Quick and Easy White Bean Salad

Simple white bean salad with red onions, a little lemon juice, olive oil, vinegar, herbs, salt and pepper.

Elise Bauer

Elise founded Simply Recipes in 2003 and led the site until 2019. She has an MA in Food Research from Stanford University.

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Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
White Bean Salad
Elise Bauer

My mother is a genius.

She throws together the most simple of ingredients, and they are so good that I have to get up in the middle of a meal to write everything down, for in her words, "if you like it, ask me now what I did because in an hour I won't remember."

What I love about this white bean salad creation of hers is that it is so dead easy, and it's good protein too.

It would make an excellent picnic salad because you can make it a day ahead; the extra time just gives the flavors more time to sink into the beans. If you really have the time, make the beans from scratch ahead of time on the stovetop or in a pressure cooker.

It can also be put together at the last minute with basic pantry items. If you have fresh herbs available, you can use those, if not, dry Herbs de Provence work well too.

White bean salad in a bowl
Elise Bauer

Quick and Easy White Bean Salad

Prep Time 5 mins
Total Time 5 mins
Servings 4 servings

You can easily double or quadruple the recipe to serve a larger group.

Ingredients

  • 1 14.5-ounce can white beans, drained but not rinsed
  • 2 tablespoons chopped red onion
  • A squeeze of lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons wine vinegar (red or white)
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon dry Herbs de Provence (crumbled) OR 1 teaspoon of some combination of finely chopped rosemary, tarragon, thyme, and lavender
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Method

  1. Let the onion marinate in lemon juice:

    After you chop up the onion, squeeze a little lemon juice over it and let it sit while prepping the other ingredients. According to my mother, this will take the edge off the onion.

  2. Combine all ingredients into a serving dish:

    You can serve right away if you want, but if you chill for a few hours, the flavors will come together better.

    Lasts a couple of days in the refrigerator.