White Bean Salad

Full of fresh herb flavors, White Bean Salad comes together in a breeze. Made with canned or home cooked white beans, abundant fresh herbs, and a simple vinaigrette dressing, this salad is delicious as a light lunch on its own or as a side dish with all your favorite entrees. 

If there’s anything I’m good for, it’s a salad recipe. I eat salad in one form or another just about every day of the week. Whether it’s Greek Pasta Salad packed with veggies or a creamy Potato Salad filled with enough bacon to satisfy even the most ardent carnivore, if it’s a salad, chances are I’m on board.

Something else I eat almost as much as I eat salad? Beans. 

As a side dish or a main meal, I’m a little bean crazy and it shows. From Barbecue Bacon Spicy Baked Beans to Garlicky Refried Beans, beans show up on my dinner table several nights a week at least.

Can you blame me? They’re economical, tasty, versatile and good for you to boot. When planning family meals for seven hungry people (most of them teenage boys), these are the things you think about. In this respect, beans are just about the perfect food.

We even named one of our dogs “Frijole” (that’s bad Spanish for bean). The bean love runs deep in these parts, folks.

So it should come as no surprise to anyone that bean salads are 100% my jam. Spicy Corn and Black Bean Salad is a staple along with Mediterranean Tuna and White Bean Salad.

White Bean Salad

The Tuscan White Bean Salad I’m sharing today is an easy side dish that becomes a tasty lunch too. In fact, I think it’s even better after it’s sat in the fridge for a few days!

Spoon this over mixed greens and serve it alongside grilled chicken, fish, beef or pork for a full meal. The next day, enjoy leftovers with thick slices of toast to soak up the tangy dressing. I’ve even been known to dig into a bowl of this with a sleeve of crackers for a midnight snack.

Cannelini Bean Salad

Cannellini and navy varieties are my standard bean choices for this salad. Sometimes, when I go to make my bean salad and discover I’m out of one or both, I’ve substituted other kinds of beans to good results.

Chickpeas and black-eyed peas are delicious in this recipe, as are small white beans. A recipe that’s adaptable based on what I have in my pantry on any given day is a recipe for me. The key to this salad is in the fresh herbs, green onion and simple vinaigrette dressing.

White Bean Salad Recipe

To make White Bean Salad, open two cans of white beans. Yes, you can also use beans you’ve cooked yourself from dried, but I’m usually in far too much of a hurry for that!

After draining and rinsing the beans, add them to a big mixing bowl with one chopped scallion, a bunch of green onions and lots and lots of fresh herbs.

What kind of herbs should I use?

Any kind you like will do. I prefer a mixture of parsley, mint and cilantro for big freshness. Basil, rosemary and thyme are more options.

The herbs provide the dominant flavour and fragrance in this bean recipe, so whatever you use will have a big impact on the taste profile of the finished salad.

Once you’ve added your herbs, toss the whole salad with a generous drizzle of olive oil and white wine vinegar. I use pure olive oil in this dressing but extra virgin olive oil or garlic infused olive oil are also delicious here. If white vinegar wine vinegar is hard to come by, fresh lemon juice makes an excellent substitution!

Can I make white bean salad ahead of time?

This salad is delicious served immediately but I actually prefer it after a day or two in the fridge. It keeps for up to five days and the flavors get even brighter and more intense after a few days of marinating, so don’t be afraid to make this salad in advance.

Tuscan White Bean Salad

This salad recipe is plenty flavourful just as is but also makes a versatile canvas for creative additions and substitutions.

Add a can of drained albacore tuna to turn this into a Tuna White Bean Salad! Got leftover grilled chicken or a hardboiled egg stored in the fridge?

Chop it up and add it to your White Bean Salad for lunch. You could also stuff it into a tortilla  with lettuce and tomato for a White Bean Salad Wrap.

When life is busy, you can’t have enough easy-to-make recipes that you can use in a multitude of different ways. I’ve added this to a big bowl of greens with Homemade Croutons for lunch many-a-day and never been disappointed.

I’m never one to choose recipes based on health benefits alone but White Bean Salad just happens to be pretty darn good for you, too. Packed with protein and fiber, it’s suitable for vegans, vegetarians and gluten free friends alike. 

White Bean Salad wins for being able to impress both my hungry meat eating family and my vegetarian friends. Served as a side dish or as part of your main course, this bean salad delivers tons of herby flavour, tang and freshness with every bite.

Do you love substantial side dish salads? Try our Bresaola Parmesan Salad, Cranberry Brussels Salad with Bacon Vinaigrette, Melting Sweet Potato Salad with Candied Maple Pecans and Bacon, Fattoush -Crumbled Pita Chip Salad, Farro Salad with Kale, Marinated Chickpea Salad, Layered Chopped Taco Salad, Cucumber Scallion Salad {5 Minute Recipe}, Mediterranean Tuna and White Bean Salad, Barbecue Bacon Ranch Chopped Salad,and Grilled Mexican Street Corn Salad.

Looking for even more bean recipes? 

Beans and Greens is an easy lunch and dinner with lots of bean goodness and cooked greens.If you thought beans were only for lunch and dinner, think again. Wake up to these Slow-Cooker Breakfast Baked Beans for a delicious start to the day.

And if you want a recipe that goes with this bean salad like peas go with carrots, try out our Pickled Brussels Sprouts. You’ll be thrilled!

White Bean Salad