23 Bean Salads for Meal Prep, Work Lunches, and More
Whether you’ve got a bounty of fresh shell beans (lucky you), a pile of wax beans, or a few canned cannellinis stashed in the back of your pantry, a bean salad is an excellent way to put them to use. Not only does this simple preparation add color and texture to a plate, but it also packs in plenty of plant-based protein. And since most bean salads can be made in advance—in fact, they usually get better over time—they make a great meal prep option: Mix a big batch at the start of the week and portion out however much you want to eat each day.
The recipes below include ideas for many different types of beans, so take your pick, but remember, you don’t really need a recipe to make a great bean salad. Step one: Make a simple vinaigrette with olive oil, lemon juice or red wine vinegar, and a dollop of Dijon mustard. Step two: Drain a can of beans—garbanzo beans, pinto beans, cannellini beans, whatever beans you have—and rinse them well, then don’t forget to dry them. Step three: Add fresh herbs and chopped veggies (bell pepper, artichoke, cucumber; whatever’s in the crisper drawer is fair game). Step four: Season with salt and freshly cracked black pepper. And that’s it!
Peruse more of our favorite bean recipes to use the rest of your stash.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Olivia Mack Anderson1/23White Bean Salad With Lemon and Cumin
Lemon juice, cumin, and olive oil make a simple dressing for this stunning side dish. You can use canned beans in a pinch, but for the best texture, quick-soak dried white beans before cooking and tossing them with the dressing.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Susan Kim3/23Zucchini and White Bean Caesar
Canned beans turn ribbons of raw zucchini into a meal when dressed in a classic Caesar dressing and tossed with crunchy croutons.
Photo by Alex Lau, Prop Styling by Elizabeth Jaime, Food Styling by Sue Li4/23Lemony Salmon and Spiced Chickpeas
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich5/23The New Wedge Salad With Better-Than-Thousand-Island Dressing
Crispy fried field peas (think black-eyed peas, crowder peas, cow peas) star in this salad of leafy wedges of romaine lettuce drizzled in a sun-dried tomato that’s dressing reminiscent of Thousand Island.
Photo by Andrew Purcell, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Carrie Purcell7/23Green Bean Niçoise Salad
Photo by Elizabeth Coetzee, Food styling by Stevie Stewart8/23Any Hummus Dressing
Any salad can be a bean salad when you toss it in this dressing made from hummus. Choose store-bought hummus, our favorite homemade hummus, hummus made from canned chickpeas, or go rogue.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich9/23Three Green Bean and Bulgur Salad
A trifecta of fresh green beans, fava beans, and snow peas lend crunch to this summer salad. Want to make it gluten-free? Swap the bulgur for another grain, like quinoa, wild rice—or try this farro picnic salad with green beans and cannellini beans instead.
Photo by Tara Donne, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Cyd McDowell10/23Green Bean Salad With Fennel and Toasted Pecan Dukkah
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell11/23Green Bean and Tuna Salad With Basil Dressing
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, food styling by Anna Stockwell12/23Five-Bean Salad With Smoked Paprika Vinaigrette
Photograph by Travis Rainey, food styling by Thu Buser, prop styling by Sean Dooley14/23Divorce Salad
If the name throws you off (read about its provenance here), you can call it a Really Great Salad. It requires minimal prep time, and the results will feed you all week. Serve the Italian-inspired, balsamic-marinated white beans in lettuce cups or spoon them over a slice of griddled sourdough.
Photo by Linda Pugliese17/23Crunchy Beans
If you don’t have a go-to method for crispy chickpeas, here’s a good one. Ancho chile powder is smoky and mild, giving them a bit more punch. Toss them with haricots verts, shaved radishes, and sliced onions—or any salad. (And FYI, white beans are great crispy salad toppers too.)
Photo by Isa Zapata, Prop styling by Tim Ferro, Food styling by Taneka Morris18/23Just-Keeps-Getting-Better Lentil Salad
While not technically a bean, lentils belong to the same family of foods, and this salad, which, as the name says, gets better and better as the days go by, is one of our all-time favorite take-to-work lunches.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Sean Dooley, Prop Styling by Beth Pakradooni19/23Cheesy Chickpea Salad Toast
Perhaps a stretch to call this a bean salad recipe, this quick dinner recalls the flavors of a tuna melt, swapping in the titular beans for the fish. Mixing the cheese right into the salad means the melted bits are webbed through every bite. (More of a chicken salad lover? This chickpea salad sandwich has you covered.)
Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Micah Morton, prop styling by Stephanie Yeh20/23Bean and Vegetable Salad With Potlikker Vinaigrette
Next time you braise beans or collard greens (or any hearty green), don’t dump the cooking liquid. Known as potlikker, the brothy jus brings earthy depth to this bean salad dressing.
23/23Quinoa and Black Bean Salad
Loaded with black beans, corn kernels, diced red bell pepper, and chopped cilantro, this Mexican-inspired quinoa salad is as colorful as confetti. Serve as a side for taco night or scoop it up with tortilla chips.
