Old-Fashioned Three Bean Salad
Once you make this salad, you'll understand why it’s a classic. Crunchy green beans with creamy garbanzos and kidney beans and a sweet and tart vinaigrette that tastes great, even if it remains impossible to stab with a plastic fork off a paper plate. Ahh, summertime! Check out our top 30 Best Summer Side Dishes, fire up the grill, and make a batch of fresh Agua Fresca and you’ve got yourself a party! For another great vegetarian salad try our Lentil Salad.
Ingredients You’ll Need To Make This Easy Three Bean Salad
Beans – The kidney-green-garbanzo trifecta.
Red onion – An essential, brings the sharp spiciness that contrasts the creaminess of the beans.
Flat leaf parsley – Yeah, it might get stuck in your teeth, but that’s what friends are for.
Vinegar, sugar, and garlic – A solid foundation for this light dressing for three bean salad.
How to Make The Best Three Bean Salad Recipe
Do you have fifteen minutes and a can opener? If you answered yes, this salad is in your (near) future!
Blanch – A quick plunge into salted boiling water will cook the green beans and help enhance their flavor and texture. It’s our preferred way to prepare green beans for Pesto Green Beans too. It’s also a great way to preserve green beans for freezing, so you can savor summertime a little longer!
Mix – In a large bowl, stir together beans, onion, and parsley. In a small bowl whisk together the vinaigrette.
Dress – Pour the dressing over the bean mixture and toss to coat. Cover the bowl and refrigerate the salad for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.
How to Store Three Bean Salad + Tips
Three bean salad is simple to make, and is also gloriously easy to freeze. If you’re not going to finish the salad within 3-5 days in the fridge, store it in the freezer in air-tight containers for up to three months.
Do you have garbanzos but no kidneys, or some variation of this bean situation? You can substitute other beans, but just beware it won’t be your grandma’s three bean salad anymore. A classic three bean salad often calls for “wax beans” which includes lima beans, kidney beans, and pinto beans. You could also sub in cannellini beans, or make White Bean Salad with Anchovy Vinaigrette and make three bean salad another time.
This recipe is naturally gluten and dairy free, so it’s great to make for a crowd. It also can sit out at room temperature longer than most salads since it’s dairy free, making it a shoe in for backyard dinners.
More Salads For The Days of Picnics
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