Bean Salad: The Recipe for a Fresh and Tasty One-Dish Meal
Bean salad is a quick and fresh recipe, prepared with pre-cooked legumes, cherry tomato wedges, thinly sliced red onions, a celery stalk cut into rings, grated carrots, black olives, gherkins, capers and arugula leaves.
- fagioli cannellini precotti, 400 gr
- Carote, 2 piccole
- Cipolla, 1
- Pomodorini, 150 gr
- Sedano, 2 coste
- Cetriolini, 6
- Olive nere snocciolate, 60 gr
- Capperi sott’aceto, 1 cucchiaio
- Rucola, q.b.
- Olio extravergine di oliva, q.b.
- Aceto di vino bianco, 2 cucchiai
- Sale, q.b.
- Per preparare l'insalata di fagioli, innanzitutto spunta le carote, pelale e grattugiale utilizzando i fori più larghi della grattugia (1).
- Affetta la cipolla e taglia le coste di sedano già lavate e pulite a tocchetti (2), poi lava i pomodorini e tagliali a spicchi.
- Taglia i cetriolini a fette e le olive a metà (3).
- Sistema i fagioli cannellini ben lavati in un recipiente capiente (4).
- Unisci tutte le verdure, i cetriolini, le olive e i capperi (5), quindi mescola bene.
- Condisci con un filo d'olio, un goccino di aceto di vino (6) e una presa di sale, quindi amalgama ancora il tutto.
- Sistema l'insalata su un piatto da portata e completa con la rucola fresca (7).
- L'insalata di fagioli è pronta per essere gustata (8).
This colorful dish requires no cooking and is best enjoyed cold, making it perfect for the hottest summer days. Served with toasted bread slices or rice cakes, it's a filling and nutritious one-dish meal, ideal for taking with you for a meal out, to the beach or the office, or for a quick family lunch or a casual dinner with friends.
We used pre-cooked cannellini beans, stored in glass jars, but if you prefer, you can also use dried beans, soaking them overnight before cooking them in boiling water. Alternatively, you can speed up the process by using a pressure cooker.
Learn how to make bean salad with step-by-step instructions and tips. If you liked this recipe, try other delicious salads perfect for summer, like chickpea salad and lentil salad.
How to prepare bean salad
To prepare the bean salad, first trim the carrots, peel them and grate them using the largest holes of the grater 1.
Slice the onion and cut the washed and cleaned celery stalks into 2 pieces, then wash the cherry tomatoes and cut them into wedges.
Cut the gherkins into slices and the olives in half 3.
Place the well-washed cannellini beans in a large container 4.
Combine all the vegetables, gherkins, olives and capers 5, then mix well.
Season with a drizzle of oil, a drop of wine vinegar 6 and a pinch of salt, then mix everything together again.
Arrange the salad on a serving plate and garnish with fresh rocket 7.
The bean salad is ready to be enjoyed 8.
Tips and storage
You can customize the recipe however you like, using whatever vegetables you have available: thinly sliced peppers, grilled zucchini or eggplant, pre-cooked corn, diced cucumbers, and so on. You can also add well-drained, high-quality tuna fillets in oil, crumbled feta, diced primosale cheese, or a few crispy croutons.
If you have any leftovers, the bean salad can be stored in the refrigerator, tightly closed in an airtight container, for up to 1 day.
