This dense bean salad recipe is a combination of beans, fresh vegetables, pomegranate seeds, goat cheese, walnuts and a dijon vinaigrette dressing. It’s packed with plenty of protein and fiber, while having a flavor that your taste buds will love. This hearty dense bean salad is perfect for meal prep lunches or as a flavorful side dish to bring to your next social gathering.
Why You’ll Love This Dense Bean Salad
Like many of you, I saw the viral TikTok recipe by Violet Witchel. I really didn’t think I was going to be a dense bean salad girl, but this is actually one of my favorite food trends. It’s giving beans their respected limelight, and as a dietitian, I’m here for it.
Even if you’re not a huge fan of beans, you should give this salad a try! It’s kind of like a pasta salad, except you’re replacing the pasta with beans. With all the other veggies, textures, and flavors happening in this dish, this is the perfect way to get more plant-based protein and beans into your diet!
This dense bean salad recipe is a delicious meal prep option for your weekday lunches. It only takes 10 minutes to put together, and you can make a big batch at the beginning of the week and then enjoy it all week long. Since there’s no lettuce, this salad stays fresh longer in your fridge than traditional salads. Plus, since it’s a cold salad, there’s no reheating necessary.
Dense bean salad recipes are packed with essential nutrients. They’re an excellent source of fiber, protein, folate, iron and magnesium. This recipe is no exception either – with 9 grams of fiber and 15 grams of protein, this marinated bean salad will keep your blood sugar levels stable for several hours. You can include some optional protein additions, such as rotisserie chicken, deli meat, or tofu, to make this a higher protein meal.
For more high protein foods, check out: A Dietitian’s High Protein Cheat Sheet PDF.
Ingredients You’ll Need
This recipe uses simple ingredients that you can find at your local grocery store. It’s also a really versatile recipe so you can easily swap ingredients or omit ones that you don’t love too. Here’s the ingredients you’ll need to make this dense bean salad recipe.
For The Bean Salad:
- Beans – I used chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans) and cannellini beans (aka white kidney beans). You can use any variety of beans, but I’d recommend choosing 2-3 types of beans for your dense bean salad. Butter beans, navy beans, pinto beans, black beans, small white beans, or great northern beans are all great options to choose from. I typically use canned beans for the convenience factor. Just be sure to drain and rinse them!
- Red Onion – this adds a sharp and zesty flavor to the bean salad. I like to use red onion because the color is so vibrant and visually appealing but yellow onion or green onion would also work.
- Bell Peppers – Red peppers add a bright color and are a great source of vitamin C, which can lower inflammation and improve your immune system.
- English Cucumber – this adds more crunch and texture to your bean salad. You can substitute regular cucumber, you just may want to peel and de-seed it first.
- Grape Tomatoes – I’ll take any opportunity to use my grape cutter! Rich in the antioxidant lycopene, these tomatoes are a refreshing addition to this dense bean salad. Cherry tomatoes are a great swap for grape tomatoes.
- Pomegranate Seeds – I’m a huge pomegranate lover and feel like they add the perfect mix of sweetness and tartness to this dish. If you’re not a pomegranate seed lover, or if they’re not in season, you can substitute blueberries, halved grapes, or dried cranberries.
- Goat Cheese – any type of cheese would go well in this dish. I used goat cheese to kind of mimic a berry goat cheese salad. You could easily substitute feta cheese, mozzarella pearls, or cheddar cheese.
- Walnuts – these nuts add a delightful crunch to this salad. Plus, they have a lot of fiber and healthy fats like omega 3 fatty acids.
For The Dijon Dressing:
- Dijon Mustard – this helps to create a creamy consistency and gives a tangy flavor to this vinaigrette dressing.
- Honey – this adds a bit of sweetness to balance out this tangy vinaigrette. You can also substitute agave, maple syrup or your preferred sweetener.
- Olive Oil – a great source of healthy fats and mild flavor. Avocado oil would also be a suitable swap.
- Apple Cider Vinegar – not just a zesty flavor for this vinaigrette. Apple cider vinegar has some known health benefits too!
- Salt + Pepper
How To Make a Dense Bean Salad
Did I mention how simple this is to make?! Here’s what you’re going to do.
First, mix all of your bean salad ingredients together in a large bowl: chickpeas, cannellini beans, red onion, bell pepper, English cucumber, grape tomatoes, pomegranate seeds, crumbled goat cheese, and chopped walnuts.
Next, mix all of your dijon dressing ingredients together in a small bowl or salad dressing shaker.
If you’re going to enjoy it right away, pour the dressing over the dense bean salad and gently stir to combine.
If you’re going to meal prep this recipe, you can either add the dressing to the entire bean salad in advance, or you could add the dressing right before serving. I personally think it’s fine to add the dressing in advance if you’re going to eat this within a few days. Since there isn’t any lettuce in this salad, this recipe lasts a bit longer in your fridge than a traditional salad would. If you want peak crisp vegetables, you can add the dressing right before enjoying.
For meal prep, I like to use individual lunch containers with small stainless steel salad dressing containers. This makes it easy to pre-portion all of your lunches and dressings out. Then you can easily add your dressing right at the time you’re about to eat it.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.
Variations + Substitutions
- Use any mix of beans that you prefer. I’d recommend choosing 2-3 types of beans such as pinto beans, butter beans, navy beans, black-eyed peas, or great northern beans.
- Swap in black beans, fresh cilantro, cheddar cheese and use this avocado cilantro lime dressing to make a Mexican Dense Bean Salad.
- Add sun-dried tomatoes, feta cheese, green olives and fresh herbs like basil to make a Mediterranean Dense Bean Salad.
- To make this recipe entirely plant based, omit the goat cheese or substitute a vegan cheese such as vegan feta.
- Increase the protein content by adding rotisserie chicken, deli meat, hard boiled eggs, lentils or quinoa.
- Serve over a bed of leafy greens to increase the volume of this meal to make it more filling.
Other Healthy Recipes You’ll Love
Greek Chicken Grain Bowls (Easy + PCOS Friendly)
Make Ahead Quinoa Overnight Oats (4 Different Ways)
Healthier Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pasta
If you make this Dense Bean Salad recipe, please consider leaving a rating and review at the end of this blog post. This is incredibly helpful to me, my small business, and to other readers!
Dense Bean Salad with Honey Dijon Vinaigrette
Ingredients
For The Bean Salad
- 1 can chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 1 can cannellini beans drained and rinsed
- 1 red bell pepper or any color
- 1 pint grape tomatoes quartered
- ½ small red onion diced
- ½ English cucumber chopped into cubes
- ½ cup pomegranate seeds
- 4 oz goat cheese crumbled
- ¼ cup walnuts chopped
For The Honey Dijon Vinaigrette
- 3 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 2 tbsp dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp honey or agave
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix all of your bean salad ingredients together: chickpeas, cannellini beans, red onion, bell pepper, English cucumber, grape tomatoes, pomegranate seeds, crumbled goat cheese, and chopped walnuts.
- In a small bowl, mix the honey dijon vinaigrette ingredients together: olive oil, dijon mustard, honey, apple cider vinegar, salt, and pepper.
- If you’re going to enjoy it right away, pour the dressing over the dense bean salad and gently stir to combine. If you're going to meal prep this recipe, you can either add the dressing now or add it right before eating.
Notes
Nutrition
The post Dense Bean Salad Recipe with Honey Dijon Vinaigrette appeared first on The PCOS Nutritionist Alyssa.