This Mediterranean-inspired dense bean salad combines bell peppers, shallots, cucumber, black olives, and salty feta over a base of zesty pinto beans and chickpeas. It’s the perfect salad to make ahead and keeps you feeling fuller for longer.
I’ve taken inspiration from my favorite Mediterranean salad, swapping fresh greens for beans!
I guess it comes with the territory of “food blogger”, but my TikTok feed is regularly filled with cooking inspiration, from delicious seasonal recipes like Boursin pasta and chicken cobbler to white claw slushies. This dense bean salad is yet another viral TikTok recipe that I couldn’t resist testing for myself. They call this a “dense” bean salad because it trades lettuce for a base of hearty mixed beans instead.
In my case, I’ve gone full Macedonia-inspired and loaded it up with bell peppers, cucumber, feta, and olives in a zesty vinaigrette. You can take the girl out of the Mediterranean, but you can’t take the Mediterranean out of the girl!
Reasons to Love This Dense Bean Salad Recipe
- Super filling. Replacing leaves with beans makes a dense bean salad extra satisfying. I find that I stay fuller for longer.
- Very adaptable. Once you have your multi-bean base, anything and everything goes! I’m sharing a zesty Mediterranean-style salad, but there are plenty of ways that you can customize a dense bean salad with your favorite ingredients and dressings. I include more ideas further on.
- Easy to store. Not only is a dense bean salad heartier, but it stores better in the fridge than a traditional green salad. This means you can make it days in advance and enjoy it all week long.
What You’ll Need
Below are some quick ingredient notes on what I use to make this dense bean salad, plus what you’ll need for the dressing. Scroll down to the printable recipe card for the full list with recipe details. You’ll also find a photo step-by-step showing how to make this salad below the recipe card.
- Beans – You can customize this salad with any canned or cooked beans. I use a mix of canned pinto beans and chickpeas. Other good options are kidney, navy, or lima beans.
- Bell Peppers – Any color, seeded and diced.
- Shallot – Or use another mild or sweet onion, also diced.
- Cucumber – I like to peel my cucumber before I chop it, but that’s totally optional. Feel free to leave the skins on if you prefer.
- Olives – These can be pitted black olives (pictured here), kalamata, green olives, or any kind you’d like. If olives aren’t your thing, skip them or replace them with another add-in, like pepperoncini or artichokes.
- Feta Cheese – I like to use crumbly, Greek feta. Crumbled Cotija cheese, grated or shaved parmesan, or goat cheese are good substitutes.
- Parsley – Freshly chopped. You’ll find curly-leaf and Italian flat-leaf parsley in stores. I recommend flat-leaf for this recipe.
For the Dressing
- Olive Oil – Extra virgin olive oil is best for salad dressings. You could substitute avocado oil if needed.
- Lemon Juice – Freshly squeezed.
- Honey – Or another sweetener, like agave or sugar.
- Garlic – Freshly minced is best, but you can swap in ¼ teaspoon of garlic powder per clove.
- Mustard – I like to use Dijon, but yellow mustard or spicy brown mustard are all good choices here.
- Italian Herbs – Use a combination of individual dried herbs like oregano, basil, and thyme, plus salt and pepper to taste. Or, choose your favorite Italian seasoning blend from the store.
Recipe Tips
- Rinse the canned beans. If you’re using canned beans and chickpeas, be sure to drain the brine and rinse the beans well before you make the salad. See the How to section below the recipe card.
- Use a vegetable chopper. Who remembers the Slap Chop infomercials?! It turns out, a vegetable chopper is a super handy kitchen gadget. I like to use mine to dice up the veggies in this salad to the same size.
- Mix the dressing in a mason jar. Simply add all the ingredients to the jar, close the lid, and shake.
- Chill the salad in the fridge. I like to chill my bean salad in the fridge for 30 minutes before serving. It gives the flavors a chance to mingle and makes the salad extra refreshing.
- Different dressing. You can finish off this dense bean salad with any of your favorite homemade salad dressings.
Dense Bean Salad Variations
You can turn just about any classic salad recipe into a dense bean salad just by changing out the greens for beans instead! I love this Mediterranean-inspired recipe, but there are so many ideas to try:
- Caesar. Top the salad with crunchy croutons (made from leftover focaccia bread), shaved parmesan, and Caesar dressing for a dense bean spin on Caesar salad.
- Avocado. Add in diced avocado, cubed feta, and halved cherry tomatoes like my avocado salad.
- Green beans. Take inspiration from this green bean salad and add blanched green beans, hard-boiled eggs, and bacon, tossed with an easy lemon parmesan vinaigrette.
- Southwestern. Add black beans, canned corn, onions, and roasted red peppers for a Southwestern salad version topped with cilantro lime dressing or avocado lime dressing.
- Cobb. Add chopped chicken, bacon, eggs, tomato, and avocado for a Cobb salad variation topped with blue cheese dressing. You could also make a Chef salad version with chopped deli meats and cheese.
Making a dense bean salad into a fuller meal is as easy as adding sliced air fryer chicken breast or leftover parmesan crusted chicken on top. You could also add a salmon filet or lemon garlic shrimp, or a zucchini fritter for a vegetarian version. See the next section for more serving suggestions.
Storing Leftovers
Store your dense bean salad in airtight containers in the fridge for up to 5 days. It’s great to make ahead, and you can also keep any leftover dressing separately in a jar.
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Rinse and drain the beans. Combine the canned beans and chickpeas in a colander. Rinse them well and allow them to drain.
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Prepare the veggies. Remove the seeds from the bell peppers. Dice the bell peppers and set aside. Peel and dice the shallots. Peel and dice the cucumbers. Cut the pitted olives into halves. Chop the parsley.
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Make the dressing. In a bowl, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, honey, minced garlic, mustard, and Italian herbs. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and whisk until emulsified.
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Assemble. Add the rinsed and drained beans, chickpeas, diced bell peppers, shallots, cucumber, olives, and parsley to a bowl. Pour the dressing over the salad and add crumbled feta cheese.
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Serve. Toss well to combine and serve the bean salad right away, or refrigerate it for 30 minutes before serving.
- Use a vegetable chopper to ensure everything is evenly sized.
- You can use cooked beans and chickpeas instead of canned beans and chickpeas.
- The easiest way to blend the dressing ingredients is to add them all to a mason jar, apply the lid, and shake well.
- This salad can be customized with other types of canned or cooked beans like kidney, navy, or lima beans.
- If you want an alternative to feta cheese, consider using Cotija cheese.
Serving: 1.5cups | Calories: 371kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 25mg | Sodium: 862mg | Potassium: 564mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 678IU | Vitamin C: 63mg | Calcium: 230mg | Iron: 3mg
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
How to Make a Mediterranean Dense Bean Salad
Here’s how to make the viral dense bean salad in 10 minutes or less!
- Rinse and drain the beans. This is very important if you’re using canned beans. Empty the beans and chickpeas into a colander and rinse them well under cold water.
- Chop the veggies. Meanwhile, dice up the bell peppers, then peel and dice the shallots and cucumbers. Cut the pitted olives in half, and chop up the parsley.
- Make the dressing. Now, add the dressing ingredients to a bowl or jar. Whisk or shake until that’s blended and emulsified.
- Assemble the salad. Combine the beans, chickpeas, veggies, olives, and parsley in a bowl. Toss the ingredients with your prepared dressing and crumbled feta, then serve right away or refrigerate.
