Name: Three Bean Salad Recipe - So Simple & Delicious
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: PT-481882H6M11S
Total time: 40 min
Cuisine: american
Ingredients: 15 oz can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed’; 15 oz can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed; 15 oz can white northern beans, drained and rinsed; ¼ cup lime juice; ¾ cup fresh cilantro, chopped; ½ red onion, diced; 2 tbsp honey; 2 tbsp olive oil; ½ tsp kosher salt; 1 tsp ground cumin

Three Bean Salad Recipe – So Simple & Delicious

This three bean salad recipe is so easy to put together, is filing, healthy and also very affordable to make. If you are looking for a hearty, yet tasty side dish to make with a meal – or a simple and filling appetizer, this is a great option.

Three bean salad offers a nice blend of creaminess from the beans, a hint of tang from the dressing, balanced with a bit of honey and the crunch and fresh flavors that the onion and cilantro add. That is a lot of flavor for such a simple recipe. The best part is you can literally throw this one together in minutes, and it is very easy on the grocery budget.

You can really serve this salad with just about anything, but my favorites are pork loin, or other versions of pork dishes (especially a BBQ), or chicken dishes. If you really want to keep the cost of the entire meal down, serve it along side these soy sauce marinated chicken thighs or with a roasted whole chicken. They pair perfectly with these glazed pork chops too. Another way I like to serve it is next to a great sandwich (instead of something like chips). This Turkey & Apple Panini sandwich would pair so nice with it as well.

Note that we used our favorite three types of beans in this version, but you can really substitute your favorites too. Many folks like to add green beans for a classic three bean recipe, but we chose three canned beans as they are so affordable and with grocery prices high right now, we are looking to help keep those costs down where we can.

Some people will add a bit of sugar to their salad, but we prefer to use honey. We just like that flavor with the tangy vinaigrette – it goes so nicely together.

How Healthy Is Three Bean Salad

Beans are a great part of a heart healthy diet, and they are also a great plant based source of protein. By leaving the sugar out of our version, it also adds to the health benefits of this salad.

How Long Does Three Bean Salad Keep in the Fridge?

We usually only keep our leftovers in an air tight container for up to 3 days in the fridge. The good news is that we usually do not have many leftovers to store, but you can easily make this recipe a day ahead to let it sit longer and marinate in the fridge.

Make this Three Bean Salad Recipe as a Side Dish / Picnic or Potluck Salad or Use It as A Dip with Chips!

The other thing I love about this recipe is how versatile it is. You can serve it as a side dish for a beautiful dinner, make up a batch the night before an event, and take it as a pot luck dish, or use it for game day as a dip by putting out some tortilla chips with it. I packaged the leftovers up in single serve containers and take it for lunch with me the next day too.

Ingredients For this Three Bean Salad Recipe

15 oz can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed’

15 oz can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

15 oz can white northern beans, drained and rinsed

¾ cup fresh cilantro, chopped

½ red onion, finely chopped

½ tsp kosher salt

1 tsp ground cumin

Dressing Ingredients –

¼ cup lime juice

2 tbsp honey

2 tbsp olive oil

How to Make This Three Bean Salad –

Rinse Beans and add to a bowl

Finely chop your onion and cilantro and slice lime

Combine all of the ingredients in a medium to large bowl and mix well.

Next combine your olive oil and lime juice a pour over salad

Add honey and gently combine all ingredients

Cover and refrigerate for approximately 30 minutes, even better if you can let it sit overnight.

Mix well and serve with chips for a fun dip or as a side dish.

Servings: 6-8 people | Prep time: 10 minutes | Total time: 40 minutes including refrigeration

Notes: If not a fan of garbanzo beans you can substitute with pinto beans or black beans.