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    Home » Recipes » Salad

    Easy 5 Bean Salad Recipe

    Published: Apr 20, 2022 · Modified: May 17, 2022 by Beth Sachs · As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases · 5 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
    5 bean salad pin image.

    An easy 5 bean salad with tinned (canned) cannellini beans, black beans, kidney beans, chickpeas (garbanzo beans), and fresh green beans! Added crunch comes from diced celery, red onion, and bell peppers.

    The perfect salad for BBQs, potlucks, and picnics, or served as a delicious and hearty side dish for air fryer chicken breasts or honey glazed salmon.

    5 bean salad garnished with parsley.

    This easy cold bean salad with a classic garlic mustard vinaigrette is one of my most requested salad recipes!

    It's super quick to put together, and easy to adapt. The hardest part is opening the cans of beans!

    👩‍🍳 Love salads? Try my easy curried rice salad too!

    Jump to:
    • ✔️ Why you'll love this recipe!
    • 🛒 Ingredient notes
    • 🔪 How to make 5 bean salad
    • 💭 Expert tips
    • 🍴 What to serve with bean salad
    • 📖 Variations
    • 🥡 Storage
    • ❓ Frequently asked questions
    • 😋 More easy salad recipes
    • Recipe
    • 💬 Comments

    ✔️ Why you'll love this recipe!

    Here's why this is the best five bean salad recipe!

    • Colourful and healthy side dish.
    • Easily doubled to feed a crowd.
    • Budget-friendly and frugal.
    • Keeps well in the fridge.
    • Uses store cupboard ingredients.
    • Adaptable.

    🛒 Ingredient notes

    Ingredients to make 5 bean salad.
    • Beans - you'll need 400g tins of kidney beans, black beans, chickpeas, and cannellini beans. I prefer to use fresh green beans (or yellow wax beans), as tinned green beans can be a bit mushy! Other tinned beans you could use include haricot beans (navy beans), butter beans (lima beans), and pinto beans.
    • Red Onion - finely diced.
    • Celery - diced.
    • Peppers - in this recipe I've used 1 red pepper and 1 green pepper, finely chopped. Yellow peppers would also work well.
    • Dressing - the simple dressing is made with extra virgin olive oil, white wine vinegar (or use apple cider vinegar), caster sugar, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper.
    • Parsley- for garnishing.

    🔪 How to make 5 bean salad

    The recipe card with ingredient quantities and detailed instructions can be found at the bottom of the post

    One: Open the cans of beans with a can opener, place them in a colander over the sink and rinse in cold water. Pat dry and put the canned beans into a large bowl.

    Canned beans in a bowl.

    Two: Fill a medium saucepan with water and place on a high heat on the hob. Once boiling, add the green beans (which have been cut into 3cm pieces) and cook for 3-4 minutes until tender. Drain, rinse in cold water, and add to the large bowl.

    Green beans added to the canned beans in a bowl.

    Three: Place the chopped red onion, celery, and peppers into the bowl and mix to combine.

    Five bean salad in a large bowl.

    Four: In a small bowl whisk together the dressing ingredients. Stir through the salad and refrigerate before serving. Garnish with parsley.

    5 bean salad on a serving plate.

    💭 Expert tips

    • Store any extra salad dressing in a jam jar in the fridge. It will keep for up to 7 days.
    • Thoroughly rinse the tinned beans in cold water to get rid of the starchy water from their cans. Allow to drain and pat dry if needed.

    🍴 What to serve with bean salad

    Serve the classic 5 bean salad at summer BBQ's along with a spicy potato salad, grilled meats, veggie skewers, and courgette & feta burgers!

    I also like the salad on its own for a light lunch, sprinkled with crumbled feta cheese.

    📖 Variations

    • Use whatever tinned beans you have! You don't have to stick with the types I use, that's just a guide. Go and experiment!
    • Sprinkle the bean salad with red pepper flakes for a bit of colour!
    • Use a store-bought honey mustard salad dressing to save time.
    • Add toasted pecan nuts or walnuts for crunch and texture.
    • Swap the parsley for freshly chopped coriander or mint.
    • Add other crunchy salad vegetables such as diced cucumber and sliced radishes.
    5 bean salad on a white serving plate.

    🥡 Storage

    Store: The salad will keep in the fridge for 3-5 days in an airtight container. Personally, I think it tastes better once the flavours have had time to develop (on days 2-3).

    Freeze: Not suitable for freezing.

    ❓ Frequently asked questions

    Is bean salad good for you?

    Yes! Beans are low in fat, but high in protein and fibre, meaning they are great at keeping tummies feeling nice and full. They are also good for regulating blood sugar.

    Do you need to cook tinned beans?

    Tinned (canned) beans come ready cooked in their tins so there is no need to cook the beans before making the salad. Just open the cans, drain, and rinse!

    Is five bean salad vegan and gluten-free?

    Yes, this bean salad is naturally vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free.

    Five bean salad.

    😋 More easy salad recipes

    • Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
    • Greek Orzo Salad
    • Courgette & Feta Salad
    • Prawn, Avocado and Mango Salad
    • Beetroot and Goats Cheese Salad
    • Creamy Tuna Pasta Salad

    Don't forget to subscribe to the newsletter to stay up to date with what's cooking in the Effortless Foodie kitchen! You can also follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram too!

