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Home » light meals, salads & soups » easy bean salad

easy bean salad

18 August, 2020 Last Modified: May 11, 2022

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Mixed bean salad in a ceramic glazed bowl

Easy bean salad is quick to prepare and makes a great side salad for any Summer barbecue. However, add some dressed salad leaves and enjoy for a quick lunch too!

Mixed bean salad in a blue ceramic bowl on a grey surface.

Easy bean salad is one of those dishes that we’ve prepared and enjoyed for years, but never quite got around to writing up on our blog! This delicious salad makes a tasty side for any Summer barbecue, all the better as it doesn’t take too long to prepare!

I think that’s the thing about barbecues, you want to be outside enjoying the weather. If I’m cooking I want to be at the barbecue cooking, not stuck indoors! That’s when dishes like this come into their own!

This mixed bean salad is such a quick dish, using ingredients from our store cupboards. Tinned beans and sweetcorn, mixed with some other vegetables from our store, and combined with a simple salad dressing.

A heart shaped blue mottled ceramic bowl filled with a colourful mixed bean salad with a pouring jug of vinaigrette behind with a handful of fresh coriander.

Serve this easy bean salad alongside a mixed leaf salad, lightly dressed and some sun ripened tomatoes with a sprinkling of sea salt and you have the perfect, fuss-free sides for any meal.

How to make Easy Bean Salad – recipe steps:

A chopping board full of ingredients, sliced red onion, coriander, diced red pepper, a tomato, sweetcorn and a tin of mixed beans.
Prepare your ingredients, ready for assembling the salad
Sliced red onions in boiling water before using in a salad
Soak the onions in some boiling water to soften the rawness of the onions in the dish
Mixed beans, sweetcorn and chopped coriander in a blue bowl to be mixed as a salad.
Add beans, sweetcorn, tomato, red pepper and herbs to the bowl
A vinaigrette in a jam jar.
Prepare the salad dressing and mix well to combine
adding a vinaigrette dressing to a mixed bean salad.
Pour the salad dressing over the salad, mix well to combine before serving

Feeding a crowd!

This easy bean salad recipe uses 1 tin of mixed beans. However, the entire recipe can be easily adapted to feed a larger group of diners at a barbecue or for dinner. Simply multiply the recipe, double or treble it if necessary.

Where we have used mixed beans for ease, you can use a variety of other beans when making it for a larger crowd. Borlotti beans, black beans, cannellini beans, kidney beans and chickpeas will all work if mixed together.

Use what you like to eat and happen to have in your store cupboards.

Can you freeze mixed bean salad?

You can’t freeze this bean salad, the defrosting process would cause everything to break down too much, and nobody will thank you for soggy salad.

However, made in advance, it will keep for 2-3 days in the fridge if covered. Just take care when serving as it may have become a little watery. This is easily fixed, give it a good stir and drain off any excess liquid before serving.

A blue ceramic heart shaped bowl on a grey surface filled with a vibrant colourful mixed bean salad.

How to make easy bean salad into a main dish?

This is a delicious side dish, however with a little imagination you can turn this simple bean salad recipe into a main dish. Adding your choice of chicken, fish or grains to the dish.

Tuna and beans work beautifully together in a salad. You can add some fresh, pan-fried tuna steaks, lightly seared and served atop the salad.

However, if you don’t have fresh tuna a tin of tuna would work just as well. Simply drain the tuna and break into chunks and gently stir through the salad, taking care not to break up the fish too much.

If you want to keep the dish entirely vegan, then think about adding some cooked rice or quinoa to the salad. Both these grains work beautifully when stirred through a salad. Allow the salad to sit for an hour or so to allow the rice or quinoa to absorb the flavours from the vegetables and the dressing for added flavour punch.

What ingredient substitutions can I make?

Our bean salad uses a mixture of beans, together with sweetcorn, chopped fresh tomatoes, red pepper and fresh herbs. However, feel free to add in other vegetables if you want to bulk up the dish.

  • VEGGIES: Beans are really versatile and work with a large variety of flavours. Cucumber, courgette, green or yellow peppers can all be added to this salad, giving it a lovely crunch from the rainbow of vegetables.
  • CHILLI: For a slightly spicier version add just a hint of fresh chilli. De-seed a chilli and chop it finely, adding in some creamy avocado. This would give this bean salad a deliciously Mexican twist, finish it off with a squeeze of fresh lime juice!
  • FRESH HERBS: This recipe uses fresh chopped coriander, however, you could use any tender herbs chopped through the salad. Parsley, tarragon, mint or basil would all work equally well and taste delicious in this simple bean salad.
  • SWEETNESS: Being Canadian, Michelle loves maple syrup, which has been added into the dressing to add a little sweetness to the beans. If you don’t have maple syrup, honey or caster sugar can be added instead. However, if you would prefer to cut the sweetness out altogether, then leave it out.
A young girl holding a heart shaped bowl filled with a mixed bean salad and wearing a red and white flowered dress.

Can I use dried beans instead of tinned?

We have used tinned beans for ease in this recipe. However, you can use dried beans if you prefer. Simply soak the beans in water over night, and then cook them for 40-60 minutes the following day until they are soft.

This is a much longer process and requires a little forward planning. However, we both use dried beans and pulses in our cooking and with a bit of prior planning it can work out a lot cheaper to cook with dried beans. Particularly if you are catering for a larger crowd.

Top tips for making salad dressing:

When adding the vinaigrette to the salad to dress it, take care not to add too much at once. You may not need or want all the vinaigrette added.

Start by adding half the quantity of dressing to the salad. If that’s not enough add a little more. Stir it through and then set the salad aside. When ready to serve, check that you don’t need to top up the dressing as it will absorb into the beans.

