This Easy White Bean Salad recipe is a fresh, healthy, and simple vegan side dish! Perfect served with so many meals and it's great for summer grilling season. Just canned white beans, some veggies, and an easy lemon dressing.
Loaded with plant-based protein from the white beans, this vegan bean salad is a healthy option. Try experimenting with different veggies that you have on hand. There are lots of options!
This is a great side dish to serve in the summer along your favorite grilled entrees - like this Grilled Pork Tenderloin, Lemon Grilled Chicken Thighs, or Grilled Honey Mustard Chicken.
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⭐Why I Love It:
- No Cooking Required - I love recipes that don't require the stove or oven, especially on a hot summer day!
- Pantry Staple - A great recipe to use that can of white beans sitting in your pantry!
- Light and Fresh Side Dish - The combination of tomatoes, beans, herbs, and lemon dressing is light and refreshing. Perfect side dish along an easy protein like this air fryer bbq chicken.
🥘Ingredients You'll Need:
- Canned White Beans - Great Northern or Cannellini are my favorites to use. I also love white beans in this Tuna Meal Prep with White Beans recipe or Tuscan White Bean Pasta.
- Cherry or Grape Tomatoes
- Red Onion
- Fresh Parsley
- Fresh Cilantro
- Lemon Dressing: Olive Oil, Lemon Juice (fresh is preferred!), Minced Garlic, Salt and Pepper
🔪Step by Step Instructions:
It takes only 10 minutes to prep this white bean salad recipe!
- Prepare Salad Ingredients. Rinse and drain white beans. Mince the red onion, halve the cherry tomatoes, and chop the fresh herbs.
- Mix Dressing. Either by whisking in a small bowl or shaking in a jar, mix up the dressing ingredients.
- Toss Salad. Add the salad ingredients to a medium bowl and toss with some or all of the lemon dressing (amount is up to you!). Taste and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
💭Recipe Tips:
- Drain and Rinse the Beans - Don't skip this step! Whenever using canned beans in a recipe, 99% of the time you'll be instructed to drain and rinse the beans first. The liquid in the can is thick, starchy, and very salty.
- Fresh Herbs are Key. Using fresh parsley and cilantro (vs dried) makes a huge difference! But, if you don't like cilantro, you can use more parsley etc. I like to chop the herbs pretty fine so it incorporates well.
👩🍳Recipe FAQs
You can use dried beans instead of cans, but you'll need to soak and cook them first. I prefer using canned as they are very convenient and I always have them in my pantry.
Leftover white bean salad can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge. It will keep fresh for 3-4 days, but is best enjoyed within a day of making. When making it for meal prep, I recommend not adding the tomatoes, and slicing just before serving. Sliced tomatoes will dry out and not have the ideal texture.
Both Cannellini and White Navy Beans are white beans and can be found in most grocery stores. Cannellini beans are larger, have a kidney shape, and are 'meatier' than Navy or Great Northern Beans
🥗Related Side Dish Recipes
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PrintRecipe
Easy White Bean Salad
This Easy White Bean Salad recipe is a fresh, healthy, and simple vegan side dish! Perfect served with so many meals and it's great for summer grilling season. Just canned white beans, some veggies, and an easy lemon dressing.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings
- Category: Sides
- Method: No Cook
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
White Bean Salad
- 2 15oz cans White Beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 pint Cherry Tomatoes, halved
- ⅓ cup finely diced Red Onion
- ¼ cup finely chopped Fresh Parsley
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped Fresh Cilantro
Lemon Dressing
- ¼ cup Olive Oil
- 3 tablespoons Lemon Juice
- ½ teaspoon Minced Garlic
- Salt and Pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Prepare Salad Ingredients: Rinse and drain white beans. Mince the red onion, halve the cherry tomatoes, and chop the fresh herbs.
- Mix Dressing: Either by whisking in a small bowl or shaking in a jar, mix up the dressing ingredients until well combined. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Toss Salad. Add the salad ingredients to a medium bowl and toss with some or all of the lemon dressing (amount is up to you! I like to use it all). Taste and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Notes
Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 4 days, with or without the dressing. For best results for meal prep, I recommend not slicing and adding the tomatoes until just before serving.
I use Cannellini or Great Northern Beans
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ⅙ of recipe
- Calories: 314
- Sugar: 4.1 g
- Sodium: 91.8 mg
- Fat: 11.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 40.6 g
- Fiber: 11.8 g
- Protein: 13.7 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Keywords: White Bean Salad, Vegan Bean Salad, Easy White Bean Salad, Fresh White Bean Salad
Katie says
One of our favorite no-cook dinner sides
★★★★★