This Bean Salad is a quick and delicious dish for spring and summer meals. It makes a great side dish or a main vegan entrée. Simple ingredients combine to create a perfect picnic dish or the perfect complement to a relaxing meal al fresco.
To make our Bean Salad, all you have to do is open a can of beans, add some onions and spices, and top off with a simple vinaigrette. Yes, it’s THAT easy! We use a combination of green, black, garbanzo, and kidney beans, but you can substitute in your own favorites. You may be thinking to yourself, that’s a lot of beans! Why so many?
Bean Salad Super Food!
Beans are a superfood, loaded with fiber and plant-based protein. The more varieties you sneak into the recipe, the healthier you’ll feel! One way to do that is to reduce the salt intake by draining and rinsing your beans before adding them to the bowl. This removes some of the salt added during processing. This isn’t the first time we’ve mentioned watching our salt intake, so this is a great tip to remember to keep those sodium levels down! The American Heart Association recommends no more than 1500 mg per day for adults. It’s super easy to underestimate how much sodium is in foods. Lots of packaged foods and restaurant meals have very high sodium levels. That may be why they taste so good but have such an adverse effect on your health.
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So what’s the lesson? Skip the salt shaker on your table! It might take some time to get used to eating foods that aren’t laden with salt, but you’ll soon learn how to use other spices and herbs to flavor your food. Drop us a line in the comments to let us know how you put your own spin on this recipe!
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Bean Salad
Ingredients
- 1 15 oz can black beans
- 1 15 oz can garbanzo beans
- 1 15 oz can light kidney beans
- 1 15 oz can green beans
- ½ red onion diced
- 1-2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 lemon juiced
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 tsp pepper
- 2-3 tbsp fresh parsley
Instructions
- Rinse and drain the beans and place them in a large bowl.
- Add onion, garlic and parsley and mix to incorporate.
- Add the olive oil, lemon juice and pepper to a glass jar and shake to combine.
- Pour dressing on top of the bean mixture and gently toss to combine ingredients with the dressing.
- For best results cover and refrigerate overnight, this allows the ingredients to marinate together.
Notes
- We also make this salad with fresh green beans from our garden in the summer. Steam the green beans before adding them to the salad. The freshness is amazing! If you do not have your own garden, visit your local farmers market. They really do taste the best.
