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Light, refreshing, delicious Mediterranean White Bean Salad is surprisingly hearty year-round, for a burst of fresh flavor you can enjoy without breaking the bank!
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At Sweet C’s, I add lots of tips in all of my recipes – because I am a home cook without any formal training, and I find I am more confident making dishes when I understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe – my goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.
I want each reader to walk away with a solid knowledge of each recipe, with all of the tips I’ve gathered from extensive testing of each recipe. I also answer questions my friends and family have asked about my recipes, to help everyone better understand the processes we use – and why!
Table of contents
Hearty Budget White Bean Salad
I love this salad, because it uses cherry tomatoes and cucumbers – which can both be grown indoors, year-round if you have a container growing setup, or a hydroponic kit. They are both also easy to find at grocery stores year-round, so you can get fresh flavor, no matter the season.
We’re using canelenni white beans, which have a great hearty, buttery flavor that is rich and delicious, perfect with salty feta and light bright vegetables.
This salad is incredibly versatile – mix in other vegetables you have on hand like fresh broccoli or cauliflower florets, sautee some zucchini or yellow squash to add in, or stir in Perfect Sauteed Mushrooms for a meaty flavor – you can also add in Easy Baked Chicken Breasts, or Garlic Parmesan Air Fried Shrimp for more of a main dish.
I hope you love this recipe as much as we do!
How to Make White Bean Salad
To make this salad, you’ll need:
- Lemon – lemon juice is very acidic and gives the dressing a bright taste
- Dijon mustard – Dijon mustard is spicy and has a rich flavor because it has white wine in it. It is the main flavor for this dressing and makes it creamy.
- Garlic – pressed garlic gives a very strong earthy flavor to this dressing. You can fine dice it if you don’t have a garlic press.
- Italian seasoning – Italian seasoning is a mixture of classic Italian spices like basil, thyme, oregano, and marjoram. See tips and tricks below on how to mix your own.
- Thyme – even though this has Italian seasoning you want the thyme to stand out so add a little extra.
- Olive oil – olive oil adds fat to this dressing and bring it together so the dressing can coat the beans well.
- Cannellini beans – use cooked, drained cannellini beans. These particular beans have a great flavor and texture and they absorb the dressing well.
- Cucumbers – cucumbers add a nice fresh flavor and raw texture to this salad.
- Cherry Tomatoes – halved tomatoes give a sweet pop. You can leave them whole but cutting them in half lets the dressing soak into them.
- Feta Cheese – feta has a salty creamy flavor and is very strong. Make sure you crumble it well so you don’t get a big bite.
- Flaky Sea Salt – Salt helps season all the ingredients in the salad.
- Black Pepper – Pepper adds a nice spicy pepper, use salt and black pepper to taste.
- Parsley – parsley adds a nice freshness and herbaceous bite.
Once you’ve gathered your ingredients, we will use the following method:
Assemble the dressing. In a large bowl add the lemon juice, dijon mustard, garlic, Italian seasoning, and thyme. Whisk to combine. Slowly add the olive oil as you whisk quickly so you can fully emulsify it.
Add beans and veggies. Add the beans, tomatoes, and cucumbers. Stir to coat the vegetables in the dressing. Top the salad with the feta. Season with salt and pepper. Taste and add more as needed. Top with chopped parsley and enjoy!
Tips and Tricks for Perfect White Bean Salad
Season to taste. When you have mixed all the ingredients take time to add the salt and pepper incrementally tasting as you go. Every good chef knows, tasting your food is critical to getting that perfect blend of flavors.
Mix up the beans. If you want to mix it up try doing half pinto beans, half cannellini beans. You can use any ratio or mixture of cooked and drained/rinsed beans for different tastes and textures to this salad.
Mix your own Italian Seasoning. In a medium bowl or mason jar mix 2 tablespoons for the following dried spices: basil, oregano, rosemary, marjoram, cilantro, thyme, savory, and red pepper flakes. Store up to 6 months.
FAQs
This salad can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two days. Without the feta, this salad will stay fresh for up to four days.
You can use pinto, great northern, or butterbeans to this salad for a similar flavor and texture.
Other Salad Recipes You’ll Love
If you enjoy this white bean salad, check out these recipes next!
To see all of our bean recipes click here!
Mediterranean White Bean Salad Recipe
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Mediterranean White Bean Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon grated garlic
- ½ teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon fresh minced thyme
- ? cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 15 ounce cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 persian cucumbers, sliced into half moons
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
- 4 ounces crumbled feta
- 1 tsp flakey sea salt
- ¼ tsp fresh ground black pepper
- Chopped parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Add the lemon juice, dijon mustard, grated garlic, italian seasoning, and thyme to a large bowl. Whisk to combine.
- Add the olive oil slowly, whisking as you pour. Continue whisking until the dressing is fully emulsified.
- Add the cannellini beans, sliced cucumbers, and halved tomatoes. Stir to coat the vegetables with the dressing.
- Top the salad with crumbled feta. Taste and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Garnish with chopped parsley if desired.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
So happy I stumbled across this recipe – very nervous but excited to make this tonight! I’m a vegetarian but my boyfriend isn’t..and he’s dying for some scallops so I plan on making him a nice dinner tonight. I think this recipe will be perfect!