A tasty, colourful Easy Bean Salad that’s perfect for summer BBQs, picnics or just as a healthy side dish alongside a weeknight dinner.
I think bean salad is one of those salads where you can pretty much just throw in whatever you fancy, you can make it as simple or loaded as you like!
I use canned beans in my salads just because I want them ready simply, quickly and often last minute.
Seriously, our bean salad is just ridiculously easy!
I like to use a mixture of beans, sweetcorn, celery, salad onions and finely chopped peppers to add a pop of colour as well as extra taste.
I drizzle over some good dressing – usually a nice Italian Vinaigrette to keep it light and healthy.
I love the Italian Vinaigrette from Epicurious – simple and delicious, but if you’ve not time to make your own, just grab a good store bought bottle.
Easy Bean Salad Ingredients
- 400g can Borlotti beans – or you can use chickpeas, cannellini beans, black beans or kidney beans you could also grab yourself a can of mixed beans. Just pick your favourite.
- 300g can sweetcorn
- 1 red pepper – finely diced
- 4 spring onions – finely sliced
- 2-3 sticks celery – finely sliced
- Handful of mixed chopped herbs – I usually use Basil, Flat Leaf Parsley, Chives, Dill
- 3 tbs Italian salad dressing – you can swap this for any other dressing you like – blue cheese, creamy mayonnaise or try out our lime and ginger salad dressing here for a zesty fiery option.
Equipment Needed To Make This Salad Recipe
- Chopping board
- Sharp vegetable knife
- Sieve or colander
- Tablespoon
- Mixing bowl
- Serving bowl
How To Make Easy Bean Salad
Here’s how you make a bean salad from scratch and it’s ridiculously easy!
- Rinse the beans – tip the tinned beans and sweetcorn into a sieve or colander and rinse them under cold running water. Then set to drain for a few minutes.
- Mix the salad vegetables together – tip the beans, sweetcorn, pepper, onions and celery into a mixing bowl and stir everything together gently to mix.
- Scatter over the herbs – saving some for garnish at the end.
- Pour over the dressing – then stir through gently to coat everything.
- Add the herb garnish – scatter over the remaining herbs and serve.
How Long Can I Keep Bean Salad In The Fridge?
When using canned beans – check the side of the can for details but it’s usually 2 days in the fridge.
Make sure you store the bean salad in a non-metallic container and cover with a lid or cling film.
Is Bean Salad Good For You?
Totally! Beans are packed with fibre, B vitamins, protein and iron as well as being low fat.
Our Easy Bean Salad is also naturally vegan.
Plus adding a few spoonfuls of bean salad to your meal is an easy way to make sure you are eating towards your 5-a-day.
Get loads more easy dinner recipes here
What Other Vegetables Can I Put In Bean Salad?
You can add in whatever you like, this is your salad, you should add in the things that you just love to eat!
- different types of beans
- different coloured peppers
- beetroot cubes
- grated carrot or beets
- finely chopped fennel
- grated courgettes
- meat – fancy some meat in your bean salad? Try adding in some crispy bacon or even shredded ham or chicken, they all work well with beans.
- fish – seafood actually works really well with a bean salad. In particular cooked prawns or canned tuna, they taste so good with the beans and Italian style dressing.
Tips For Making The Best Bean Salad
- Make sure the beans are well rinsed and drained – otherwise your bean salad will be watery and soggy and that’ll ruin the flavours of the dressing.
- Be sure to chop up the added vegetables finely, ideally you want them to be smaller than the beans. This just makes the texture better.
- You don’t need to wait until serving to add the dressing to your bean-packed dish – I like the beans to marinate in the dressing for an hour or two, it just makes everything taste nicer.
How To Serve Bean Salad
If you’re wondering – what does a 3 bean salad go with? Then – we’ve loads of tasty ideas!
This bean-packed side dish is great alongside BBQ food or with picnics, it goes especially well with hot dogs.
You can add a little pot of our beans to packed lunches.
And it’s delicious served with buttery, fluffy baked potatoes.
We also love this just as a summery side dish with meat or chicken and a big green salad.
Get loads of lunch recipes and ideas here
More Easy Salad Recipes For You To Try
- Potato Salad with Radish and Herbs – a delicious, fresh tasting potato salad recipe that’s naturally vegan and has no creamy dressing.
- Carrot and Quinoa Salad – easy, healthy carrot salad that’s packed with flavour.
- Homemade Healthy Coleslaw (advertisement feature recipe) – skip the creamy dressing with this healthy slaw recipe.
Get lots of fresh and healthy salad recipes here
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Easy Bean Salad
Fresh and tasty bean salad that's perfect for summer
Ingredients
- 400g can Borlotti beans (or use chickpeas, cannellini beans, black beans or kidney beans)
- 300g can sweetcorn
- 1 red pepper - finely diced
- 4 salad onions - finely sliced
- 2-3 sticks celery - finely sliced
- Handful of mixed chopped herbs - I usually use Basil, Flat Leaf Parsley, Chives, Dill
- 3-4 tbs Italian dressing
Instructions
- Mix together the beans, sweetcorn and salad vegetables in a bowl.
- Scatter over the herbs (saving some for garnish)
- Pour over the dressing and stir through gently to coat everything.
- Add the herb garnish.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 327Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 837mgCarbohydrates: 54gFiber: 10gSugar: 20gProtein: 11g
Nutritional content will vary depending on the exact ingredients you use and how careful you are with measuring - this nutritional information is given as a general guide only and may not be accurate - you should always calculate your own nutritional information especially if you have specific dietary requirements.
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