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This viral Mediterranean dense bean salad combines bell peppers, shallots, cucumber, black olives, and salty feta over a base of zesty pinto beans and chickpeas. It’s high-protein, easy to make ahead, and keeps you feeling fuller for longer.
I’ve taken inspiration from my favorite Mediterranean salad, swapping fresh greens for beans in this recipe.
The Viral Dense Bean Salad
This Mediterranean-inspired dense bean salad is hearty, high in protein, and stores well in the fridge. Best of all, like my cannellini bean salad and chickpea salad, there are plenty of ways to customize this recipe to your tastes. In my case, I’ve gone full Macedonia-inspired and loaded it with bell peppers, cucumber, feta, and olives with a zesty vinaigrette inspired by my shopska salad. You can take the girl out of the Mediterranean, but you can’t take the Mediterranean out of the girl!
Why This Bean Salad Recipe Is a New Favorite
- Super filling. Swapping leafy greens for beans makes this salad extra satisfying, and it keeps me full for hours. I’ve made it many times as a quick lunch during the week.
- Very adaptable. There are plenty of ways to customize this dense bean salad recipe with your favorite ingredients and dressings. I’ll add sliced air fryer chicken breast or shrimp on top for even more protein.
- Make-ahead. This dense bean salad stays fresh in the fridge for a few days, so it’s great for meal prep.
- No cooking. I love this salad in the summer when I don’t feel like switching on the stove or oven. It’s easy to make with canned beans, and delicious served cold.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Below are some quick ingredient notes on what I use to make this dense bean salad. Scroll down to the printable recipe card for the full list with recipe details.
For the Salad
- Beans – You can make this salad with any canned or cooked beans (saving the dry ones for my beans and rice recipe). I usually use a mix of canned pinto beans and chickpeas.
- Bell Peppers – Any color, seeded and diced.
- Shallot – Or use another mild or sweet onion, also diced.
- Cucumber – I like to peel my cucumber before I chop it, but that’s totally optional. Feel free to leave the skins on if you prefer.
- Olives – These can be pitted black olives (pictured here), kalamata, green olives, or any kind you’d like. If olives aren’t your thing, skip them or replace them with another add-in, like pepperoncini or artichokes.
- Feta Cheese – I like to use crumbly, Greek feta. Crumbled Cotija cheese, grated or shaved Parmesan, or goat cheese are good substitutes. For a vegan version, use dairy-free cheese or leave it out.
- Parsley – Freshly chopped. You’ll find curly-leaf and Italian flat-leaf parsley in stores. I recommend flat-leaf for this recipe.
For the Dressing
- Olive Oil – Extra virgin olive oil is best for salad dressings. You could substitute avocado oil if needed.
- Lemon Juice – Freshly squeezed.
- Honey – Or another sweetener, like agave or sugar.
- Garlic – Freshly minced is best, but you can swap in ¼ teaspoon of garlic powder per clove.
- Mustard – I like to use Dijon, but yellow mustard or spicy brown mustard are all good choices here.
- Italian Herbs – Use a combination of individual dried herbs like oregano, basil, and thyme, plus salt and pepper to taste. Or, choose your favorite Italian seasoning blend from the store.
Recipe Tips
- Rinse the canned beans. If you’re using canned beans and chickpeas, be sure to drain the brine and rinse the beans well before you make the salad. See the How to section below the recipe card.
- Use a vegetable chopper. This vegetable chopper is a super handy kitchen gadget. I like to use it to dice up the veggies in this salad to the same size.
- Mix the dressing in a mason jar. Simply add all the ingredients to the jar, close the lid, and shake.
- Chill the salad in the fridge. I like to chill my bean salad in the fridge for 30 minutes before serving. It gives the flavors a chance to mingle and makes the salad extra refreshing.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can make this salad with black beans, kidney beans, cannellini beans, or navy beans. Just keep the measurements the same.
Yes. If you’re using canned beans, rinse and drain them well before you make the salad. Otherwise, they’ll dilute the dressing.
