Three Bean Salad
Guess what we’re making today? An oldie but a total goodie! I don’t know about you, but three bean salad is pretty much a staple in our household, and has been my entire life. I’ve had it a few different ways, with small adjustments to the dressing and salad contents, but overall, it’s generally a concoction of green beans, white beans, kidney beans and a vinaigrette-style dressing.
I am in love with the salad dressing because it’s made up of ingredients most of us have on hand, such as olive oil, white vinegar, Dijon mustard, a pinch of sugar, salt, black pepper and… my “secret ingredient” – celery salt (or ground celery seed)! It provides a unique and deep flavor that I just love in this salad.
As for the salad contents, I like to use fresh green beans this time of year, plus one can of great northern beans, one can of dark red kidney beans, a few stalks of celery for that crispy crunch, a few thin slices of sweet onion and a handful of fresh parsley. If you’re in a pinch, you can use canned or frozen green beans (they’re just as nutritious!). Either way, I recommend tossing the salad together with the dressing and letting it marinade in the fridge for a bit so all those fabulous dressing flavors melt into the salad.
This salad is great to take to potlucks, but if you’re looking to make it into a backyard meal, I recommend serving it with these chicken sausage, bell pepper & pineapple kabobs or grilled teriyaki chicken wings, lightened-up potato salad and banana berry ice cream for dessert!
Three Bean Salad
- Prep Time: 10-15 mins
- Cook Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 15-20 mins
- Yield: Serves 6 1x
- Category: Salads
- Method: No-Cook, Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
Description
A simple three bean salad with green, kidney and great northern beans and a light olive oil dressing.
Ingredients
Dressing:
- ⅓ cup white vinegar
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 ½ tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ¾ teaspoon kosher or sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon celery salt
Salad:
- 1-pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
- 15-ounce can no salt added dark red kidney beans
- 15-ounce can no salt added great northern beans
- 3 medium stalks celery, diced
- ¼ sweet onion, peeled and thinly sliced (optional)
- ¼ cup flat-leaf Italian parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Bring a medium pot of water to a boil.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients. Set aside.
- Place the green beans into the boiling water and cook 4-5 minutes or until slightly tender. Transfer to a bowl of ice water and let them sit 2-3 minutes. Drain and transfer them to the bowl with the dressing.
- To the bowl, add the kidney beans, great northern beans, celery, onion (if using) and parsley to the bowl and toss with the dressing. Place a lid on the bowl and refrigerate at least 30 minutes. Stir and taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Serve.
Notes
Storage Tip: This salad keeps up to 3 days in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/6 of recipe
- Calories: 250
- Sugar: 6g
- Sodium: 346mg
- Fat: 10g
- Saturated Fat: 1g
- Unsaturated Fat: 9g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 31g
- Fiber: 13g
- Protein: 8g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
Keywords: salad, three bean, bean, beans, green beans, salads, summer, side dish
