5 Bean Salad [Vegan]

Name: 5 Bean Salad [Vegan]
Prep time: 13 min
Cook time: 2 min
Total time: 15 min
Ingredients: 20 green beans; 1 can cannellini beans (approx (200g)); 1 can black beans (approx (200g)); 1 can red kidney beans (approx (200g)); 1 can chickpeas (or garbanzo beans, approx (200g)); ½ bell pepper; ¼ red onion (diced); salt (to taste); pepper (to taste); 1 garlic clove; 2 tbsp olive oil; 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar; 1 tsp Dijon mustard; 2 tsp caster sugar

Jump to Recipe

This is easily the best 5 bean salad recipe you’ll ever make. It’s quick (15 minutes!), healthy, vegan, no fuss and fantastic for feeding a crowd or if you need easy meal prep ideas.

2 plates of 5 bean salad next to 2 bowls of the same salad on a wooden and slate board

Jump to:

Why You’ll Love 5 Bean Salad
Are Canned Beans Healthy?
What Beans Can I Put in A 5 Bean Salad?
What Dressing to Use For 5 Bean Salad?
Do You Need to Cook Canned Beans?
Recipe Overview
Ingredients
Variations and Substitutions
Instructions
How to Make This Salad Perfectly [Expert Tips]
Great Mains for This Salad
Frequently Asked Questions
Recipe

Why You’ll Love 5 Bean Salad

There are so many things to love about this vegan bean salad. It’s inexpensive and ever so hearty. Especially great if you’re feeding a large family or crowd and you need to fill them up.

It is simply delicious. If you love your beans like we do, it’s such a quick meal to have on its own. It’s also good for meal prep as you can make it the day before and serve up the next day. In fact, it actually tastes better the next day as the salad dressing really creates the flavour.

For our vegan friends and those who follow a plant-based diet, this is a fantastic salad recipe that is rich and clean.

Are Canned Beans Healthy?

A good 5 bean salad is also healthy to consume as beans are a nutrient rich food. Beans are excellent sources of fibre, folate, plant protein, plant iron, vitamin B1, and minerals such as magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and copper.

They are also a great source of plant-based protein.

However, canned beans are full of sodium, so it is best to wash them before eating or try to get the no sodium or low sodium varieties.

What Beans Can I Put in A 5 Bean Salad?

The most popular beans to add to a 5 bean salad are green beans, red kidney beans, black beans, chickpeas or garbanzo beans and cannellini beans.

Some other beans you can use include butter beans, borlotti beans, yellow wax beans, pinto beans and Great Northern beans—a ton of choices and the ability to mix it up to add your favourites.

What Dressing to Use For 5 Bean Salad?

For this 5 bean salad, we have chosen to use a simple Dijon mustard vinaigrette. Nothing too strong or overpowering so that we can taste the beans in the recipe.

We have a few salad dressing recipes you can use as an alternative, such as our balsamic vinaigrette, red wine shallot vinaigrette or oregano vinaigrette.

Do You Need to Cook Canned Beans?

Canned beans are already cooked, so you don’t need to cook them before eating. However, you can add them to your recipe and heat them as you would in soup or chilli.

Feel free to explore some of our other salads that feature canned beans. Try our cauliflower rice salad with cannellini beans or chipotle corn salad with black beans.

Recipe Overview

Flavour/Texture: Beans generally have a buttery and starchy texture. Hence is counteracted by the crunch of al dente fresh green beans, bell peppers and raw red onion. The overall mouthful is, therefore, well-balanced.

The Dijon mustard vinaigrette is familiar and unobtrusive, giving the 5 bean salad the slight tang it needs.

Ease: Super easy indeed. A quick blanch of the green beans will suffice while everything else is out of a can or diced. Nothing complicated at all.

Time: This is a 15-minute salad. What more can we ask for?

Ingredients

These are the ingredients you need for 5 bean salad:

Green beans: This is the only bean that should be eaten fresh rather than from a can or frozen. It is simply fresher and will give the salad the crunch it needs.

Beans: For this 5 bean salad, we chose staples such as cannellini beans, black beans, red kidney beans, and chickpeas or garbanzo beans.

Bell pepper: Any bell pepper will do. Gives more crunch, something fresh and a bit of colour.

Red onion: We love adding raw, diced red onion to our salads. A touch of potency to really mix up the flavours.