Pin the recipe:

Additional recipe suggestions:

We love serving this bean salad at a barbecue, they taste great with our:

  • Lemon & Paprika Chicken Kebabs
  • Bavette Steak with Salsa Verde
  • Devilled Mackerel

If you like this recipe then why not try some of our other side dishes like our:

  • Fennel & Apple Slaw
  • Tomato Salsa
  • Warm Potato Salad with Wild Garlic
  • Creamy Potato Salad with Bacon & Chives
  • Warm Vegan Potato Salad
  • Italian Marinated Aubergine
  • Spicy Chickpea & Carrot Salad
  • Spicy Onion Rings

Love salad? Then head to our Best Salad Recipes post where you will find links to all our favourite salads in one place.

A heart shaped blue mottled ceramic bowl filled with a colourful mixed bean salad with a pouring jug of vinaigrette behind.

Mixed Bean Salad

An easy bean salad that is quick to prepare. A salad that works both as a side for BBQ's or great on its own as a light lunch. Using tinned beans from the pantry this great salad can be ready in no time.
5 from 10 votes
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Prep Time: 15 mins
Resting time: 15 mins
Total Time: 30 mins
Servings: 4 Servings
Calories: 394kcal
Author: Michelle Rolfe

Ingredients

Dressing

  • 6 tbsp sunflower oil
  • 3 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp maple syrup (or another sweetener)
  • 1 tsp dijon mustard
  • salt & pepper (to taste)

Salad

  • 400 g tin mixed beans (drained & rinsed)
  • 1 red onion (sliced thinly)
  • 1 red pepper (diced)
  • 1 tomato (large, diced)
  • 200 g tin sweetcorn
  • 1 handful fresh coriander (chopped)
  • salt & pepper (to taste)

Instructions

Dressing

  • Add all ingredients for the dressing in a lidded jam jar or dish and shake or whisk together.
  • Taste and season with salt & pepper to your liking. Set aside while you prepare the salad.

Salad

  • Thinly slice the red onion and place in a small bowl and cover with boiling water while you prepare the rest of the salad. This removes the harshness of the raw onion for the salad.
  • Drain and rinse the tinned mixed beans and place in a large serving bowl with the sweetcorn.
  • Chop the coriander, dice the tomato and pepper and add to the beans.
  • Drain the water off the onions and add the onions to the bean salad.
  • Add half the vinaigrette to the salad, mix well and season with salt & pepper. As the beans sit they will absorb more of the dressing. Add more as required to suite your taste, before serving.
  • Check seasoning before serving. Depending on your beans, you may not need all the dressing, keep any unused in the fridge for up to 2 weeks and use on salads.

Notes

I used a large tomato in the recipe, alternatively you can use 3-4 smaller cherry tomatoes depending on what you have available. 
 
Nutrition Facts
Mixed Bean Salad
Amount Per Serving
Calories 394 Calories from Fat 198
% Daily Value*
Fat 22g34%
Saturated Fat 2g13%
Sodium 22mg1%
Potassium 688mg20%
Carbohydrates 40g13%
Fiber 10g42%
Sugar 7g8%
Protein 11g22%
Vitamin A 1353IU27%
Vitamin C 48mg58%
Calcium 37mg4%
Iron 3mg17%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

• Please note that the nutrition information provided above is approximate and meant as a guideline only •

Course : Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine : BBQ, British, Mediterranean
Keyword : BBQ, Bean, Salad, Side Dish, vegan, vegetarian
Tried this recipe? We’d love to see your photos!Mention @lostinf00d or tag #lostinfood!
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Tagged With: easy, Gluten free, quick, quick meals, vegan, vegetarian 10 Comments

Previous Post: « Fruit and Vegetable Bakes & #CookBlogShare 32
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Cat | Curly's Cooking

    29 September, 2020 at 19:59

    5 stars
    Simple but so colourful and tasty looking – yum! I’ve sent this to my Mum because she’s always buying mixed bean salads and she should definitely make this instead.

    Reply
    • Lesley

      30 September, 2020 at 07:52

      Thank you Cat, this is exactly why we put this recipe on our blog as it’s so easy to make at home and a lot cheaper too. Lesley x

      Reply
  2. Eb Gargano | Easy Peasy Foodie

    28 September, 2020 at 16:18

    5 stars
    YUM! I am a big fan of a simple but tasty bean salad like this one. Eb 🙂

    Reply
    • Lesley

      29 September, 2020 at 09:03

      Thank you Eb, this is a great simple salad to pull together and it keeps well in the fridge. Lesley x

      Reply
  3. Sheeba

    24 September, 2020 at 03:43

    5 stars
    Yummy recipe! I’m a great fan of beans & this looks like a perfect lunch that I can eat almost everyday by adding different veggies.

    Reply
    • Lesley

      24 September, 2020 at 16:37

      Thank you Sheeba, it’s a very versatile salad and one you can adapt using the veggies in your fridge.

      Reply
  4. Beth+Sachs

    23 September, 2020 at 08:58

    5 stars
    The maple mustard dressing sounds delicious. I often make bean salads for my lunch as they are so hearty and filling.

    Reply
    • Lesley

      23 September, 2020 at 13:06

      Thank you Beth, this is a great salad for lunch and once made it does keep for a couple of days in the fridge. Lesley x

      Reply
  5. Janice

    22 September, 2020 at 11:46

    5 stars
    What a wonderful salad, full of lovely flavours and so easy to make.

    Reply
    • Lesley

      22 September, 2020 at 12:01

      Thank you Janice, its a lovely quick salad, perfect any time of the year. Lesley x

      Reply

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