I am certain that you will love this flavour-filled, vibrantly coloured, Mediterranean Bean Salad. It contains three kinds of beans along with rocket/arugula, a variety of herbs, roasted red pepper, olives and feta. We combine the salad ingredients in a garlic infused extra virgin olive oil and freshly squeezed lemon juice dressing. It is bright, fresh and I am sure that it will be a great addition to your meal plans.
Why You'll Love This Recipe:
- For convenience and ease of assembly we use a variety of canned beans.
- You can make the salad ahead of time. In fact, the flavours are enhanced by making it a day ahead.
- You can customise the ingredients to suit your taste or what you have on hand.
- This is perfect when catering for a crowd as you can easily double the ingredients.
- It is a delicious meat-free meal. Just add crusty bread.
- The mix of beans adds a combination of flavours and texture to the salad.
Recipe Inspiration: the idea for this salad came one day when I wanted a meat-free meal; a meal that was full flavoured and satisfying. It was clear that legumes should be the basis of the salad, and I chose to use three varieties to give me varying flavours, colours and textures. They were joined by olives, feta, Mediterranean herbs and a vibrant olive oil and lemon juice dressing. Today, it is still one of my favourite lunches.
Ingredients and Substitutions:
Please see the recipe card further along in the post for exact quantities of ingredients and the full method.
- Cannellini Beans: a small white bean, also known as white kidney beans or Italian kidney beans. Substitutes are Great Northern Beans or Navy Beans.
- Butter Beans: a large, white, kidney shaped bean, also known as lima beans. Choose a variety of bean that you like, or try adding chickpeas.
- Red Kidney Beans: glossy red beans that have an earthy flavour. Red is the most common kidney bean, but they also come in other colours. Good substitutes are black beans or borlotti beans.
- Garlic: for the best flavour, we prefer fresh garlic.
- Red onion: sometimes called Spanish onions or Purple onions, they have a mild, sweet flavour making them ideal to use in salads.
- Extra virgin olive oil: this is the least processed olive oil from the first pressing of the olives, and adds great flavour to the salad.
- Lemon juice: freshly squeezed juice adds a bright citrus note.
- Roasted red pepper/capsicum: we have used strips of our homemade Roasted Red Peppers. If you wish, you could use a commercial variety, but the flavour will not be the same, it will be more acidic.
- Feta: we use Greek feta, made from a blend of sheep and goats' milk. Use the feta that you enjoy eating.
- Rocket/arugula: adds bright colour and peppery flavour.
- Mint: the mint adds colour and bright, fresh flavour.
- Flat-leaf parsley: adds clean, fresh flavour and is more vibrant than the curly variety.
- Kalamata olives: originating in Greece, these meaty purple-black olives add a salty note.
- Dried oregano: a traditional Mediterranean herb, it has an earthy flavour.
- Dried red chilli pepper flakes: add gentle spice.
Variations:
Beans: if you prefer, you could vary the beans. Chickpeas, black beans or borlotti beans are good substitutes.
Olives: Castelvetrano olives are a good alternative. They are large, Sicilian, meaty green olives.
Rocket/arugula: baby spinach is a good substitute.
How To Make Mediterranean Bean Salad:
Please see the recipe card further along in the post for exact quantities of ingredients and the full method.
1 - Mix the dressing and beans:
To a large bowl, add the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, dried oregano and red chilli flakes. Stir to combine.
Add the drained beans, and toss them through the dressing.
2 - Add the remaining ingredients:
To the beans, add the red onion, roasted capsicum/peppers, feta, olives, rocket, mint and parsley. Carefully toss so everything is well combined.
Hint: check that the dish is seasoned to your liking before serving. The feta and olives are salty, but I like a little flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Tips for Success, Storage and FAQs:
Yes, you can. In fact, it will enhance the flavours and enable them to amalgamate. If making in advance, I suggest that you add the fresh herbs, rocket/arugula and feta a short time before serving.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. To freshen the leftovers, I suggest that you add some fresh herbs just before serving. I don't recommend that it be frozen as it will alter the textures.
