Mediterranean White Bean Salad
This lemony, herby white bean salad has a fresh, bright Mediterranean flavor. This is a simple salad made with white beans, chickpeas, artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes, and feta, everything tossed in a tangy olive oil-based dressing.
I love side dishes like this that are light, refreshing and don’t need elaborate preparation, especially during warm months. It is loaded with protein, delicious, and also holds up pretty well as a leftover. And above all, you don’t need lettuce in every salad. I have also added chickpeas along with white beans for texture, then there are artichoke hearts, roasted pepper, and sun-dried tomato, salty bites of feta.
Once underrated, beans have been gaining a lot of popularity recently. Not only a rich source of protein, but it’s also high in fiber. The creamy texture makes it a perfect ingredient in soups and dips.
An interesting salad that is worth adding to your summer salad list. Serve it as a side dish with grilled meat, on sourdough, or with crackers.
Ingredeints
- White beans- Canned ones or you can soak and cook dry beans until its soft and tender but still holding its shape. Make sure you drain and rinse canned beans well.
- Chickpeas – I like the texture it adds, but you can substitute it with another can of white beans. Make sure you drain and rinse canned beans well.
- Red Onion– Sliced
- Artichokes – canned artichoke hearts. It gives body and bulk to the salad. If you are not a fan of artichoke, then skip it. Roughly chop the big chunks.
- Roasted red pepper– Roasted red pepper adds the smokiness and also
- Sundried Tomatoes – Good quality sundried tomatoes in olive oil, as we are using the same flavoured oil for the dressing.
- Feta– feta cut into small cubes.
- Herbs- I have used parsley and basil.
For Lemon olive oil dressing
- Olive oil– I have used the oil from the sundried tomato jar for extra flavor, however, you can use regular olive oil as well.
- Lemon– Fresh lemon juice. You can use zest of a lemon for added flavour.
- Red wine vinegar- I love the fruitiness that it adds, however, you can skip this and add more lemon juice.
- Garlic– Fresh minced garlic
- Honey – To balance the sourness of the dressing.
- Dijon mustard
- Salt and pepper
Making Of Bean Salad
Putting together the salad is quite easy and quick. There is not much chopping or cutting involved.
Tangy Olive Oil Dressing-
The lemon dressing is thick and creamy, so it sticks to the beans. A bit of Dijon mustard along with lemon juice helps emulsify the dressing. Use a milk frother or shake vigorously in a jar to get the creamy consistency.
Mix together olive oil from the jar, red wine vinegar, fresh lemon juice, Dijon mustard, honey, salt, and pepper well. I use a milk frother to make the dressing extra creamy. It should taste tangy with a slight hint of sweetness. You can always adjust it by adding more fresh lemon juice or honey as per your liking.
Toss the rest of the ingredients –
To the above dressing, add chopped parsley and sliced onion. Let it rest for 10 minutes, and then add rest of the ingredients and toss well. For the best flavours, let the salad sit in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours and then serve.
Want to make ahead or store leftovers?
The good news is that this salad can be made 2-3 days ahead and stored. In fact the beans soak up all the dressing and taste better.
To store any leftovers, keep them in an air-tight container for up to 4 days. Make sure you toss the salad well before serving, as the dressing tends to settle down upon storing.
Pair this salad with
The thing with salad is that you can serve it as a side dish or make it a whole meal. Take it to potluck or BBQ parties. Serve with grilled chicken or chicken kebabs . I love serving the leftovers with crackers or even sourdough toast.
Want to bulk it up even more? Mix canned tuna with the bean salad and use it as a sandwich/ wrap stuffing.
More Light Summer Salads
Mediterranean Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 2 X 14 oz White beans/ Cannellini Beans
- 14 oz Chickpeas
- 4 oz Artichoke Heart
- 1 Red Onion
- 4 oz Feta cubes
- 1 jar Roasted Red peppers
- 1 cup Sundried Tomato chopped
- â…“ cup chopped parsley
- Handful of Italian basil
For dressing
- â…“ cup Olive oil (I have used oil from sun dried tomato jar)
- 1 teaspoon Red wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons Fresh Lemon Juice
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 2-3 teaspoons Honey
- 2 Garlic
- Salt & pepper
Instructions
- Roughly chop sundried tomatoes, and artichoke hearts. Drain, rinse, and drain well the beans.
Make Salad Dressing
- Mix together all the ingredients for the dressing. Taste and add a bit more honey if it feels too sour. ( The dressing is supposed to taste a bit tangy).
- Add sliced onion and chopped parsley. Let everything rest for 10 minutes.
Assemble Salad
- Add drained beans, artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes, and roasted red bell peppers, roughly torn Italian basil. Toss everything well.
Notes
- Make sure you drain, rinse the canned beans well. After rinsing drain it well so that no extra liquid gets into the salad.Â
- Try resting the salad for at least 2 hours and tossing once or twice in between for the beans to soak up the flavour.
