Last weekend, we were hosting 5 of Betsy’s friends who are attending a Bachelorette Party. I volunteered to cook a few meals for them and one of the things Betsy requested was a simple salad they could snack over the weekend.

I decided to make this bean salad. And yes, I was aware of the joke potential.

Bean jokes aside, it is a really simple salad to make and very tasty. It is one of those salads that gets better with time also.

Technicolor Bean Salad

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Author: Nick Evans
Servings: 8 Servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
A healthy bean salad filled with a few different kinds and colors of beans. Perfect for spring time.

Ingredients 

Salad:

  • 1 15- ounce can black beans
  • 1 15- ounce can kidney beans
  • 1 15- ounce can white beans
  • 1 15- ounce can black-eyed peas
  • 1 pound fresh green beans
  • 1 bunch scallions, chopped
  • ¼ Cup parsley, chopped

Dressing:

  • 1 egg yolk
  • ⅓ Cup red wine vinegar
  • 1 Tablespoon sugar
  • 1 clove garlic, chopped (trust me this is enough)
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 Cup extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

  • Drain and rinse beans. Also chop your scallions and parsley just so they are ready.
  • For the fresh green beans, snap off the ends and remove any “strings” down the center. Blanch the bean in boiling, salted water for 4 minutes. Drain the beans and immediately move them to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking.
  • For dressing, whisk together ingredients in a medium bowl, drizzling in the olive oil last. It should emulsify into a tangy vinaigrette.
  • Add the dressing to the salad along with the blanched green beans.
  • Season with salt and pepper and you can serve this right away but I think it’s best if it chills in the fridge for an hour or two. Before serving, garnish with fresh parsley.

Notes

Adapted from The Silver Palate Cookbook.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Side | Calories: 502kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 20g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 375mg | Potassium: 879mg | Fiber: 15g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 607IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 120mg | Iron: 6mg
Course: Salad, Side Dishes
Cuisine: American

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @crunchtimekitchen

The beans of the matter.
The beans of the matter.

This is really simple, but I recommend making it at least an hour or two ahead to give it time to chill and let all the flavors mingle. First, rinse all of your beans to remove all of the juice in the cans. You want just the clean beans.

Separation is not important.
Separation is not important.

You can also add your chopped scallions at this point.

For the fresh green beans, snap off the ends and remove any of the “strings” that are on the beans. Blanche these beans in boiling, salted water for about 4 minutes. They should become really green but still have some snap to them. You don’t want them soggy.

Then drain the beans and put them immediately in an ice bath. That will lock in their color and also stop the cooking process.

The green beans.
There was some cooking in between these photos.

For the dressing, mix the yolk, vinegar, sugar, garlic, salt and pepper in a bowl. Make sure your garlic is chopped as fine as possible. Then slowly whisk in your olive oil. It should mix together nicely and form a tangy vinaigrette.

Pour this on the salad!

Adding the Garlic dressing.
Adding the Garlic dressing.

Let this mellow in the fridge for at least an hour, but I made mine the night before.

Before serving, give it some fresh chopped parsley.

Finishing parsley.
Finishing parsley.

It’s just beans, beans, beans, and some other stuff, but trust me. The ladies love it.

Delicious and healthy.
Delicious and healthy.

I made this dish because Spring is upon us and I just imagined eating it laying out in the sun on a picnic, but alas, the weather didn’t agree with my plans. It is still pretty much Winter.

The salad is tasty though and it only takes a few minutes to throw together.