Garlic: Fresh and minced well to be infused into the vinaigrette.

Dijon mustard: Adding the sharp taste, pungent flavours into the perfect mix of olive oil and apple cider vinegar. Super easy and quick.

Variations and Substitutions

Type of beans: Although traditionally, the beans used in a 5 bean salad are as listed, there is no reason why you would have to stick to it. You can also use butter beans, borlotti beans, yellow wax beans, pinto beans and Great Northern beans.

Other vegetables: Plenty of other vegetables you can add to this 5 bean salad to add an additional crunch, such as cucumber, celery and radish.

Extra bite: For that extra pungency or spiciness, you can use Hot English mustard or horseradish in the salad dressing.

Less pungent allium: If red onions are too much for you, feel free to omit them. Or you can try a salad onion or some scallions for a less potent ingredient.

Instructions

Step by step instructions for how to make 5 bean salad

Bring a pot of water to the boil and cook green beans until al dente. Run under cold water, cut into 3 and set aside to dry.

blanching green beans on a pot of water on a stove top

Cutting green beans into 3 with a knife on a wooden chopping board

Drain the canned beans and chickpeas, rinse briefly and set aside to dry.

Dice the bell pepper and red onion.

Slicing yellow capsicum with a knife on a wooden chopping board

Dicing red onion with a knife on a wooden chopping board

How to Make Dijon Mustard Vinaigrette

Mince garlic.

Add all the ingredients into a mixing bowl and mix until well combined.

Pouring olive oil into a white bowl surround by other ingredients in small bowls

Pouring vinegar into a white bowl of olive oil surround by other ingredients in small bowls

Adding salt to a bowl of olive oil,, surround by small bowls of other ingredients

Adding Dijon mustard into a bowl of olive oil and vinegar

Adding minced garlic into a bowl of olive oil and mustard

Mixing a bowl of Dijon mustard dressing with a red spatula

How to Assemble the Salad

In a large mixing bowl, add all the ingredients. Season with salt and pepper.

Pour in the salad dressing.

A glass bowl of 5 beans, red onion and capsicum

Pouring Dijon mustard dressing into a glass bowl of beans, diced onions and capsium

Toss until well combined.

A spoon mixing a bowl of beans, green, red onion and capsicum.

Serve.

How to Make This Salad Perfectly [Expert Tips]

Rinsing canned beans: It is important to give the canned beans a good rinse before eating. Not only does it reduce the levels of sodium you would be consuming, but it also removes some of the residues it sometimes leaves behind.

Dry beans: After rinsing, it is imperative to dry them before tossing them all together. This ensures the 5 bean salad doesn’t get soggy.

Fresh green beans: Frozen or canned green beans just don’t do it. Get fresh green beans for this recipe. Just give it a quick blanch, run under cold water to stop the cooking process and pat dry. IT will be nice and crunchy, a welcome difference to the starchy beans.

Great Mains for This Salad

What to serve with 5 bean salad? Try these delicious vegan main dish recipes:

This delicious 5 bean salad deserves an equally sumptuous vegan main fare. We love this lentil vegan meatloaf or even this vegan beet burger.

These gorgeous vegan stuffed butternut squash is fantastic for entertaining and makes a wonderful addition to the Thanksgiving table.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does bean salad keep in the fridge?

This 5 bean salad can last in the fridge for up to 5 days. Make sure it is stored in an airtight container.

Can you heat up 5 bean salad?

It is unnecessary to heat a 5 bean salad. If it has been in the fridge and you don’t like cold salads or cold food in general, just let it sit out until it reaches room temperature. However, you certainly can, if you prefer, give it a quick zap in the microwave. But don’t overheat it.

Can you eat 5 bean salad cold?

Absolutely. It can be consumed cold or at room temperature.

Can you freeze 5 bean salad?

You can technically freeze a 5 bean salad; however, it doesn’t thaw well. The consistency of the beans would be compromised, but it is certainly edible. It is best to consume within 5 days of making the salad.

Love a simple 15-minute salad that satisfies the taste buds and a filling recipe that doesn’t break the bank. Perfect for those seeking budget-friendly meals. It is so easy to make, not oily, not creamy and a wonderful vegan salad that all can enjoy!

That’s all!

More Plant-Based Salad Recipes

5 Bean Salad [Vegan] on a white marble plate

Recipe

Disclaimer: This site contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links at no additional cost to you.