This bright Mediterranean bean salad packs some of the best Mediterranean flavor boosters in one delicious bite and makes a healthy, filling plant based meal ready in 10 minutes. Note: this recipe was originally posted in 2018. I’ve updated this page today, tweaking the recipe (it wasn't vegan before, but it is now) and adding new pictures.
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Total Time10 minutesmins
Course: Salad
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Keyword: Mediterranean bean salad
Servings: 4
Calories: 399kcal
Author: Katia
Ingredients
2 cans(14oz each)white beans (cannellini, navy beans..), rinsed and drained
1 ½cupcherry tomatoes*
½ cupKalamata olives, pitted and halved
1-2small red onions, finely sliced
½cucumber, cut into quarters and diced
1 Tablespoondried oregano
Dressing
3Tablespoonextra virgin olive oil, or more to taste
1 ½Tablespoonfresh lemon juice
1small garlic clove, pressed or grated
¾teaspoonfine salt, or more to taste
⅛teaspoonground black pepper, or more to taste
Instructions
Halve the cherry tomatoes, finely slice the onion, rinse and drain the canned beans, dice the cucumber.
Tip all the ingredients into a large salad bowl, add the pitted Kalamata olives and the oregano.
Place the ingredients for the dressing in a glass jam jar. Shake the dressing until well combined and pour over the salad.
Toss gently to combine, taste and adjust as necessary until the flavors really pop. Let it rest for at least 10 minutes until the flavors mingle together and serve with crusty bread.
Notes
Tomatoes: grape tomatoes, or large ones chopped into small pieces are fine too. Make sure you remove the excess water from large tomatoes.Canned beans: use canned beans that are not too mushy. I notice that they differ a lot from brand to brand, especially when it comes to white beans. Some are cooked to perfection and hold their shape nicely, they're perfect for a salad. Other beans are too mushy, good for soups, but too soft for salad recipes.Dried beans: canned beans make a shortcut here, but if you prefer dried beans use you will need 1 ¼ cups of dried beans to make 2 cans.How to cook dried beans:
Soak the beans in plenty of water overnight (keep in mind they will triple in volume).
Drain and place the beans in a large pot, cover with cold water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until the beans are tender.
The cooking time will vary from 30 minutes to 1 ½ hours depending on size and type of the beans used.
Start checking after 30 minutes , and if they seem to be ready, check often because small beans can go overcooked quickly.
Drain excess water and allow the beans to cool before using in this salad recipe.
Mediterranean bean salad storage: this salad keeps very well for 3-4 days stored in air tight container in the fridge.
Nutrition facts: the nutrition values are for one serving and are based on an online nutrition calculator. It’s an estimate only and it should not be considered as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. Please see my disclosure policies.