Our Mediterranean white bean salad is a wholesome and refreshing dish.
It features tender and creamy cannellini, fresh herbs, and veggies tossed in a delicious Mediterranean olive oil and lemon dressing.
White bean salad is perfect for a light and fulfilling lunch or a healthy dinner with pita bread and yogurt tahini sauce. Or you can bring bring it to a potluck, picnic, or barbeque.
Table of Contents
Dietary Note: this recipe is suitable for a vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free diet.
Don’t have time to read the full blog post? JUMP TO RECIPE HERE!
What is white bean salad?
Our white bean salad is inspired by ingredients and flavors used by the countries touched by the Mediterranean Sea.
You’ll love the combination of textures and flavors of this dish!
Like our Mediterranean salad and Shirazi salad, this white bean salad is packed with fresh ingredients like tomatoes, herbs, and cucumbers.
The dressing is inspired by Turkish and Levantine cuisine. It’s made with olive oil, lemon juice, and sumac, a beautiful red spice with a mild citrusy flavor.
If you don’t have sumac, you can use ground cumin instead. It’s equally delicious.
Like tabbouleh salad, we rely on a good amount of chopped fresh parsley and scallions to add a fresh, tangy, and herby flavor that pairs beautifully with the white beans.
Inevitably, this Mediterranean white bean salad goes well with most of our other Mediterranean recipes.
For example, make it a meal by serving it with yogurt tahini sauce, sumac marinated onions, and warm pita bread.
This combination reminds us of Turkish Fasulye Piyazi, a delicious, ultra-creamy white bean salad with tahini and onions.
But you can also serve it next to spreads and small dishes like hummus, falafel, muhammara, avocado spread, chickpea fritters, or zucchini fritters.
Ingredients and substitutions for cannellini bean salad
Quantities are in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.
White beans
We like cannellini beans because they are smaller than other white beans and are buttery-tender.
You can use canned cannellini beans, drained and rinsed.
Or you can use dry cannellini beans that you soaked in water for 8 hours and boiled until tender—about 1 to 2 hours.
Here’s our guide on how to cook white beans, should you need it.
Substitute navy beans, great northern beans, baby lima beans, butter beans, chickpeas, lentils, or black beans for cannellini.
Tomatoes
We use ripe vine tomatoes cut into wedges.
Substitute Roma, grape, date, and cherry tomatoes for vine tomatoes.
Cucumber
You can use Persian, English, or American cucumber.
Scallions
Scallions, also known as green onions or spring onions, are perfect in this white bean salad because they add a slightly pungent flavor without overpowering the salad.
Substitute a shallot or mild red onion for scallions.
Fresh parsley
Use fresh flat-leaf parsley, also known as Italian parsley.
You can combine the parsley with fresh basil, mint, or coriander.
You can also substitute fresh dill for parsley.
Sun-dried tomatoes
Sun-dried tomatoes in oil add an irresistible bold, savory flavor and a slightly chewy texture. We love them in white bean salad!
Substitute Kalamata olives or marinated artichokes for sun-dried tomatoes.
Dressing
- Extra virgin olive oil.
- Fresh lemon juice.
- Red wine vinegar: substitute apple cider vinegar.
- Sumac: substitute ground cumin.
- Freshly grated garlic.
- Sea salt or kosher salt and black pepper.
Optional ingredients
- Jalapeños: Optionally, you can add pickled jalapeños or any other chili pepper for some spiciness.
- Marinated onions: For extra tang, we like to toss in some quick pickled red onions or, even better, sumac-marinated onions.
- Feta cheese or non-dairy feta: for more creaminess and flavor.
- Other veggies: You can add diced red pepper, corn kernels, and a pinch of dried oregano, for example.
How to make a white bean salad
US cups + grams measurements in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.
To a large mixing bowl, add drained and rinsed white beans, tomatoes cut into wedges, diced cucumber, thinly sliced scallions (both white and green part), chopped parsley, and chopped sun-dried tomatoes.
In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients: extra virgin olive oil, fresh lemon juice, vinegar, grated garlic, sumac, salt, and black pepper.
Pour the dressing over the salad, toss well, then serve the salad immediately, or even better, let the flavors meld for 15 minutes before serving.
Serving suggestions
You can serve this white bean salad as a side, main, or part of a mezze dinner with other small dishes.
For example, make it a meal by serving it with:
- Yogurt tahini sauce on the side. Or crumbled feta cheese/non-dairy feta.
- Sumac marinated onions or quick pickled red onions on top.
- Warm pita bread or focaccia bread.
- A pickled cucumber, Kalamata olives, and/or toasted pine nuts.
Alternatively, mix it with quinoa, orzo, pasta, bulgur, buckwheat, or couscous.
Tips
Make ahead: Toss the salad 15 to 30 minutes before serving it so the flavors have time to meld.
Serve at room temperature: For the best flavor, remove the salad from the fridge 15 minutes before serving it.
Storage & Make Ahead
Make ahead: This Mediterranean white bean salad is good for meal prep, and you can make it up to 3 days in advance. It’s excellent as a packed lunch for work, picnics, potlucks, and barbeques.
Refrigerator: Keep the salad in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 to 3 days. Remove from the refrigerator 15 minutes before serving.
Freezer: This recipe is not suitable for freezing.
More cannellini bean recipes
More easy salads
- Black bean salad
- Greek salad
- Chickpea salad
- Israeli couscous salad
- Mediterranean salad
- Mango black bean salad
- Vegan pasta salad
Salads
Black Bean Salad
30-Min Meals
Mediterranean Salad
Salads
Chickpea Salad
Salads
Israeli couscous salad
White Bean Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cans (15 ounces) cannellini beans or 3 cups cooked cannellini
- 2 medium vine tomatoes about 10 ounces, cut into wedges
- 1½ cups cucumber diced
- 3 scallions thinly sliced
- 1 cup flat-leaf parsley chopped
- ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil chopped
DRESSING
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons vinegar apple cider or red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sumac substitute 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 small clove garlic grated
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- To a large mixing bowl, add 2 cans (15 ounces) cannellini beans (drained and rinsed), 2 medium vine tomatoes (cut into wedges), 1½ cups cucumber (diced), 3 scallions (thinly sliced), 1 cup flat-leaf parsley (chopped), and ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil (chopped).
- In a small bowl, whisk 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 tablespoons vinegar, 1 tablespoon sumac, 1 small clove garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, and ⅛ teaspoon black pepper.
- Toss the salad with the dressing and serve.
MAKE IT A MEAL
- We recommend serving this white bean salad with yogurt tahini sauce, sumac marinated onions, pita bread, and olives.Find the recipes in the "Serving Suggestions" chapter linked in the notes below.
Notes
Nutrition
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Is it just me, or is the picture completely different from the recipe. The picture includes pickles, olives, red onions etc. Is there a reason these weren’t included in the recipe?
Hi Stef,
Thanks for your message 🙂
Pickles, olives, and red onions are serving suggestions and not part of the actual recipe. It’s to give you
We list those ingredients in the “serving suggestions chapter” in the body of the blog post.
I hope this helps, let us know if you have any other questions.
Have a wonderful day.
Nico
Very delicious, simple and quick! Perfect for hot summer days!
Looks fabulous for my Mother’s Day “all salads” meal. When I make it in advance, do I dress it and store it? Or make salad and still dress 15 minutes before serving? Thank you for all the great recipes!
Hi Dorothy,
Yes, you can dress the salad and make it ahead of Mother’s Day; for up to 3 days in advance.
Store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 to 3 days, and remove from the refrigerator 15 minutes before serving.
I hope this helps. Have a wonderful weekend. Kindest,
Louise