hey y’all! i recently found out about the dense bean salad trend on tiktok, and i was wondering if y’all have any favorite or similar recipes that focus on mediterranean ingredients?
(for those who don’t know, here’s one of my new fave recipes for a dense bean salad: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8dmsYdc/)
let me know if you have any tips or suggestions! thanks 🙂
by wordsintowine
7 Comments
I love bean salads and have been making them for years. I’ll make a big batch and eat it over 4 days as my work lunch.
My usual formula is 2 cans of beans, chopped veggies, dried oregano and basil, trader Joe’s French vinaigrette, and maybe 2 of the following: feta, olives, nuts, mozzarella, chopped chicken, tuna fish.
I avoid using tomatoes and cucumbers in the big batch because they don’t hold up to being refrigerated for days. I’ll add them the day I’m eating it if I want them.
A great place to start is cowboy caviar, here is my favorite cowboy caviar: https://smittenkitchen.com/2007/04/tabula-beana/
If I’m doing a salad with feta I like to mash some of it in with the dressing so the flavor spreads. I usually do a dressing with lemon, lemon flavored olive oil, some sugar free bullion powder and pepper. The veggies are the usual pepper, tomato, red onion and cucumber. And if I’m lucky i can find a more fun veggie too. Or herbs💚
I recently started cooking my own beans, so now I’m doing pinto and butter bean.
Thanks for the post!
For those like me who need slow speaking and/or written recipes, I found her website at https://violetcooks.substack.com/. Lots of interesting recipes.
Can you include the ingredients please?
I personally like adding quinoa to my bean salads as they are a lot more filling that way. Edamame is another good addition for protein. The “Three bean salad” is a classic dating back to the 1950s that everyone adds their own flair to. This is a good one: [https://www.loveandlemons.com/three-bean-salad/](https://www.loveandlemons.com/three-bean-salad/)
Below are a few that I make. I don’t measure most of my salads, I just add however much looks good because I only make 1 or 2 portions at a time, but I did link to the recipes if quantities not listed. You can add chicken to any of these, I eat more plant based.
Quinoa, chickpeas, cucumber, red onions, parsley, mint, pistachios, feta cheese. Lemon vinaigrette: lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Honey if you want the dressing sweeter. [https://iowagirleats.com/jennifer-aniston-salad/#recipe-card](https://iowagirleats.com/jennifer-aniston-salad/#recipe-card) You can add white beans to this recipe if you want to up the bean content.
Quinoa, chickpeas, tomatoes, red onion, cilantro, Lemon vinaigrette: Lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, cumin. Optional roast the chickpeas before adding to the salad: coat with olive oil, smoked paprika, and garlic powder. You can add white beans to this recipe if you want to up the bean content. [https://cookingforpeanuts.com/high-protein-chickpea-quinoa-salad-jars/](https://cookingforpeanuts.com/high-protein-chickpea-quinoa-salad-jars/)
Lemony lentil salad (serves 6): Dressing: ⅓ cup lemon juice, ⅓ cup chopped fresh dill, 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, ¼ teaspoon salt, or to taste, ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil, Freshly ground pepper, to taste. Salad: 2 15-ounce cans lentils, rinsed, or 3 cups cooked brown or green lentils, 1 cup crumbled feta cheese, (about 4 ounces), 1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and diced (about 1 cup), 1 cup diced seedless cucumber, ½ cup finely chopped red onion.
You can also get a kajillion recipes if you google bean salad. Vegetarian eating became more widespread in the US around the 1970s and since beans are a key way vegetarians get protein, there are a ton of tasty and healthy options online. You can always add cheese and a lean meat like chicken if you like.
Recently, I have been making a black bean salad every week. You do canned black beans, avocado, pico de gallo (store bought or make your own), chopped cilantro, chopped black olives, chopped red onion, minced garlic, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, and olive oil, salt and pepper. You can do it all to taste and adjust the ingredient quantities as desired. You can also add chickpeas for extra protein. It’s not full on Mediterranean but it has many Mediterranean food elements.
Have you checked Violet Cooks playlist on tiktok? She has a lot of great recipes for dense bean salads.