Yes, you can, I have some suggestions for alternative beans above in the ingredients section.
Top Tip:
If you make the Mediterranean Bean Salad in advance and refrigerate it, remove it from the fridge about 20 minutes before serving to bring to room temperature. If it is chilled when serving, the flavours will be dulled.
Serving Suggestions:
You will find many ways to enjoy this beautiful salad. Some suggestions are:
- As a great side dish serve with our Mediterranean Marinated Chicken or Crispy Crumbed Pork Medallions.
- Serve as a meat-free meal. Crusty bread would be a great addition.
- It is ideal served at a barbecue.
- It is portable, take on a picnic or to a potluck.
I hope that you enjoy this Mediterranean Bean Salad as much as I do. I look forward to hearing if you make it.
Alex xx
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Mediterranean Bean Salad
Please note:
For accuracy, when weights are provided, we recommend weighing your ingredients. This will produce the best results. All oven temperatures listed are for fan forced.
Ingredients
- 400 g (14 oz) tinned red kidney beans - rinsed and drained See Note 1
- 400 g (14 oz) tinned cannellini beans - rinsed and drained
- 400 g (14 oz) tinned butter beans - rinsed and drained
- ⅓ cup (80 ml) extra virgin olive oil See Note 2
- ¼ cup (60 ml) lemon juice - freshly squeezed
- 1 clove garlic - grated
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon red chilli pepper flakes - or to taste
- ½ medium red onion - finely chopped
- 1 cup roasted capsicum/red bell pepper - sliced, about 2 large See Note 3
- ½ cup (80 g) Kalamata olives - pitted and halved
- ¾ cup (150 g) feta cheese - cut into small cubes
- 1 ½ cups (60 g) rocket/arugula leaves
- ⅓ cup fresh mint leaves - finely sliced See Note 4
- ⅓ cup flat leaf parsley leaves - finely sliced
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper - add to taste See Note 5
Instructions
- Drain and rinse the tinned beans.
- To a large bowl, add the extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, dried oregano and red chilli pepper flakes. Mix to combine.Add the beans and toss well so everything is combined. Set aside while you prepare the other ingredients.
- Add the red onion, roasted capsicum/peppers, olives, feta, rocket and herbs to the beans.Carefully toss so everything is well combined. Season to suit your taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Serve on its own, or enjoy with some Pita Chips or crusty bread.
Notes
- Beans: you can also use Great Northern or chickpeas. The salad is also delicious with just cannellini beans.
- Olive oil: for the best flavour, we have used extra-virgin olive oil. Use the best olive oil that you have.
- Capsicums/peppers: we use our Homemade Roasted Capsicums for this recipe. You can use store bought if you prefer.
- Herbs: roll the herbs up tightly, and using a sharp knife, finely slice across them. You may have to do this in batches. A sharp knife will cut cleanly and not bruise the leaves.
- Seasoning: adjust the seasoning to your liking - we recommend using freshly ground black pepper and sea salt flakes for the best flavour.
- Servings: will serve six people as a side dish or four as a main dish. Delicious on its own, or we love it with Pita Chips.
- Make ahead and storage: you can make it three days in advance. In fact, the flavours benefit from having time to develop and amalgamate. I recommend that you add the feta, rocket/arugula and fresh herbs just before serving. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.
- Freshening leftovers: to brighten the leftovers, I suggest adding some fresh herbs just before serving.
- Freezing: this recipe is not suitable for freezing.
Nutrition Estimate:
Nutritional Disclaimer:
The nutritional information is an estimate only, and is derived from online calculators. For accurate results, we recommend calculating the nutritional information based on the ingredients and brands you use.
Sheila Jean Sparkes says
Made this salad to go with a roasted chicken - we were out all afternoon and I bought some crusty bread, on the way home, to go with this meal.
My husband, who's not a fan of salads loved it and the whole bowl was finished.
Alexandra Cook says
Hi Sheila,
Alongside a roast chicken sounds delicious to me 🙂
I am so glad it was enjoyed, and really appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment.
Alex xo