Mixed Bean Salad Without Green Beans

I grew up in the Canadian prairies, and I am very familiar with the various bean salads out there (three, four, five bean, six would be hubris), but I never liked the green beans. They are soggy and don’t belong in bean salad! Canned green beans are just not very nice and bean salad can be so much better than that – something you actually want to eat, rather than the side dish that no one really likes.

This version is the one we make all the time, with canned mixed beans (big and small white beans, kidney beans, and chickpeas), cucumber, onion, herbs, and a simple French-style vinaigrette. It makes a genuinely good salad that’s packed with protein, fibre, and iron, and it lasts days in the refrigerator so you can make it in advance for speedy lunches.

It’s all about texture here, and cucumber adds a nice fresh crunch that’s often missing from old-fashioned bean salad recipes. Consider this a starting point and add other vegetables to the mix, a little crumbled feta, and so on. I’ve been trying to increase my iron intake and this has been a solid lunch while doing that. It’s a meal I always look forward to.

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Ingredients You’ll Need and Why

A couple cans of mixed beans, an onion, cucumber, and handful of parsley make up the bulk of this salad. These are my notes from recipe testing. Find the full recipe card below with complete measurements and instructions.

• Mixed beans: use two standard 400ml (14 oz.) cans of mixed beans, and try to find a blend that doesn’t include black beans. Ideally it should be big and small white beans, kidney beans, and chickpeas. If you can’t get mixed beans then use one full can each of big white beans, kidney beans, and chickpeas. The salad will be a little more bean-heavy but it’s not bad.
• Cucumber: make a summer bean salad by adding extra red pepper, tomato, and any other summer vegetables you’d like to the mix. Cucumber is a starting point but you want something fresh and crunchy.
• Oil: use extra virgin olive oil or your preferred light-tasting oil.
• Vinegar: just about any type of vinegar but white pickling vinegar can be used. I particularly like white balsamic but apple cider vinegar, white or red wine vinegar, and balsamic vinegar are all good. I don’t recommend rice vinegar.
• Mustard: use a good Dijon mustard or another sharp mustard, and not yellow hotdog mustard. Mustard acts as an emulsifier in the vinaigrette, making it thicker and more evenly mixed.
• Maple syrup: honey is the best substitute for maple syrup, if you eat it. If using creamed honey mix the vinaigrette very well to make sure it’s fully incorporated.
• Onion: for a milder option try a mild salad onion, shallots, or pickled onion.
• Parsley: instead of parsley try fresh dill or coriander (cilantro). All three are excellent in this salad.
• Add-ins: try adding feta, quartered hard boiled eggs, artichoke hearts, olives, or capers.

How to Make Bean Salad

Since you don’t need to cook any of the ingredients for this recipe – I don’t think anyone is cooking four different types of beans to make salad with them – it’s as easy as making a vinaigrette, a few minutes of chopping, and mixing everything in a bowl.

Step 1: mix the vinaigrette in a small bowl or jar with a tightly fitting lid. I generally prefer jars for this, which make it easier to mix dressings, but if you have a tiny whisk, that works well too. This dressing comes together pretty easily thanks to the mustard acting as an emulsifier, so you can even use a fork to whisk.

Step 2: finely chop the onion and add it to a mixing bowl with the diced cucumber, chopped parsley, and beans. Aim for the cucumber pieces to be about the same size as the larger beans in the mix.

Step 3: toss very well, then set the salad aside for at least half an hour before serving. This is a great make-ahead meal and can be refrigerated for several days.

Expert Tips for the Best Salad

• Let it rest before serving: bean salad tastes best when it’s had some time to marinate, and this is no exception. It’ll mellow out the flavour of the onion slightly and the beans will soak up some of the vinaigrette, for an all-around better salad.
• Drain and rinse the beans: canned beans should always be drained and rinsed well before use (unless the recipe specifies otherwise). Adding the water from the can will only thin out the vinaigrette and make the salad soupy and bland.
• Don’t skimp on seasoning: as always, season to taste, especially because canned beans will have different levels of saltiness, but add enough salt to this dish. If not, it will be a bit bland and boring. The same goes for the amount of vinegar, which people sometimes mistake for too little salt – sometimes your meal needs more acidity rather than more salt.

More Make-Ahead Salads

I’m a big fan of having a salad prepped and on hand for lunches and quick dinners, even if it’s not going to be the full meal. Making one or two salads like this one, that last for several days in the refrigerator, can be a real life saver on a busy day.

• Quinoa Carrot Salad
• Lentil Salad
• Greek Pasta Salad
• Dense Bean Salad