This dense bean salad lasts for up to 5 days in the fridge. If you’re making it ahead, I recommend leaving out the cucumbers until it’s time to serve so they don’t get soggy.
You can get creative with add-ins like fresh herbs, pickled veggies, chopped nuts, and more. See the Variations section after the recipe card for inspo.
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Dense Bean Salad
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 1½ cups canned pinto beans
- 1½ cups canned chickpeas
- ½ cup green bell pepper, seeded and diced
- ½ cup yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced
- ¼ cup shallots, diced
- 1 medium English cucumber, peeled and diced
- ⅓ cup pitted black olives, halved
- 4 ounces crumbled feta cheese
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
For the dressing:
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Rinse and drain the beans. Combine the canned beans and chickpeas in a colander. Rinse them well and allow them to drain.
- Prepare the veggies. Remove the seeds from the bell peppers. Dice the bell peppers and set aside. Peel and dice the shallots. Peel and dice the cucumbers. Cut the pitted olives into halves. Chop the parsley.
- Make the dressing. In a bowl, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, honey, minced garlic, mustard, and Italian herbs. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and whisk until emulsified.
- Assemble. Add the rinsed and drained beans, chickpeas, diced bell peppers, shallots, cucumber, olives, and parsley to a bowl. Pour the dressing over the salad and add crumbled feta cheese.
- Serve. Toss well to combine and serve the bean salad right away, or refrigerate it for 30 minutes before serving.
Equipment
Notes
- Use a vegetable chopper to ensure everything is evenly sized.
- You can use cooked beans and chickpeas instead of canned beans and chickpeas.
- The easiest way to blend the dressing ingredients is to add them all to a mason jar, apply the lid, and shake well.
- This salad can be customized with other types of canned or cooked beans like kidney, navy, or lima beans.
- If you want an alternative to feta cheese, consider using Cotija cheese.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
How to Make This Dense Bean Salad
This high-protein salad comes together in under 10 minutes and packs serious flavor, texture, and color. Everything I look for in a summer dish!
- Rinse and drain the beans. This is very important if you’re using canned beans. Empty the beans and chickpeas into a colander and rinse them well under cold water.
- Chop the veggies. Meanwhile, dice up the bell peppers, then peel and dice the shallots and cucumbers. Cut the pitted olives in half, and chop up the parsley.
- Make the dressing. Now, add the dressing ingredients to a bowl or jar. Whisk or shake until it’s blended and emulsified.
- Assemble the salad. Combine the beans, chickpeas, veggies, olives, and parsley in a bowl. Toss the ingredients with your prepared dressing and crumbled feta, then serve right away or refrigerate.
Variations
Remember when I mentioned this make-ahead salad was easy to customize? These are some ways to adapt this dense bean salad.
- Caesar. Toss the salad with shaved parmesan and Caesar dressing for a dense bean Caesar salad.
- Bacon and egg. Try adding hard-boiled eggs and bacon.
- Southwestern. Add black beans, canned corn, onions, and roasted red peppers for a Southwestern salad version topped with avocado lime dressing.
- Cobb. Add chopped chicken, bacon, eggs, tomato, and avocado for a Cobb salad variation topped with blue cheese dressing.
Storage
- Refrigerate. Store your dense bean salad in airtight containers in the fridge for up to 5 days. Stir the salad well before serving again to mix up the dressing.
- Do not freeze it. This salad does not freeze well. Sadly, the fresh vegetables and beans do not have a great texture once they’re thawed.
This was very good. It was easy to put together but it did take me more than 10 minutes to assemble. Closer to 1/2 hr.
I’m very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 😊
This salad is amazing ! I used sunflower oil and lime juice . It turned out so good !! Could you turn the leftovers into soup ? Would you just heat it and add chicken broth ? Do you think it would work ?
Hi!
Yes, you can absolutely turn the leftovers into soup! I’d heat everything in a pot, add some chicken broth (or veggie broth!), and maybe throw in some spinach or shredded chicken if you want to bulk it up a bit. Simmer it just until everything’s heated through. Let me know how it goes if you try it! ☺️