Marinated White Bean Side Salad with Olives

Name: Marinated White Bean Side Salad with Olives
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 2 14 ounce cans white beans (I prefer butter beans or black eyed peas); ¼ cup thinly sliced red onion (about ¼ small onion); 2 cloves garlic (micro grated or crushed); ½ packed cup curly parsley; ½ cup pitted Castelvetrano olives (sliced or torn with fingers); 1 batch Fresh Lemon Dijon Vinaigrette

By Desiree Nielsen RD

5 from 5 ratings

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Once you try this quick marinated white bean salad, you’ll want to make it every single week! Tossed with thinly sliced red onion, garlic, parsley and a juicy lemon dijon vinaigrette, this simple side salad is so flavourful you’ll crave it (seriously!). Inspired by Portuguese-style white bean salad, we keep it plant-based with green olives standing in for the buttery, brininess of the tuna. Takes just 10 minutes to prep, and it keeps super well, so you can eat it for lunch all week, or bring it to the party!

white bowl filled with marinated white bean, onion and olive salad, with two salad servers resting on top — Ridiculously simple (just 5 ingredients, plus dressing!) but SO flavourful, this white bean salad adds a boost of protein + fiber to your meals.

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Um, I’m not sure if you noticed, but we love a bean around here. I mean, I am a gut health dietitian…but/and/also, I grew up eating them so they’re in my blood as much as olive oil and kale. And this simple marinated white bean salad was inspired by a classic Portuguese white bean salad but with a few (very me) twists.

I chose castelvetrano olives as a stand in for the buttery, brininess of tuna so it’s totally plant-based. And I couldn’t resist marinating the white beans in my fave lemon dijon vinaigrette because it’s just SO dang flavorful it will make you crave beans. Because getting you to eat beans every single day is, like, my number one goal in life.

Bean salads are a go-to move for me because they’re packed with filling fiber and protein, and they keep so well. Something I’ve learned (the hard way, ha!) is that having a few healthy things prepped in the fridge makes it a LOT easier to eat well when life gets busy.

You can whip these marinated white beans up in just 10 minutes of hands on time. It’s a great base for a quick lunch – with some sliced veggies and my creamy dill dip – or bring it to a picnic or BBQ. There’s no feta, so it holds well at room temperature.

Looking for even more fun + flavourful plant-based recipes? Grab a copy of my cookbook, Plant Magic!

A couple of tips to help you fall in love with this marinated white bean side salad

You can use any white bean you like, but the type of bean you use is gonna change the texture of the salad. Some, like navy beans, are very soft and starchy, so they create more of a thick + creamy texture when marinated. I prefer butter beans, or black eyed peas (the traditional Portuguese pick) because their firmer texture doesn’t break down so the salad stays juicy.

glass bowl of white beans beside bowls of green olives, sliced red pepper, lemon dijon dressing and parsley — If you want a more traditional Portuguese-style dressing for this salad, my garlic vinaigrette is awesome!

Also, you can technically eat this salad right away, but I highly recommend letting it marinate for 30 minutes for the flavour to come together.

garlic and sliced onion in dressing in white bowl — Find raw onions too sharp? A quick soak in acid, AKA lemon juice or vinegar, takes the sting out!

white bowl with minced parsley, butter beans and olives inside — Find raw onions too sharp? A quick soak in acid, AKA lemon juice or vinegar, takes the sting out!

Nutrition Corner: along with antioxidants from the parsley and alliums, each side dish serving (about ½ cup) of this white bean salad contains about 7g protein and 6g fiber!!

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