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This easy Italian bean salad is made with beans, fresh veggies and a flavorful vinaigrette. It’s the perfect healthy side dish to compliment any meal or even as a snack served with tortilla chips.
Why you’ll love this
If you’re looking for a light lunch, a simple side dish, or a great addition to your next potluck, this tasty Italian bean salad recipe is the perfect option.
It’s made with simple ingredients like beans, veggies and fresh herbs and comes together in minutes. And bonus, it tastes even better the next day, making it a fantastic meal prep option- I love prepping this alongside my Cape Cod Chicken Salad for a delicious nutrient-packed lunch.
And you can’t beat the nutrition stats of this easy healthy dish. A one-cup serving has 9 grams of protein and 8 grams of fiber!
This salad needs barely any prep time and it’s ridiculously easy to customize. You can swap in your favorite types of beans and veggies, add fun add-ins like feta or olives, and use whatever vinaigrette you like.
As a dietitian, easy nutrient-packed salads with fresh ingredients like this one that store well are some of my favorite recipes ever. Make this one on a Sunday and enjoy an easy nutritious side all week!
Ingredients
Salad ingredients
- Beans: You can use any beans that you like, but I like to use cannellini beans (aka white kidney beans), red kidney beans and garbanzo beans (chickpeas). I like the different colors and textures that each bean offers!
- Cucumber, cherry tomatoes and red onion: These fresh vegetables add the perfect amount of fresh flavor, color and crunch (plus tons of nutrients too!). You can also swap in sweet onion. Bell pepper or corn would work great here too, like in my healthy cowboy caviar recipe.
- Fresh parsley: Fresh parsley adds the perfect amount of fresh herb flavor. You could also change it up and add any other fresh herbs that you like!
Salad dressing ingredients
- White wine vinegar: Adds the perfect amount of tang!
- Lemon juice: Fresh lemon juice combined with the vinegar is one of my favorites- the zesty brightness of the lemon with the acidity of the vinegar works perfectly to make this dressing delicious.
- Olive oil: I prefer extra-virgin olive oil but you can also use another oil, like avocado oil.
- Dijon mustard: Dijon mustard helps to emulsify the dressing and gives a little burst of flavor, too.
- Honey: Just a little bit of honey adds the perfect amount of sweetness to balance out the acidity.
- Fresh garlic: I’m a huge fan of fresh garlic in my salad dressings because it adds a fresh bold flavor that garlic powder just doesn’t offer! Grab a garlic microplane and you’ll never have to mince garlic again.
- Salt: Salt helps to enhance the rest of the flavors of the dish.
PS- if you don’t feel like making your own dressing, you can use your favorite Italian vinaigrette from the grocery store instead.
How to make Italian Bean Salad
Step 1: In a large bowl add beans, cucumber, tomatoes, red onion and parsley. (Save yourself chopping time with a veggie chopper!).
Step 2: In a small bowl whisk together vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, honey, garlic, dijon mustard and salt. Add additional salt to taste.
Step 3: Pour vinaigrette over the bean and veggie mixture.
Step 4: Toss gently to combine. Add additional salt and pepper to taste and serve cold.
How to store
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Dressing will settle to the bottom of the container so gently toss with combine before serving.
Variations
- Swap the vinegar for different vinaigrette variations. Red wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar and balsamic vinegar are all delicious in their own way.
- More veggies! Bell peppers, fresh green beans or corn would all be delicious.
- Add chopped rotisserie chicken for a high protein bean salad that can stand alone as a meal.
- Add sliced green olives or kalamata olives for a different flavor.
- Use different beans! Black beans, navy beans, butter beans and great northern beans would all work.
- Add chopped roasted red peppers or sun-dried tomatoes.
- Add a sharp bold cheese like feta cheese, parmesan or goat cheese.
Serving suggestions
I love having this with just about any dinner as a side or on it’s own as a snack, but you can also serve with:
- Crusty bread (or on top of crostini)
- As a side for grilled chicken, fish or shrimp
- On top of greens for an easy flavorful salad
- With tortilla chips as a tasty fresh veggie dip
More salads you’ll love
- Healthy Cowboy Caviar
- Cucumber Chickpea Salad with Tomatoes & Feta
- Grinder Pasta Salad
- Cucumber Mango Salad
- Broccoli Crunch Salad
Italian Bean Salad
Ingredients
- 1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup cucumber, diced small
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 cup red onion, diced small
- 1/3 cup parsley, finely chopped
Dressing
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 tbsp honey
- 1 clove garlic, finelly minced or microplaned
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl add beans, cucumber, tomatoes, red onion and parsley.
- In a small bowl whisk together vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, honey, garlic, dijon mustard and salt. Add additional salt to taste.
- Pour vinaigrette over the bean and veggie mixture and toss gently to combine.
Notes
- Swap in any beans that you enjoy or have on hand.
- For more veggies, add a bell pepper.
- To save time use your favorite bottled Italian dressing or vinaigrette.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Dressing will settle to the bottom of the container so gently toss with combine before serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should only be used as an estimate.
Doubled the cucumber and honey to accommodate my taste and added a sprinkle of red pepper flakes. A keeper!
So happy you enjoyed it! Thank you for leaving a review 🙂
Loved this – added quinoa for the perfect meal prep lunch!