans, potatoes and whole tomatoes in a stockpot.

Step 1: Heat half of the olive oil in a stockpot.
Saute the chopped onion for a few minutes on medium heat until transparent and fragrant. Add the minced garlic and saute for another minute.

Step 2: Add the green beans, potatoes, and tomatoes. Season with sea salt and pepper and a pinch or two of dried oregano. Stir ingredients and mix well.

Cover the pot and simmer over low heat for about forty minutes. Then add the remaining olive oil and fresh herbs. Simmer for another five to ten minutes until most of the liquid has reduced.

Variations

Kolokithakia yiahni (with zucchini) — A lovely summer swap, but zucchini is not green beans. It cooks in about half the time and releases a lot of water, so use roughly half the water and start checking at 20 minutes. Leave baby zucchini whole; halve larger ones lengthwise and cut into 2-inch (5 cm) chunks — anything thinner falls apart. Shake the pot instead of stirring, salt at the end rather than the start, and finish with chopped mint or dill. If you want both, add the zucchini to the beans for the last 20 minutes.

Frozen green beans — Work perfectly here, and I use them all winter. Add them straight from the freezer, no thawing, and expect them to be done 10–15 minutes sooner than fresh. Don’t add extra water — frozen beans release plenty.

Slow cooker — Soften the onion and garlic on the stovetop first (you lose real depth if you skip this), then everything goes in the crock: beans, potatoes, hand-crushed tomatoes, salt, pepper, oregano. No added water. Cook 7–8 hours on LOW or 4–5 on HIGH. The catch: a slow cooker doesn’t evaporate anything, so for the last 45–60 minutes prop the lid open with a wooden spoon to let the sauce thicken. Stir in the remaining olive oil and fresh herbs at the very end.

With meat — Not traditional for a ladera dish, but common enough in Greek homes. Brown chicken thighs or lamb pieces first, then build the sauce around them and add 20–30 minutes to the cook time.

Fasolakia lathera, Greek green beans with potatoes in tomato sauce with a couple of feta cheese on the table.

How to enjoy these beans

Greek green beans can be enjoyed warm or at room temperature. Greeks mostly enjoy them as a main dish with lots of crusty warm bread and feta cheese. Swap the cheese with baked bouyourdi dip with tomatoes and peppers.
Serve the beans as a side dish. They go well with anything roasted or grilled like our beef skewers. Add the beans to our lamb burger bowls or part of a family-style dinner, among other side dishes like keftedes-meatballs, fried crispy zucchini and fried eggplant slices, country fries, and dolmadakia-stuffed grape leaves.

Storage and reheating

Let the green beans cool to room temperature within 2 hours of cooking, place them in an airtight container or resealable bag, and store in the fridge for up to 4–5 days.
Store in the freezer and use within 2–3 months for optimal taste and texture.

FAQ

Lathera comes from λάδι (ladi), meaning olive oil. It’s a whole category of Greek vegetable dishes cooked slowly in a generous amount of olive oil until the vegetables are silky and the sauce is thick. The oil isn’t a mistake or an excess — it is the sauce. If you cut it back, you get boiled beans in tomato water, which is a different and much sadder dish.

Yes. This is the part that trips up American cooks most. Fasolakia are not crisp-tender, they’re cooked until completely soft and yielding, closer to 40–50 minutes than 10. That’s the texture Greeks are after, and it’s what lets the beans take on the tomato and olive oil.

Absolutely, and there’s no shame in it, Greek home cooks do it all winter. Add them frozen, and start checking 10–15 minutes earlier than you would with fresh.

Yes, as written. It’s a staple during Greek Orthodox fasting periods for exactly that reason. Just serve the feta on the side rather than on top.

None. Fasolakia (φασολάκια) is simply the Greek word for green beans, also called string beans or runner beans depending on where you are. The dish is the same.

If you’re using fresh summer tomatoes, yes, grate them on a box grater and the skin stays behind in your hand. It takes two minutes and gives a much smoother sauce. Out of season, good canned tomatoes are genuinely the better choice.

More Greek ladera recipes

Once you’ve made fasolakia, you’ve essentially learned the whole lathera method, and there’s a long list of dishes waiting for you.

Briam is the same idea taken to the oven — zucchini, eggplant, potatoes and tomatoes roasted together until the edges caramelize.
Gemista puts herby rice inside summer tomatoes and peppers and bakes them over potato wedges that drink up all the sauce.
Patates yahni is potatoes alone, braised in red sauce until they’re falling apart at the edges.
Gigantes plaki does it with giant beans and a thick, jammy tomato sauce.
And spanakorizo cooks spinach down in olive oil with rice, dill and a lot of lemon until it’s soft and green and comforting.