An easy and simple summer bean salad recipe. Simple ingredients come together is a bright and lemony salad. Serve this as part of any summer meal. BBQs. Potlucks. Full of good for you plant-based proteins, this bean salad is vegan and gluten-free.
The easy salad recipe is full or easy to come by ingredients. So don't save it just for summer. You could make this any time of year.
Fresh herbs and bright lemon flavors scream summer and make for a refreshing side dish. I love this simple bean salad for summer BBQs and potlucks. But really, you can find fresh ingredients - celery, carrots, onions, and some fresh herbs - any time of the year to pull this one together.
Whatever you do, don’t skimp on the fresh herbs and red pepper flakes. Otherwise, this would just be some ordinary lunch salad that you probably will never make again. And really, you should make this all the time.
I love taking this dish to work for lunch. It's healthy and light and the lemony-garlicky dressing is just so fresh. Makes a packed work lunch interesting. Because work lunches need to be interesting. This bean salad will keep for a few days. So go ahead make a big batch and nibble on it all week.
More packable lunch salad ideas:
- Cannellini Bean Salad with Roasted Red Peppers {vegan + gf}
- Black Bean and Corn Salad with Feta {gf}
- Sushi Salad with Brown Rice and Edamame {vegan + gf}
How to make great bean salads:
Use canned for pre-cooked beans. I like to cook my own beans in large batches and then stashing in the freezer. Here is a guide to using your instant pot to cook dried beans.
- If using canned beans, you will need 2 -19oz cans.
- If using cooked from scratch beans, you will need about 4 to 4-½ cups of fully cooked beans.
- If using 15oz cans you will about 3 cans.
Drain canned beans before using them. I usually pour the beans in a colander first and let them hang out in the sink while I make the rest of the salad.
Let the dressed salad chill and marinate for a while. Go ahead and make this first thing in the morning for a late lunch or dinner. The longer the salad sits the more the beans will absorb the lemony dressing.
The dressing is very dependant on the lemons. I find sometimes lemons are just not sweet at all. Bitter almost. If you find yourself with bitter lemons (it happens) just add a little bit of sweetener to the dressing. A tablespoon or so of maple syrup is all you need. It will just help mellow the zip of the lemons that is making you pucker.
Use a combination of herbs here. I like basil, chives or parsley and then something stronger - like sage, oregano or thyme. Just a little of this stronger herb is needed. Say, 1 teaspoonn out of the 2 tablspoons total fresh herbs in the dressing.
Lemon and Herb Summer Bean Salad
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 1 small red onion finely chopped (about 1 cup)
- ½ cup celery thinly sliced
- 1 cups shredded carrots about 2 large carrots
- ½ cup fresh parsley chopped
- 2 19 oz cans cannellini beans or other white beans
- zest of one lemon
For the Dressing:
- juice of 2 lemons
- 2 cloves garlic minced or pushed through a press
- 2 Tablespoons fresh sage or basil cut into thinly strips (chiffonade)
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 4 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon liquid sweetener (optional) such as maple syrup or brown rice syrup. Use as needed, I often skip this all together
Instructions
- In a large bowl combine all salad ingredients.
- In a mason jar with a lid combine all dressing ingredients, tightly fix lid to jar and shake well to combine. (Alternatively, add all ingredients to a small bowl and whisk to combine). Pour dressing over salad. Taste for seasonings, add more salt and pepper if desired. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 3 days.
Joanne Ozug says
!!!!!!!!!!! This looks so bright and refreshing and delicious. I would totally love some of this. If it weren't 11 o'clock at night I'd make this. I'm going to make it tomorrow! Yum!!!!!
infinebalance says
that the problem with blog surfing at night 😉
Suzi says
I am cookied and caked out myself and this looks very tasty and easy to make. Very nice. Happy Holidays!
Ann says
Oh, this is PERFECT! I have had a great time with my holiday baking and I REALLY scaled it down this year to be a little more healthy - and I've been craving veggies like mad! Thanks!
Granny says
I was just talking about "better the next day" food in the article I posted today... I love the simplicity and mindfulness of a good, hearty salad and you are so right, it comes a time, in the midst of Holiday indulging, when enough is enough and a refreshing and healthy break sounds far better than the next dozen cookies, as scrumptious as they may be. Thanks.
Kristi Rimkus says
I really like the fresh sage in this dish. I've saved it to make for a good work day lunch. I hope you had a good holiday. 🙂
infinebalance says
Perfect lunch salad. Happy holidays to you too!
Miriam says
I go through phases when I get tired of my pots and pans (and just want someone else to cook for a change), and other times when I can't wait to get to the kitchen and create. I know what you mean :). That salad looks awesome, by the way!
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Jessica @Vegbooks says
Yum! I love lemon and fresh herbs.
infinebalance says
Thanks Jessica! Thanks for stopping by.