A salad this straightforward has no enterprise being so scrumptious, nevertheless it simply is. This Basic Three Bean Salad has minimal substances, probably the most primary of primary dressings, and but I can’t appear to get sufficient of it. The creamy beans are the proper distinction to the tangy-sweet dressing, and there’s simply sufficient savory crunch from the pink onion to maintain the flavors grounded. It’s the proper summer season aspect dish for your entire BBQs and potlucks, or on these busy weeknights whenever you don’t need to spend so much of time fixing dinner.
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“I made this recipe yesterday. I adopted it to the letter, no alterations and no substitutions. It was FANTASTIC. I’ll make it time and again. So flavorful and scrumptious and satisfying. Thanks!â€
Isabelle
Straightforward Three Bean Salad Recipe
My three bean salad has darkish kidney beans, cannellini beans, and inexperienced beans. You can even strive different beans like chickpeas, wax beans, purple hull peas, or black eyed peas. This recipe is de facto versatile, so you’ll be able to swap out the beans, and you’ll even add greater than three beans for those who’d like. Nonetheless, I like to recommend having quite a lot of colours, textures, and shapes. Be certain that to have a minimum of one creamy bean, too!
I additionally made a primary, barely candy French dressing with simply sufficient Dijon to provide it a bit zing. You possibly can simply tweak the sweetness or tang to your liking and even use your favourite bottled dressing (like Italian dressing) for a distinct taste. This recipe is SO straightforward to make your individual, so have enjoyable with it!
Basic Three Bean Salad
- 1 15 oz. can kidney beans ($0.94)
- 1 15 oz. can cannellini beans ($0.94)
- 1.5 cups frozen inexperienced beans (thawed, $0.59*)
- ¼ cup pink onion (finely diced, $0.12)
- ¼ cup recent parsley (chopped, $0.17)
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar ($0.24)
- ¼ cup olive oil ($0.64**)
- 2 Tbsp sugar ($0.12***)
- 1 tsp salt ($0.03)
- ¼ tsp black pepper (freshly cracked, $0.02)
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard ($0.03)
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Rinse and drain the kidney beans and cannellini beans. Place the kidney beans, cannellini beans, and thawed inexperienced beans in a bowl.
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Slice the pink onion, then soak the onion in a bowl of ice water for about 5 minutes earlier than draining and finely dicing. Chop the parsley. Add the onion and parsley to the bowl with the beans.
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In a separate bowl, whisk collectively the vinegar, sugar, olive oil, salt, pepper, and Dijon.
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Pour the dressing over the beans, onion, and parsley, then stir to mix.
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Switch the bean salad to the fridge and let the beans marinate within the dressing for about half-hour earlier than serving. Give the salad an excellent stir simply earlier than serving to redistribute the dressing.
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**Olive oil is my most popular selection for this French dressing. It provides richness, helps stability the acidity, and creates a brief emulsion; I by no means skip it! With out it, the vinegar and Dijon flavors will probably be extra pronounced, the texture will probably be lighter, and the flavour will probably be a lot sharper. You possibly can strive leaving it out if most popular, however all of it comes right down to your private choice.
***The dressing is supposed to be barely candy to mellow the sharpness of the vinegar and mustard, however be happy to regulate it to your style. In case you’re delicate to sweetness, begin with a smaller quantity of sugar and add extra if wanted.
Serving: 1cupEnergy: 301kcalCarbohydrates: 41gProtein: 13gFats: 11gSodium: 666mgFiber: 12g
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Learn how to Make Three Bean Salad Step-by-Step Pictures
Prep the beans: Rinse and drain one 15 oz. can of kidney beans and one 15 oz. can of cannellini beans. Add them to a bowl with 1.5 cups of thawed frozen inexperienced beans.
Shock the onion: Slice some pink onion and soak them for about 5 minutes in a bowl of ice water (this takes the sharp edge off their taste). Finely cube about ¼ cup of the pink onion. Chop about ¼ cup recent parsley.
Make the dressing: Whisk collectively ¼ cup apple cider vinegar, ¼ cup olive oil, 2 Tbsp sugar, 1 tsp salt, ¼ tsp freshly cracked pepper, and 1 tsp Dijon mustard.
Mix: Add the onion and parsley to the bowl with the beans, then pour the dressing over prime. Stir the whole lot to mix.
Chill and serve: Refrigerate the three bean salad for about half-hour to let the beans marinate. Give it an excellent stir, after which serve!
What to Serve with Three Bean Salad
The sweet-tart taste of this three bean salad makes it an ideal match for different sweet-savory dishes, particularly something with BBQ sauce. Within the images right here, I served it with my BBQ cheddar baked hen and a giant scoop of potato salad, and the combo was extremely satisfying. It additionally pairs fantastically with glazed ham steaks (the Dijon dressing goes so properly with the candy glaze), creamy pork chops for a enjoyable distinction, or crispy air fryer drumsticks whenever you want a fast weeknight meal.
Storage Directions
Three bean salad is a kind of recipes that truly will get higher with time within the fridge. Because it refrigerates, the beans start to soak up the flavors within the dressing, and the whole lot will get SUPER tasty. This salad will most likely keep good within the fridge for about 4 days (for those who don’t eat all of it by then).
Our Basic Three Bean Salad recipe was initially printed 6/21/21. It was retested, reworked, and republished to be higher than ever 7/3/25.