Italian Bean Salad (Printable Version)
Tender beans and crisp vegetables tossed in a zesty Italian dressing for a refreshing side dish.
# What You Need:
→ Beans
01 - 1 can (15 oz) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
02 - 1 can (15 oz) kidney beans, drained and rinsed
03 - 1 can (15 oz) garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed
→ Vegetables
04 - 1 small red onion, finely chopped
05 - 1 red bell pepper, diced
06 - 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
07 - 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
08 - 1/2 cucumber, diced
09 - 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
→ Italian Dressing
10 - 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
11 - 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
12 - 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
13 - 1 clove garlic, minced
14 - 1 tsp dried oregano
15 - 1/2 tsp salt
16 - 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
# Directions:
01 - In a large mixing bowl, combine all three cans of drained and rinsed beans — cannellini, kidney, and garbanzo.
02 - Add the chopped red onion, diced bell peppers, halved cherry tomatoes, diced cucumber, and chopped parsley to the bowl with the beans.
03 - In a small bowl or jar, whisk together the extra-virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, minced garlic, dried oregano, salt, and black pepper until well emulsified.
04 - Pour the dressing over the bean and vegetable mixture. Gently toss everything together until evenly coated.
05 - Taste and adjust seasoning as desired. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to meld together.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- Zero cooking required, which means your kitchen stays cool even on the hottest days.
- The dressing gets better as it sits, so making it ahead actually improves everything.
- It feeds a crowd cheaply and looks beautiful doing it.
02 -
- Do not skip the chilling step because warm bean salad is a sad, flat thing that does no one any favors.
- Rinsing canned beans until completely clean removes the starchy liquid that makes the dressing cloudy and slightly metallic.
03 -
- Make double the dressing and keep half in a jar in the fridge for salads throughout the week.
- Let the salad sit out for fifteen minutes before serving so the olive oil loosens up and the flavors bloom at room temperature.