This Mediterranean-inspired dense bean salad combines bell peppers, shallots, cucumber, black olives, and salty feta over a base of zesty pinto beans and chickpeas. It’s the right salad to make forward and retains you feeling fuller for longer.
I’ve taken inspiration from my favourite Mediterranean salad, swapping recent greens for beans!
I suppose it comes with the territory of “meals blogger”, however my TikTok feed is frequently full of cooking inspiration, from scrumptious seasonal recipes like Boursin pasta and rooster cobbler to white claw slushies. This dense bean salad is yet one more viral TikTok recipe that I couldn’t resist testing for myself. They name this a “dense” bean salad as a result of it trades lettuce for a base of hearty combined beans as a substitute.
In my case, I’ve gone full Macedonia-inspired and loaded it up with bell peppers, cucumber, feta, and olives in a zesty French dressing. You may take the lady out of the Mediterranean, however you may’t take the Mediterranean out of the lady!
Causes to Love This Dense Bean Salad Recipe
- Tremendous filling. Changing leaves with beans makes a dense bean salad further satisfying. I discover that I keep fuller for longer.
- Very adaptable. After getting your multi-bean base, something and the whole lot goes! I’m sharing a zesty Mediterranean-style salad, however there are many methods you can customise a dense bean salad along with your favourite elements and dressings. I embody extra concepts additional on.
- Simple to retailer. Not solely is a dense bean salad heartier, but it surely shops higher within the fridge than a standard inexperienced salad. This implies you can also make it days upfront and revel in all of it week lengthy.
What You’ll Want
Under are some fast ingredient notes on what I take advantage of to make this dense bean salad, plus what you’ll want for the dressing. Scroll right down to the printable recipe card for the complete record with recipe particulars. You’ll additionally discover a picture step-by-step exhibiting tips on how to make this salad beneath the recipe card.
- Beans – You may customise this salad with any canned or cooked beans. I take advantage of a mixture of canned pinto beans and chickpeas. Different good choices are kidney, navy, or lima beans.
- Bell Peppers – Any colour, seeded and diced.
- Shallot – Or use one other delicate or candy onion, additionally diced.
- Cucumber – I prefer to peel my cucumber earlier than I chop it, however that’s completely elective. Be at liberty to go away the skins on when you desire.
- Olives – These might be pitted black olives (pictured right here), kalamata, inexperienced olives, or any form you’d like. If olives aren’t your factor, skip them or substitute them with one other add-in, like pepperoncini or artichokes.
- Feta Cheese – I like to make use of crumbly, Greek feta. Crumbled Cotija cheese, grated or shaved parmesan, or goat cheese are good substitutes.
- Parsley – Freshly chopped. You’ll discover curly-leaf and Italian flat-leaf parsley in shops. I like to recommend flat-leaf for this recipe.
For the Dressing
- Olive Oil – Further virgin olive oil is finest for salad dressings. You could possibly substitute avocado oil if wanted.
- Lemon Juice – Freshly squeezed.
- Honey – Or one other sweetener, like agave or sugar.
- Garlic – Freshly minced is finest, however you may swap in ¼ teaspoon of garlic powder per clove.
- Mustard – I like to make use of Dijon, however yellow mustard or spicy brown mustard are all good decisions right here.
- Italian Herbs – Use a mixture of particular person dried herbs like oregano, basil, and thyme, plus salt and pepper to style. Or, select your favourite Italian seasoning mix from the shop.
Recipe Ideas
- Rinse the canned beans. Should you’re utilizing canned beans and chickpeas, remember to drain the brine and rinse the beans nicely earlier than you make the salad. See the The way to part beneath the recipe card.
- Use a vegetable chopper. Who remembers the Slap Chop infomercials?! It seems, a vegetable chopper is a brilliant helpful kitchen gadget. I like to make use of mine to cube up the veggies on this salad to the identical dimension.
- Combine the dressing in a mason jar. Merely add all of the elements to the jar, shut the lid, and shake.
- Chill the salad within the fridge. I like to relax my bean salad within the fridge for half-hour earlier than serving. It provides the flavors an opportunity to mingle and makes the salad further refreshing.
