Who doesn’t love a good bean salad? They’re easy to make, and the perfect side for any meal. This Mediterranean Bean Salad is high in protein and fiber from the beans and full of Mediterranean flavor! The recipe includes kidney beans, cannellini beans, cucumber, red onion, kalamata olives and feta cheese and dressed in Italian herbs, olive oil and lemon juice.
Take this bean salad to a cookout, have a salad topper, use as a cracker topper or just eat by itself!
What Beans Should I Use?
You can use canned beans or hydrate dry beans yourself. I usually used canned beans because of convenience. However, if you want to make your own beans, this article is a helpful guide to making different types of beans on the stove.
So back to canned beans! I rinse my canned beans, so they aren’t covered in the liquid and pick up the Mediterranean flavors of the dressing. Rinsing your beans also reduces the added salt.
In this recipe, I use kidney beans and cannellini beans. I wanted to use large beans with a soft texture that aren’t too crunchy. Since the cucumber slices add a nice crunch, I wanted the beans to be noticeably different. I think they work well together!
Mediterranean Bean Salad Recipe
Assuming you are using canned beans, start by rinsing your beans in a colander. Add the beans to a big bowl and get chopping!
Chop up the cucumber, red onion, and kalamata olives and add it all into the bowl of beans. Add in the feta cheese and sprinkle the Italian herbs over everything. Give it a good stir!
In a smaller bowl, whisk the olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, minced garlic, salt and pepper together. Drizzle over the bean salad and mix in well!
Done! You got a delish bean salad packed with bright Mediterranean flavors ready for eatin’! I like to garnish the salad with fresh herbs like parsley, but basil, thyme or mint would go well too!
How to Serve this Salad
I usually have this bean salad as a side dish. It goes well with sandwiches and burgers as a side, so serving it with lunches and dinners is what we do most of the time. However, you can also have it as a snack! It makes a delicious and healthy snack that is filling thanks to the fiber and protein in the beans.
Another option is using it as a salad topper. To give salads more texture and added protein, I love adding beans. Since this bean salad is full of Mediterranean flavor, it makes eating more vegetables easy peasy! It also makes salads comes together so quickly. The Mediterranean bean salad already has so much in it, so pile it on a bed of greens is all you need to do!
Other Mediterranean Side Dishes
If you’re looking for other yummy Mediterranean side dishes that are easy to make try my Za’atar Fries, Mediterranean Farro Salad or Authentic Greek Salad Recipe. My favorite cuisine is Mediterranean food, so I’m always making Mediterranean versions of my favorite meals. Let me know if you have a recipe you’d like to see given a Mediterranean twist in the comments!
Mediterranean Bean Salad
Ingredients
Mediterranean Bean Salad
- 1 15 oz can of drained and rinsed kidney beans
- 1 15 oz can of drained and rinsed cannellini beans
- 1 cucumber quartered
- 1/2 cup red onion diced
- 2/3 cup kalamata olives sliced
- 3/4 cup feta cheese crumbled
- 1 tablespoon Italian Herbs
Mediterranean Bean Salad Vinaigrette
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic minced
- salt & pepper
Instructions
Mediterranean Bean Salad
- Rinse canned beans in a colander and add to a large bowl.
- Chop cucumber, red onion and kalamata olives and add to the bowl of beans.
- Sprinkle the feta cheese over the bowl and dried Italian herbs.
Mediterranean Bean Salad Vinaigrette
- Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, and minced garlic.
- Salt and pepper to taste.
- Drizzle over bean salad and mix well – enjoy!
Notes
- If you don’t have dried Italian herb seasoning, you can make your own by mixing dried thyme, rosemary, sage, oregano and basil. Fresh herbs like basil and oregano work too!
- Rinsing the canned beans reduces the added salt and removes the liquid so that the beans can absorb the flavors of the Italian herb infused dressing.
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