Dense Bean Salad
This Mediterranean-inspired dense bean salad combines bell peppers, cucumber, black olives, and crumbly feta over a zesty base of beans and chickpeas.
Servings: 4 servings
Equipment
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.
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
Serving: 1.5cups | Calories: 371kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 25mg | Sodium: 862mg | Potassium: 564mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 678IU | Vitamin C: 63mg | Calcium: 230mg | Iron: 3mg
