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This delicious, light three bean salad is made with a quick miso dressing with rice vinegar, garlic and oil. It makes the perfect side dish meal for spring and summer, it pairs well with roasted chicken, grilled steak and so on. You can’t go wrong with this salad and my entire family requests it now on a weekly basis. Bring on the beans!
Ingredient Notes
This three bean salad uses fresh ingredients and the “dressing” it’s tossed in is made from scratch with just a few staple ingredients.
All other ingredients and measurements can be found in the recipe card towards the bottom of this post.
- Green Beans. Use fresh or frozen (and thawed) if that’s easier. Fresh is always best if they are in season.
- Kidney Beans. I use canned, dark kidney beans,
- Garbanzo Beans. I use canned for this as well.
- Celery. This adds color and crunch.
- Cucumbers. I LOVE fresh cucumbers in this salad. I use pickling cucumbers (they are the small version)
- Red Onions. Chopped red onions add a little peppery bite.
- Fresh Herbs. I use basil and parsley.
- Olive Oil. This is the base of the dressing.
- Miso Paste. This is a must, it’s so tangy, salty and adds the perfect umami to the dish.
- Seasonings. Salt, pepper, dried oregano.
- Garlic Cloves. This is for the dressing.
- Maple Syrup. This brings all the flavor together perfectly for a delicious dressing.
Steps To Make Delicious Three Bean Salad
Ready to cook up this dish? Let me walk you through the recipe. For your convenience, there is a full ingredient list and detailed instructions in the printable recipe card below.
- Step One. If using fresh green beans, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and set a bowl of ice water nearby. Drop the green beans into the boiling water and blanch for 2 minutes. Remove the beans and immediately immerse in the ice water long enough to cool completely, about 15 seconds. Drain and place on paper towels or a kitchen towel to dry.
- Step Two. In a large salad bowl, add the onion, chickpeas, kidney beans, celery, green beans, cucumber, basil and parsley.
- Step Three. In a small food processor, add the olive oil, rice vinegar, garlic, miso, maple syrup, pepper, oregano and salt. Blitz until smooth, pour over the bean salad and mix well. Serve right away or store in the fridge until ready.
What Pairs Well With Three Bean Salad
This salad is great with roasted chicken, grilled wings, burgers, salmon – SO many dishes. I love it with my Lemon Pepper Chicken, Bang Bang Chicken Skewers and Spicy Chicken Burgers. Honestly you cannot go wrong with this for a side dish. You can even dip tortilla chips in it and serve as an appetizer.
Recipe Tips For The Best Outcome
- Unlike other three bean salads, this one can be enjoyed right away, no need to “pickle” but if you do let it sit overnight, be sure to give it a good toss before serving since the dressing tends to fall to the bottom.
- You may even want to double the dressing if you plan to make this ahead of time! The beans will soak it up.
- Do not overcook the green beans. If you are using fresh green beans, just give them a blanch quickly. Frozen, thawed and cooked green beans will also work.
- Feel free to add in any veggie of choice, radish also makes a great crunch and color for this dish.
Other appetizers To Try
Recipes
Asparagus Puff Pastry
Appetizers
Burrata Tomato Salad
Side Dishes
Honey Sriracha Brussel Sprouts
Dinner
Mediterranean Flatbread
Three Bean Salad
Equipment
- large salad bowl
Ingredients
- 8 oz green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces (about 1 -1.5 cups)
- 1 15 oz can kidney beans, drained
- 1 15 oz can garbanzo beans, drained
- 2 pickling cucumbers, sliced , or any cucumber about 1 cup
- 2 ribs celery, thinly sliced
- ¼ small red onion, finely diced
- ¼ cup fresh basil & parsley, chopped
Miso Dressing
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 3 Tbsp rice vinegar
- 4 Tbsp maple syrup
- 1.5 Tbsp miso , use more if you'd like!
- 2 cloves garlic
- ½ tsp each salt and pepper
- ½ tsp dried oregano
Instructions
- If using fresh green beans, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and set a bowl of ice water nearby. Drop the green beans into the boiling water and blanch for 2 minutes.
- Remove the beans and immediately immerse in the ice water long enough to cool completely, about 15 seconds. Drain and place on paper towels or a kitchen towel to dry.
- In a large salad bowl, add the onion, chickpeas, kidney beans, celery, green beans, cucumber, basil and parsley.
- In a small food processor, add the olive oil, rice vinegar, garlic, miso, maple syrup, pepper, oregano and salt. Blitz until smooth, give it a taste and adjust if desired. Pour over the bean salad and mix well. Serve right away or store in the fridge until ready.
Notes
- Using frozen green beans? Just cook them a few minutes less than according to the package time and let them cool.
- Unlike other three bean salads, this one can be enjoyed right away, no need to “pickle” but if you do let it sit overnight, be sure to give it a good toss before serving since the dressing tends to fall to the bottom.
- You may even want to double the dressing if you plan to make this ahead of time! The beans will soak it up.
- Do not overcook the green beans. If you are using fresh beans, just give them a blanch quickly. Frozen, thawed and cooked green beans will also work.
- Feel free to add in any veggie of choice, radish also makes a great crunch and color for this dish.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
you are going to love this friends! – Bailey