- Completely different dressing. You may end off this dense bean salad with any of your favourite home made salad dressings.
Dense Bean Salad Variations
You may flip nearly any basic salad recipe right into a dense bean salad simply by altering out the greens for beans as a substitute! I like this Mediterranean-inspired recipe, however there are such a lot of concepts to attempt:
- Caesar. High the salad with crunchy croutons (created from leftover focaccia bread), shaved parmesan, and Caesar dressing for a dense bean spin on Caesar salad.
- Avocado. Add in diced avocado, cubed feta, and halved cherry tomatoes like my avocado salad.
- Inexperienced beans. Take inspiration from this inexperienced bean salad and add blanched inexperienced beans, hard-boiled eggs, and bacon, tossed with a simple lemon parmesan French dressing.
- Southwestern. Add black beans, canned corn, onions, and roasted pink peppers for a Southwestern salad model topped with cilantro lime dressing or avocado lime dressing.
- Cobb. Add chopped rooster, bacon, eggs, tomato, and avocado for a Cobb salad variation topped with blue cheese dressing. You could possibly additionally make a Chef salad model with chopped deli meats and cheese.
Making a dense bean salad right into a fuller meal is as straightforward as including sliced air fryer rooster breast or leftover parmesan crusted rooster on prime. You could possibly additionally add a salmon filet or lemon garlic shrimp, or a zucchini fritter for a vegetarian model. See the following part for extra serving strategies.
Storing Leftovers
Retailer your dense bean salad in hermetic containers within the fridge for as much as 5 days. It’s nice to make forward, and you may also preserve any leftover dressing individually in a jar.
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Rinse and drain the beans. Mix the canned beans and chickpeas in a colander. Rinse them nicely and permit them to empty.
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Put together the veggies. Take away the seeds from the bell peppers. Cube the bell peppers and put aside. Peel and cube the shallots. Peel and cube the cucumbers. Lower the pitted olives into halves. Chop the parsley.
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Make the dressing. In a bowl, mix the olive oil, lemon juice, honey, minced garlic, mustard, and Italian herbs. Season to style with salt and pepper, and whisk till emulsified.
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Assemble. Add the rinsed and drained beans, chickpeas, diced bell peppers, shallots, cucumber, olives, and parsley to a bowl. Pour the dressing over the salad and add crumbled feta cheese.
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Serve. Toss nicely to mix and serve the bean salad immediately, or refrigerate it for half-hour earlier than serving.
- Use a vegetable chopper to make sure the whole lot is evenly sized.
- You need to use cooked beans and chickpeas as a substitute of canned beans and chickpeas.
- The best solution to mix the dressing elements is so as to add all of them to a mason jar, apply the lid, and shake nicely.
- This salad might be custom-made with different kinds of canned or cooked beans like kidney, navy, or lima beans.
- If you would like an alternative choice to feta cheese, think about using Cotija cheese.
Serving: 1.5cups | Energy: 371kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 12g | Fats: 23g | Saturated Fats: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 2g | Monounsaturated Fats: 13g | Ldl cholesterol: 25mg | Sodium: 862mg | Potassium: 564mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 678IU | Vitamin C: 63mg | Calcium: 230mg | Iron: 3mg
Dietary data is an estimate and offered as courtesy. Values might fluctuate in keeping with the elements and instruments used. Please use your most popular dietary calculator for extra detailed data.
The way to Make a Mediterranean Dense Bean Salad
Right here’s tips on how to make the viral dense bean salad in 10 minutes or much less!
- Rinse and drain the beans. This is essential when you’re utilizing canned beans. Empty the beans and chickpeas right into a colander and rinse them nicely beneath chilly water.
- Chop the veggies. In the meantime, cube up the bell peppers, then peel and cube the shallots and cucumbers. Lower the pitted olives in half, and chop up the parsley.
- Make the dressing. Now, add the dressing elements to a bowl or jar. Whisk or shake till that’s blended and emulsified.
- Assemble the salad. Mix the beans, chickpeas, veggies, olives, and parsley in a bowl. Toss the elements along with your ready dressing and crumbled feta, then serve immediately or refrigerate.
