Packed with beans, veggies, and simple, fresh flavors, this Mediterranean dense bean salad recipe offers all the plant-based protein and fiber to keep you energized for hours. Just throw it all in a bowl, let the flavors come together, and serve with a hunk of crusty bread or over your favorite greens. It makes a great side dish for entertaining but is satisfying enough to keep in your fridge for the easiest summer lunches ever!
What are Dense Bean Salads?
Are they made with dense beans or something? The phrase is a little bit confusing but basically, dense bean salads are bean-heavy salads with 2-3 types of beans in one dish. The phrase first popped up on social media in 2024 from TikTok creator Violet Witchel. Although the name is new, it's not a new concept.
Many of us have been making and enjoying bean salads for years.
Instead of trying to fill yourself with lots of greens, dense bean salads prioritize the most satiating and filling ingredients: beans and veggies.
Canned beans are an excellent source of fiber and offer plenty of protein, and they're also incredibly cheap and budget-friendly. Pair them with lots of veggies (for more fiber and essential nutrients), olives, and a simple vinaigrette dressing for heart-healthy fats, and you have the easiest vegan main dish of all time.
They're fantastic for meal prepping since you just dump everything together and keep them in the fridge. Then you can serve them cold with some bread and fresh lemon juice. That's all you really need.
Plus, there are infinite flavor combinations. For this Mediterranean-style dense bean salad, we're going to use lots of summery produce, olives, and a simple garlicky dressing, but beans are like a blank slate and can take on so many different flavors. Be sure to check out my favorite vegan bean salads below to find a few new favorites!
Why you’ll love this Mediterranean Bean Salad
- Loaded with fresh vegetables and flavor
- Great way to prep for lunches without having to cook a single thing
- Inexpensive and incredibly filling
- Perfect way to serve more veggies and fiber to the whole family
- Easy, refreshing option for the hot summer months
- Serve it over greens for filling salad bowls or spoon it over bread for a summery option
Salad Ingredients
You really don't need much to add bold flavor and lots of color to this simple salad. We're mostly using simple ingredients and everyday pantry staples. Just be sure to add as many fresh veggies as you can. They'll help fill you up and add such a refreshing flavor.
- Veggies - Focus on the freshest summer veggies, like cherry tomatoes, garden cucumber, and celery.
- Beans - These are the heart of this whole dish. I used chickpeas and cannellini beans, but you can easily substitute pinto beans, black beans, or whichever beans you prefer. Just be sure to rinse any dark beans well to keep the color from bleeding.
- Kalamata and manzanilla olives - I almost always mix these two together in recipes because they add color and two different flavors. Plus, olives are a great source of healthy fats.
- Olive oil - To help create a simple dressing to coat the beans and veggies.
- Minced garlic
- Salt and black pepper
- Crushed red pepper - For a little spice to wake everything up.
- Fresh basil - Fresh herbs make a world of difference. Basil is great here, but you can also try fresh parsley or even cilantro.
- Lemon juice - This adds just enough acidity to brighten everything up, but you can also use your favorite vinegar, like white balsamic.
- Baguette - If you're gluten-free, feel free to skip this, but I love eating this marinated bean salad on a slice of crusty bread. Seriously good.
How to Make Mediterranean Dense Bean Salad
It really doesn't get easier than this - simply mix everything together and serve!
- In a large bowl add tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, celery and chickpeas, olives, olive oil, lemon, salt, garlic, crushed red pepper and basil. Mix well.
- Serve with sliced baguette or over a bed of salad greens.
Storing Suggestions
Keep the leftover salad in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Tips for Making the Best Dense Bean Salads
- Load up on veggies. Consider the tomatoes, celery and cucumber the starting place. There are so many other veggies you can add to make it your own, like sliced red onion, minced bell peppers, artichoke hearts, and more.
- Add cheese. The simple Mediterranean flavors in this recipe pair perfectly with vegan feta cheese.
- Add a little sweetness. If you prefer a slightly sweeter flavor profile, consider using balsamic vinegar instead of lemon or add a small drizzle of maple syrup.
- Bulk up. Instead of focusing on just beans and veggies, you can also add some cooked grains, like brown rice, farro, or even your favorite pasta. There are no rules here - make this salad however you'd like!
FAQs
Any cooked bean that you enjoy eating will work. I typically use canned beans since they're ready to eat and require no extra cooking. Although beans have a mostly neutral, slightly nutty, creamy flavor, I often use garbanzo beans and white beans, like cannellini beans. However, that's not a rule. Kidney beans and black beans can be wonderful, too. Don't overthink it - just use what you like.
Yes, and I actually recommend it. The longer the beans and veggies sit in the dressing, the better they'll taste. The salad really benefits from having a little time to bring the flavors together. Just keep the leftovers covered in the fridge and enjoy within 2-3 days.
Nope! Canned beans are shelf-stable and ready to serve. It's best to rinse and drain them first, but they're fully cooked and can be eaten cold right out of the can.
More Dense Bean Salad Recipes
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Mediterranean Dense Bean Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes cut in half
- 1 large garden cucumber cut in half moons
- 1 stalk celery chopped small
- Large handful fresh basil chopped
- 15 oz can chickpeas drained
- 15 oz can cannellini beans drained
- 10 pitted kalamata olives sliced
- 10 stuffed manzanilla olives sliced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2-3 cloves garlic minced
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 pinch crushed red pepper
- Black pepper to taste
- 1 baguette sliced
- 1 lemon juiced
Instructions
- In a large bowl add tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, celery and chickpeas, olives, olive oil, lemon, salt, garlic, crushed red pepper and basil. Mix well.
- Serve with sliced baguette or over a bed of salad greens.
- Enjoy within 2-3 days.