Cannellini Bean Salad

Bean salads are hearty and filling. They’re the kind of recipes that you can turn into a main dish salad. I’m a big fan of combining pantry staples like canned beans with fresh ingredients. Summer is the best time of year to do that.

This salad has such a good balance of fresh produce, creamy white beans and the crunch of toasted bread. What takes a salad to the next level, is the variety in the mix. You want ingredients that are different from each other, but they all work beautifully together.

There are multiple ways to serve a bean salad. This one is big enough to be a main dish, but it also works as a side with other Mediterranean recipes.

The Ingredients

This is what you need:

• Cannellini beans: These white beans are plump with good creamy texture. They are bigger than great northern beans and navy beans, which is why I like them, but you can swap out and use one of these smaller kinds.
• Tomatoes: Either fresh cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes are great for salads because when you cut them in half they hold their shape and their juices. When you chop a medium or large tomato, it can get messier with the flesh and seeds.
• Cucumbers: I like Persian cucumbers or English cucumbers because their skin is more delicate, and they have less seeds than regular cucumbers.
• Red onions: Finely chopped, they add a sharp accent to the salad. You can substitute with thinly sliced green onions, but I prefer red onions for Mediterranean recipes. 
• Olives: Halved kalamata olives give the ingredient mix something salty and briny. 
• Feta is my cheese of summer. I love the creamy, tart flavor that it adds to salads.
• Crusty bread like a rustic country bread or sourdough work best. Skip soft sandwich bread. 
• Lemon basil vinaigrette: The dressing has lovely fresh herb flavor with lemon juice, basil leaves, garlic, mustard, white wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt and black pepper. You will also need oil, salt and pepper for making the croutons.

Leftovers & Storage

If you’re making this easy white bean salad recipe for meal prep or you aren’t going to eat all of it, only add the amount of croutons for that portion. Then store the salad in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days.

Extra vinaigrette should be stored in a jar. Keep the croutons in another container at room temperature, so they stay crisp. Let the salad and vinaigrette sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before you serve them, so they aren’t as cold.

I will still save salad leftovers in the fridge even if they have croutons. They will soften, but the salad will still taste good. If you want, you can toast more bread into croutons for leftovers.