Old-Fashioned Three Bean Salad

An Old-Fashioned Three Bean Salad is a classic potluck side dish! This super easy 3 bean salad recipe is made with green beans, white beans, and kidney beans, all tossed in a homemade tangy, slightly sweet, and herby dressing! Naturally gluten-free, vegan, and allergy-free, this healthy cold salad is perfect for cookouts, BBQs, picnics, and weekly meal prep!

Simple, easy, made in 5 minutes? The classic three bean salad is an American staple! Perfect for potlucks, large gatherings, holidays, and summer cookouts! It's even ideal to add to your weekly meal prep routine! Tangy and delicious plant-based protein with no cooking required. An ideal chilled salad that doesn't get mushy or limp in the fridge, but becomes even more delicious as it sits and marinates in all the sweet and savory flavors from the homemade dressing!

What Is Three Bean Salad?

A 3 bean salad consists of 3 types of beans (or legumes). If you grew up eating it, you'll know that every family has their own variation of the side dish, but essentially it contains green beans, kidney beans, and white beans. The white beans can either be cannellini beans or garbanzo beans (chickpeas). You can even swap in Northern white beans. These cooked and chilled beans are then tossed with a slightly sweet and tangy vinaigrette-style dressing that's loaded with flavor from herbs and dijon.

Sometimes people use a mix of green beans and wax beans (the yellow/white green beans); which makes this a four bean salad or you'll see just a mix of green beans, wax beans, and kidney beans. Regardless of your legume mix, this easy peasy salad is a winner! Other inclusions in the salad are red onion and sometimes bell pepper. I'm "team no pepper", but it's up to you.

Where Did It Originate?

There's no definitive answer to this bean salad's history, but it became popular in the 1950s due to the rise of ready-to-use commercially canned foods and outdoor barbecuing and grilling. Since most cookout side dishes contained mayo or heat-sensitive and perishable ingredients, having a dish that could withstand outdoor temperatures better and longer was essential. In comes the vinegar-based bean salad.

This also made it great for picnics and traveling, plus it was so quick and easy to throw together in large batches for church gatherings and the like. It continued to remain popular over the decades that now you can find pre-made bean salad in just about any grocery store near the canned and jarred veggies.

Ingredients For Three Bean Salad

• Green Beans: Canned or frozen green beans can be used. I wanted to maintain a brighter green bean color so I defrosted frozen. However, if you want to go "all canned", you can use canned cut green beans. Have fresh? While fresh green beans lead to more work, you can cut and blanch the fresh beans ahead of time for this salad.
• Kidney Beans: Large dark red kidney beans are a must! You'll love their hearty bite and distinct flavor.
• Cannellini Beans: Again, you can use any white beans here. I like the light bite of soft cannellini beans, but you can also use hearty chickpeas or Northern white beans, even lima beans!
• Red Onion: The bright flavor of finely chopped red onion gives this bean salad so much fresh flavor and slight crunch. If you want a less intense onion flavor, you can use a sweet white onion instead.
• Fresh Parsley: The vinaigrette dressing will have dried herbs, but including fresh parsley really brightens up the flavors of the salad and adds some beautiful green.
• Olive Oil: Extra virgin olive oil will give your salad the best flavor, however, you will find versions that use canola or vegetable oil. These oils are considered neutral and tasteless if you opt to use them.
• Apple Cider Vinegar: Cider or apple cider vinegar gives your vinaigrette that sweet and sour tanginess. Cider vinegar is the best choice, but in a pinch, red wine, white, or rice vinegar can be used.
• Seasonings + Dijon Mustard: A pinch of sugar (sugar-free sweetener), salt, black pepper, and a dash of celery seed! You can leave out the celery seed or add other spices to your dish. The dijon mustard can be left out as well, but it gives a great savory tangy spice to the dressing.

Other Ingredient Variations

• Change up your salad beans: You can include wax beans (also known as yellow beans), lima beans, garbanzo beans, Northern white beans, black beans, pinto beans, light red kidney beans, etc.
• Add more veggies: You can add canned corn, chopped bell pepper, diced celery, and even canned green peas!
• Swap dijon for honey mustard: if you're not vegan, you can use some sweet honey mustard instead of dijon for a sweeter tang to your dressing.
• Swap in different herbs: Fresh or dried herbs work and you can use parsley, dill, even oregano, or basil!
• Add some smokey coconut bacon for a salty, savory crunch!

How To Make Three Bean Salad from Scratch

1. Drain and rinse your canned beans before adding them to a large mixing bowl. (If using frozen green beans, defrost them. If using fresh, blanch them).
2. Dice the red onion and chop fresh herbs (chop any other veggies you're including), before adding them to the bowl along with seasonings.
3. Whisk together the olive oil and vinegar for vinaigrette dressing. Include the mustard here if you are using it.
4. Pour the dressing over the beans and mix everything together to combine, before allowing the salad to chill in the fridge before serving.

Recipe Tips & Tricks

• I always suggest using unsalted canned beans and vegetables. This way to you salt to taste and avoid excess sodium.
• When draining your canned beans, give them a quick rinse under water and allow them to drain off excess liquid before preparing the salad.
• If you need to blanch fresh green beans, cut them into bite-sized pieces before cooking them in boiling water for just a minute or two, until tender. Transfer them directly into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process.
• I like to finely dice the onion into tiny pieces, however, you can also thinly slice the onion into long slivers (French Cut), using a sharp knife or mandoline.
• This salad can be enjoyed at room temperature, but it is best served chilled after it has had at least an hour to marinate in the fridge.

How Long Does 3 Bean Salad Last?

• Leftovers: You can store leftover 3 bean salad in a closed container in the fridge for up to 7 days, making it ideal for meal prep too! Make sure to toss the beans salad, before serving leftovers, to redistribute the dressing that will settle to the bottom of the bowl.
• Make-Ahead: If you plan on making the salad in advance, go for it! This will allow for ideal marination and pickling to occur and the flavors to develop.
• Can you freeze it? No.

What To Serve Three Bean Salad With?

You can serve this salad as a side dish to any potluck, cookout, or large gathering. It works great as a quick healthy side dish for weeknight dinners too! You can also serve it as a light plant-based lunch. There's tons of plant-based protein and iron in beans and legumes! You can also turn this old-fashioned bean salad into an entree by adding a crumbled veggie burger, chopped chicken, fish like salmon, or add some gluten-free pasta to bulk it up!

Is Bean Salad Healthy?

There is nothing not to love about this recipe! Quick, easy, and so healthy! You'll ditch the premade bean salad and whip it up yourself every time! This recipe is completely:

• Gluten-Free
• Vegan & Vegetarian
• Allergy-free (Dairy-Free, Soy-Free, Egg-Free, Nut-Free, Peanut-Free, Wheat-Free, Sesame-Free, Coconut-Free, Corn-Free)
• Sugar-Free
• Kid-Friendly
• A Make-Ahead & Meal Prep Essential
• Simple Side Dish, Salad, or Light Meal
• Great For Any Potluck, Summer Cookout, BBQs, or Picnics

More Delicious Cold Potluck Salad Recipes:

• Old-Fashioned Cucumber Salad
• Classic Broccoli Salad
• Cold Italian Pasta Salad
• Southern Potato Salad
• Greek Pasta Salad
• French Carrot Salad

Print

So simple, so easy, and you can keep it traditional or use whatever canned beans you have on hand! It's the perfect summer side dish that you'll end up making and loving ALL year long!

So tell me:

+ Do you like wax beans? My mom hates them (that's honestly why I didn't include them here, haha!)

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