    Recipe

    Five bean salad on a white serving plate.
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    5 from 6 votes

    Easy 5 Bean Salad

    An easy 5 bean salad with tinned (canned) cannellini beans, black beans, kidney beans, chickpeas (garbanzo beans), and fresh green beans!
    Course Salad
    Cuisine British
    Keyword 5 bean salad, cold bean salad, five bean salad
    Prep Time 10 minutes
    Total Time 10 minutes
    Servings 8
    Calories 366kcal
    Author Beth Sachs
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Equipment

    • Mixing Bowl
    • Chopping Board
    • Knife
    • Small Whisk

    Ingredients

    Metric - US Customary
    • 1 Celery Stalk diced
    • ½ Red Onion finely chopped
    • 1 Red Pepper deseeded and diced
    • 1 Green Pepper deseeded and diced
    • 400 g Kidney Beans in a tin
    • 400 g Black Beans in a tin
    • 400 g Cannellini Beans in a tin
    • 400 g Chickpeas in a tin
    • 220 g Fresh Green Beans trimmed and cut into 3cm pieces
    • 2 tablespoon Parsley chopped finely

    For the dressing

    • 6 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
    • 2 tablespoon White Wine Vinegar
    • 2 teaspoon Caster Sugar
    • 1 Garlic Clove finely chopped
    • 4 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
    • ½ teaspoon Salt
    • ¼ teaspoon Pepper

    Instructions

    • Open the cans of beans with a can opener, place them in a colander over the sink and rinse in cold water. Pat dry and put the canned beans into a large bowl.
      400 g Kidney Beans, 400 g Black Beans, 400 g Cannellini Beans, 400 g Chickpeas
    • Fill a medium saucepan with water and place on a high heat on the hob. Once boiling, add the green beans (which have been cut into 3cm pieces) and cook for 3-4 minutes until tender. Drain, rinse in cold water, and add to the large bowl.
      220 g Fresh Green Beans
    • Place the chopped red onion, celery, and peppers into the bowl and mix to combine.
      1 Celery Stalk, 1 Red Pepper, 1 Green Pepper, ½ Red Onion
    • In a small bowl whisk together the dressing ingredients. Stir through the salad and refrigerate before serving.
      6 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 2 tablespoon White Wine Vinegar, 2 teaspoon Caster Sugar, 1 Garlic Clove, 4 teaspoon Dijon Mustard, ½ teaspoon Salt, ¼ teaspoon Pepper
    • Garnish with chopped parsley.
      2 tablespoon Parsley

    Notes

    Expert Tips:
    • Store any extra salad dressing in a jam jar in the fridge. It will keep for up to 7 days.
    • Thoroughly rinse the tinned beans in cold water to get rid of the starchy water from their cans. Allow to drain and pat dry if needed.
     
    Variations:
    • Use whatever tinned beans you have! You don't have to stick with the types I use, that's just a guide. Go and experiment!
    • Sprinkle the bean salad with red pepper flakes for a bit of colour!
    • Use a store-bought honey mustard salad dressing to save time.
    • Add toasted pecan nuts or walnuts for crunch and texture.
    • Swap the parsley for freshly chopped coriander or mint.
    • Add other crunchy salad vegetables such as diced cucumber and sliced radishes.
     
    Storage:
    The salad will keep in the fridge for 3-5 days in an airtight container. Personally, I think it tastes better once the flavours have had time to develop (on days 2-3).
     
    Nutrition:
    The nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.
     
    Nutrition Facts
    Easy 5 Bean Salad
    Amount per Serving
    Calories
    366
    % Daily Value*
    Fat
     
    13
    g
    20
    %
    Saturated Fat
     
    2
    g
    13
    %
    Polyunsaturated Fat
     
    2
    g
    Monounsaturated Fat
     
    8
    g
    Sodium
     
    290
    mg
    13
    %
    Potassium
     
    665
    mg
    19
    %
    Carbohydrates
     
    50
    g
    17
    %
    Fiber
     
    16
    g
    67
    %
    Sugar
     
    6
    g
    7
    %
    Protein
     
    17
    g
    34
    %
    Vitamin A
     
    816
    IU
    16
    %
    Vitamin C
     
    38
    mg
    46
    %
    Calcium
     
    101
    mg
    10
    %
    Iron
     
    6
    mg
    33
    %
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    Tried this recipe?Snap a pic and tag @effortlessf00d on Instagram or Twitter
    « Easy Strawberry Crumble Recipe
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Jess

      April 21, 2022 at 2:23 pm

      5 stars
      I love making this bean salad for our summer BBQs!

      Reply
    2. Carrie Robinson

      April 21, 2022 at 2:44 pm

      5 stars
      I just love easy salad recipes like this! Such a great side dish to bring to a potluck or family dinner. 🙂

      Reply
    3. Michele

      April 21, 2022 at 2:45 pm

      5 stars
      We loved this delicious summer salad! Thanks for sharing the recipe.

      Reply
    4. Laura Arteaga

      April 21, 2022 at 2:59 pm

      5 stars
      Such a colorful and protein-packed salad. This is what we need for this summer. As a vegetarian family, we really appreciate recipes that contain such a high amount of protein. Thanks a lot, we are keeping this recipe!

      Reply
    5. Emily

      April 21, 2022 at 4:47 pm

      5 stars
      This salad is so fresh, crunchy, and delicious! We enjoyed it as a side along with our burgers. Next time we'll try it for lunch with a sprinkling of feta!

      Reply

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    Beth Sachs Food Blogger

    Hi, I’m Beth, a Mum of three (and one crazy dog), living in Cornwall, UK. I love creating easy, delicious and fuss-free recipes, perfect for busy families, just like my own.

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