Feta and White Bean Salad (vegetarian) is a quick and easy no-cook recipe. Tomatoes, celery, onion, fresh parsley, cannellini beans and feta cheese make up the main ingredients in this healthy and delicious side dish.
Beans are a nutritional powerhouse that I often overlook and forget about. Not only are they nutritionally superior to many other foods (thanks to their high fiber and protein content), they are also incredibly convenient and easy to prepare.
My husband grew up in a household that regularly consumed beans so he is always thrilled when I include them in our dinner or prepare them to keep in the fridge for lunches for the week.
My Feta and White Bean Salad (vegetarian) can be prepared in about 20 minutes, is easily doubled and will keep well in the fridge for a few days. This salad recipe will help you get more veggies in your diet, increase your fiber consumed for the day and is an excellent side dish for Meatless Monday.
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Ingredients needed
- White beans - I prefer to use cannellini beans and that is what I have tested the recipe with. I chose to use canned beans to save time. However, if you want to tackle dried beans, go right ahead!
- Cherry tomatoes - The cherry tomatoes needed to be cut into halves.
- Celery - Chop the celery into half moon pieces.
- Red onion - When eating onions raw in salads, I always choose red onions. If you don't have red, you can sub in white onions or yellow onions.
- Fresh parsley - FRESH parsley is a must. I do not recommend subbing in dried parsley. This recipe calls for ½ cup chopped fresh parsley.
- Feta cheese - Make sure to choose full fat feta cheese. I have accidentally purchased low-fat feta before and it is terrible tasting. When it comes to feta, the fat is necessary for flavor and texture.
- Olive oil
- Rice vinegar
- Lemon juice
- Dried oregano
- Garlic powder
- Salt
- Pepper
Kitchen tools needed
- Cutting board and chopping knife
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Small mixing bowl
- Medium mixing bowl
- Can opener
One of the reasons I love this recipe is that it doesn't require any cooking! Simply pop open your can of beans and mix the rest of the ingredients together. It doesn't get any easier than that!
Step-by-step instructions
- Rinse, chop and prep your ingredients.
- Mix together the ingredients needed to make the vinaigrette.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together the cannellini beans (or navy beans), cherry tomatoes, celery, red onion, fresh parsley and feta cheese.
- Pour the vinaigrette onto the bean, veggie and cheese mixture. Mix well to combine.
- Serve and enjoy!
As you can see, this is a very simple recipe. It can be made in under 30 minutes, making it an excellent last-minute dish. It also tastes delicious if it's made a day in advance. This allows the flavors to marinade together and enhance the dish even more.
What are white beans?
There are 4 main types of white beans - cannellini, navy, great northern and baby lima beans. Navy beans get creamy when cooked, have a mild flavor and are very high in fiber - 19 grams per cup! Cannellini beans have a nutty, earthy flavor and are shaped like a kidney. Great northern beans are also mild in flavor and tend to take on the flavor of the foods they're cooked with. Lima beans are also known as butterbeans and are starchier than other beans. All 4 of these white beans are often used interchangeably in recipes. I prefer cannellini beans, but if you don't have cannellini on hand and have one of these other varieties, feel free to substitute them in!
Special diet preferences
- Gluten free - This bean salad vegetarian recipe is naturally gluten free! None of the ingredients are known to contain gluten.
- Dairy free - If you eliminate the feta cheese then this bean recipe would be dairy free. I've never tried dairy-free feta cheese before, but I have been a fan of Follow your Heart products for a long time! They make a vegan feta cheese that looks delicious!
- Vegetarian - As the name of the recipe implies, this is a vegetarian side dish!
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📖 Recipe
Feta and White Bean Salad (vegetarian)
This recipe can be whipped up in 20 minutes, made in advance and tastes even better after it sits for a while. This is a high fiber, vegetarian, gluten free recipe that you will absolutely love.
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- Juice of ½ lemon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 - 15 ounce cans cannellini beans - drained & rinsed
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes - halved
- 1 cup celery - chopped
- ¼ cup red onion - diced
- ½ cup fresh parsley - diced
- ½ cup crumbly feta cheese
Instructions
- In a small bowl whisk together the olive oil, rice vinegar, lemon juice, salt, pepper, oregano and garlic powder. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the beans, cherry tomatoes, celery, red onion, fresh parsley and feta cheese.
- Pour the olive oil mixture onto the bean mixture in the large mixing bowl.
- Mix well to combine.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Store the white bean salad in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- This recipe can be made in advance.
- This is a vegetarian and gluten free recipe (double check labels to make sure there is no hidden gluten).
- Prep Time: 20
- Category: side dish
- Method: ready-to-eat
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Keywords: bean salad vegetarian
Serving suggestions
Serve this easy bean salad along side grilled chicken, burgers, pork chops or as a main dish. It would also go well with my recipes listed below!
- Roasted Chicken with Garlic Herb Butter
- Buffalo Chicken Thighs with Celery & Blue Cheese
- Caprese Chicken Sandwich with Basil Pesto Mayo
Frequently asked questions
The most common combination is kidney beans, green beans and garbanzo beans.
No this bean salad recipe is not vegan. Vegan recipes cannot contain any animal products. Since this recipe contains feta cheese, it is not vegan.
Technically yes. It would change the flavor and texture of the salad though. I have never tested this recipe with black beans before.
Judith Madill
I like chick peas, would they work just as well?
Katie
Yes, chickpeas would definitely work!
MaryJane
Love how fresh and bright this salad is! I make it often on a Sunday to have for several work day lunches, super easy and delicious!
★★★★★