Description
This Dense Bean Salad is a hearty, high-protein dish featuring chickpeas and cannellini beans combined with colorful bell peppers, crisp cucumbers, red onion, parsley, kalamata olives, and creamy feta cheese. Tossed in a tangy and flavorful oregano-garlic vinaigrette with a hint of sweetness from honey or maple syrup, this salad is perfect for meal prep lunches, potlucks, or a refreshing side dish. It requires no cooking and is best served chilled after marinating for enhanced flavors.
Ingredients
Scale
Salad Ingredients
- 1 can chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
- 1 can cannellini beans (drained and rinsed)
- 1 red bell pepper (finely diced)
- 1 orange or yellow bell pepper (finely diced)
- 2 Persian cucumbers (or half an English cucumber, finely diced)
- ½ small red onion (heaping half cup, finely diced)
- ⅓ cup fresh parsley (finely chopped)
- ½ cup kalamata olives (pitted and sliced) – optionally replace or mix with pepperoncini
- ½ cup feta cheese (crumbled)
Dressing Ingredients
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 1 ½ tsp honey or pure maple syrup
- 1 ½ tsp dried oregano
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- ¾ tsp fine salt
- ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Prepare the dressing: In a bowl, whisk together red wine vinegar, honey or maple syrup, dried oregano, minced garlic, salt, and black pepper until well combined. Slowly drizzle in the extra virgin olive oil while continuously whisking to emulsify the dressing.
- Combine salad ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, add the drained and rinsed chickpeas and cannellini beans, finely diced red and orange (or yellow) bell peppers, diced Persian cucumbers, chopped red onion, chopped fresh parsley, kalamata olives (or pepperoncini), and crumbled feta cheese.
- Toss salad with dressing: Pour the prepared dressing over the bean and vegetable mixture. Gently toss everything together until the ingredients are evenly coated with dressing.
- Chill and serve: Cover the salad and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow flavors to meld. Before serving, stir the salad again to redistribute the dressing evenly. Serve chilled as a flavorful, protein-packed side or main dish.
Notes
- This Dense Bean Salad is a nutritious and satisfying choice for meal-prepped lunches as it keeps well in the fridge.
- The combination of herbs, garlic, olives, and feta provides a Mediterranean flavor profile.
- For variation, you can substitute pepperoncini for olives or use a mix of both.
- Chilling the salad before serving enhances the taste by allowing all flavors to marry perfectly.
- This salad is naturally vegetarian and gluten-free.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 211 kcal
- Sugar: 3 g
- Sodium: 771 mg
- Fat: 14 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 9 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 19 g
- Fiber: 5 g
- Protein: 7 g
- Cholesterol: 11 mg
