Italian Flat Green Beans Recipe (with Tomatoes and Garlic) is your next easy and flavorful side dish that comes together in 20 minutes! This Italian green beans with tomatoes and garlic are one of the healthiest, tastiest and easiest side dishes.

Serve as a delicious side dish to accompany Nonna’s Famous Traditional Italian Meatballs (Polpette), or BEST Salmon Piccata (Lemon Butter Caper Sauce).

Tired of the routined canned green veggies accompanying each meal? Then give this Italian flat beans recipe a try! You will love this Italian green beans recipe. You can even serve them as a healthy option and a great side dish to a Thanksgiving meal.

Flat Italian green beans are a style of beans that are meatier, wider and like the name flat instead of round and this variety of green beans while picked young are stringless. They are less common than your average string bean.  

Simple Ingredients

This is another “cucina povera” recipe that has a few simple ingredients to make a wonderful Italian style dish.

• Italian Romano flat green beans
• Olive oil, divided
• Shallots
• Garlic cloves
• Cherry or grape tomatoes
• Balsamic vinegar
• Basil leaves for garnish
• Salt and Black Pepper to taste 

See recipe card for quantities.

How to make Italian Flat Green Beans Recipe (with Tomatoes and Garlic)

Making this super tasty green bean dish is super easy. Serve as a warm side dish to a holiday meal or serve cold as a summertime salad. Either way, you will love the simplicity and freshness of this green bean dish.

What are Italian Flat beans

Romano beans are a form of flat snap bean that originated in Italy. Specialty grocers and farmer’s markets sometimes carry them. You can also grow them at home, assuming you live in an area with a Mediterranean climate.

They are usually available in late summer and fall. They are also readily available in the frozen section in most grocery stores. You can also find them canned or jarred.

Like other snap beans, Romano beans you can eat Romano beans whole (with an edible pod). They are ripe when they make a crisp “snap” if they are broken in half. I love their very mild flavor and tender texture.

Don’t confuse these with Italian broad beans or fava beans as they are different!

These Italian beans are often braised with other vegetables and eaten as a side dish. You can add them to soups, stews, stir fries and an assortment of other dishes. Try them pickled.

If you love beans, then you will also enjoy this Classic Green Bean Casserole Recipe!

How to prepare Italian Flat Beans for cooking

To use fresh Romano beans (Italian flat beans), snap or trim off the ends and rinse the pods to remove any dirt. If you buy them frozen- don’t worry about cleaning them. When picking them fresh avoid beans with soft spots. Look for the firm texture and bright green color.

You can lightly cook these beans to retain their great crunch texture, or cooked until they are extremely tender.

Make sure not to overcook the beans! This will cause the beans to turn into a tasteless mush, so set your timers when preparing them with long time cooking methods.

Wait, there are more colors than just green flat Italian beans- they also come in yellow and purple, for cooks who like to play around with different colors in their cooking- try the color variety. In my experience the colored variety are harder to find in the U.S.A opposed to Italy.

Boiling

In this recipe the green beans are raw and then sautéed. If you like your beans a little more soft you can lightly boil them before sautéing them.

1. Fill a large pot half full of water, add 1 to 2 tsp. sea salt, and cover the pot with a lid. Bring the large pot of salted water to a full, rolling boil over high heat.
2. Add washed Romano beans cut into 1- to 2-inch pieces to the pot of boiling water.
3. Boil bean pieces until desired tenderness. Remove the bean pieces from the pot with a slotted spoon.

You can drizzle the boiled beans with a little extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, and lemon zest!

You can also add the cooked green beans to the garlic and tomatoes like this recipe and lightly saute for an additional few minutes.

Substitutions

What can you use instead of Italian flat beans?

Feel free to substitute regular green beans for the Italian-style if desired.

Variations

You can try the original Italian Flat Green Beans Recipe (with Tomatoes and Garlic) the first time and always try a variation the next time you make it!

• Spicy – add red pepper flakes to level up the heat in the green bean dish.
• Deluxe – sauté pancetta, bacon, Italian sausage or other meat and add with the cooked green beans. If you have a little bacon grease left over from making pasta carbonara add to the beans to add extra flavor.
• Cheese – top with parmigiano cheese if desired.
• Tomato variety –
• Italian seasoning – add extra dried or fresh herbs such as oregano, or rosemary.

Serving Suggestions

If looking to serve as a main dish, serve atop quinoa, brown rice, farro, or other whole grains. You can also toss with pasta, more veggies, and a protein source. You can serve it with Perfect Pork Tenderloin with Fennel (one of my favorite meat recipes), or Crispy Baked Cod with Panko Recipe.

Don’t forget your crust bread to go with the meal.

Regardless of how you serve these flat beans you will love this simple Italian green beans recipe!

Skillet recommendations

The skillet to use: I love cooking in a cast iron skillet. It distributes the heat evenly throughout the bottom of the pan and up into the sides. It’s naturally non stick and super durable. You can also use a dutch oven type pot.

Any large skillet will work for sausage and peppers if you don’t have or want to purchase a cast iron.

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Storage

Bonus: this recipe is even better the next day! The green beans will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days, if stored in an airtight container.

Italian Flat Beans FAQ

Make sure to leave a ⭐️star rating on the recipe card and comment below if you make the recipe. I love to connect with you through my recipes.

I would love for you to tag me on Instagram @cucinabyelena so I can see your delicious Italian recipes. To get more ideas, follow me on Pinterest.

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