White Bean Salad with Basil Lemon Vinaigrette
on Apr 07, 2022, Updated Jun 30, 2026
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Tossed in an herby and zesty dressing, this simple white bean salad is ready in 10 minutes or less. I use whatever canned white beans I have in my pantry and combine them with red onions and grated pecorino cheese. The basil lemon vinaigrette is quick and easy to make in a food processor.
If you’re looking for a three bean salad, try this Mediterranean bean salad with cucumbers, tomatoes and feta.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Beans are the perfect non-lettuce salad ingredient. Soup isn’t the only reason why I keep my pantry stocked with budget-friendly canned beans. They are versatile in all sorts of vegetarian recipes.
This make-ahead salad delivers on texture and taste with creamy beans, lemon, herbs and garlic. You won’t miss lettuce in this salad, and it’s a great side dish.
A bean salad won’t wilt. That makes it fantastic for potlucks and picnics when you know the salad will sit longer. The beans will still keep their flavor and freshness.
Ingredients & Substitutions
This is what you need:
- White beans: You can use any type of white beans for this salad. In the photos in this post, you will see that I chose navy beans, but I have also made it with great northern beans, cannellini beans and even chickpeas. You can use a mix.
- Red onion: Chopped onions give this bean recipe a sharp accent and some crunch. Red are my pick for salads when you’re going to eat them raw, but you also could try white or a few sliced scallions for more of that green onion flavor.
- Pecorino is a hard Italian sheep’s milk cheese. I like it when I want something similar to Parmesan, but with saltier, stronger flavor. You can swap one for the other.
- Lemon basil vinaigrette: Besides fresh herbs and citrus, the dressing has garlic, whole grain mustard, extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt and black pepper.
Optional Salad Additions
Treat the beans as a base and don’t hesitate to include an addition or two:
- Red peppers: Try either chopping jarred roasted red peppers or a raw red bell pepper.
- Cucumbers: With delicate skin and less seeds, slice an English cucumber or a couple persian cucumbers.
- Tomatoes: In season, slice a pint of grape tomatoes or cherry tomatoes.
- Lettuce: Wait to add peppery arugula or another leafy green until right before you’re about to serve the salad
- Olives: Roughly chop pitted Kalamata olives.
- Avocado: Diced, an avocado will give the salad even more creaminess.
How To Make A White Bean Salad
1. Combine the salad dressing ingredients in the bowl of a food processor or blender. That includes the basil, garlic, mustard, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.
2. Puree the dressing until it is smooth and fully combined.
3. Combine the salad ingredients, white beans, onions and Pecorino, in a large bowl.
4. Drizzle the dressing into the salad and stir everything together.
Serving
Pair this salad with grilled halloumi vegetable skewers, oven-baked zucchini corn fritters or roasted ratatouille quinoa. For work lunches, you can add baked tofu, chicken or shrimp along with a piece of crusty bread.
Recipe Tips
- You can make the salad 2 hours ahead of time. Why not take advantage of a lettuce-free salad recipe? Go ahead and assemble the salad and stir in the dressing. This will give the beans more time to marinate.
- To stretch leftovers, stir the beans with with cooked grains. Try quinoa, barley or farro.
More Bean Salads
Butter Bean Salad
Black Bean and Corn Salad
Cannellini Bean Salad
Asparagus White Bean Salad
If you’re a salad person, don’t miss my easy seasonal salad guide for inspiration all year long.
White Bean Salad with Basil & Lemon Vinaigrette
Ingredients
For dressing
- 1/2 cup packed basil leaves
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 teaspoon whole grain mustard
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
For salad
- 2 15 ounce cans white beans, navy, great northern or cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/4 cup finely chopped red onions
- 1/4 cup grated Pecorino cheese
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Instructions
- To make the dressing, combine the basil, garlic, mustard, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper in the bowl of a food processor or blender. Puree the ingredients until they are smooth and combined.
- For the salad, combine the beans, onions and pecorino.
- Pour the dressing into the salad. Stir to combine.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Delicious! This recipe worked well with what I had on hand. I can see this old be adaptable to whatever you need to use up, while eating healthy.