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This Italian version of the classic Three Bean Salad Recipe uses cannellini beans, kidney beans and garbanzo beans to make a high-protein, high-fiber and low-fat cold bean salad with an extra healthy twist.
3-Bean Salad is a staple of American potlucks and picnics. A breeze to assemble, portable and easy to make ahead and keep in the refrigerator for up to a week, it makes a great cold side dish especially in the warm summer months.
But did you know that Three Bean Salad is also a nutritional powerhouse?
Loaded with heart-healthy soluble fiber, complex carbohydrates, protein, and some healthy monounsaturated fats, Three Bean Salad is a fantastic whole-food source of energy and fiber exactly what you need to fuel your workouts and stay lean and healthy.
Three Bean Salad Recipe Made Healthier
So how do you take the classic 3-Bean Salad recipe and make it even healthier?
Easy: You substitute cannellini beans and garbanzo beans for the usual green and yellow string beans, add in some diced red bell pepper and a bit of minced garlic and then give it a healthy Italian twist with the addition of dried oregeno.
Replacing the string beans with cannellini and garbanzo beans increases the soluble fiber and protein in the dish, the red bell pepper and red onion provides vitamin C and flavanoids, the garlic offers potential cholesterol-lowering compounds and the addition of oregano (one of the most antioxidant-rich plants on earth) adds a hefty dose of healthy phytochemicals that can protect the body against cellular damage from free radicals.
Gram-for-gram oregano has 42 times more antioxidant activity than apples, 30 times more than potatoes, 12 times more than oranges and 4 times more than blueberries. The use of three colors of beans also increases the antioxidant content of the 3-Bean Salad.
3-Bean Salad Nutritional Info
Lets take a quick look at the overall nutrition of this recipe. This Three Bean Salad Recipe provides nearly 20 grams of fiber (over half of your daily recommended fiber intake), 15 grams of protein, only seven grams of fat, and over 700 grams of potassium.
In terms of vitamins and minerals, a single serving provides 30% of your daily recommended amount of vitamin B-6, and half of your daily required folate, vitamin C and manganese.
The addition of red bell pepper to this Three Bean Salad recipe also helps sweeten the dish slightly, making it unnecessary to add sugar to the vinaigrette.
This Three Bean Salad recipe can be prepared in less than 10 minutes if you use canned beans longer if you choose to go the dried bean route (which requires you to cook the dried beans ahead of time a pressure cooker can expedite this.)
If you want to lower the sodium content of the recipe, consider using low-sodium canned beans from someone like Eden Foods or use dried beans that you have rehydrated and cooked yourself.
Three Bean Salad Recipe
Recipe makes about eight one-cup servings of three bean salad.
Ingredients
1 15 oz can of dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 15 oz can cannellini (white kidney beans), rinsed and drained
1 15 oz can of garbanzo beans (chickpeas), rinsed and drained
2 celery stalks, finely diced
1 clove of fresh garlic, minced
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1 red bell pepper, finely diced
Three Bean Salad Vinaigrette
4 tbs red or white wine vinegar
3 tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Walnut Oil
1 tbs dried oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- In a large bowl, mix together the beans, celery, red pepper, and red onion
- In a separate small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, minced garlic and oregano. Add the vinaigrette to the bean mixture and adjust for salt and pepper.
- If possible, chill for at least one hour to allow the flavors to mingle.
Three Bean Salad Recipe Nutrition Facts
Serving Size: About 1 cup of bean salad
Servings Per Recipe: About 8
Calories: 341.5
Total Fat: 7.0 g
Saturated Fat: 0.9 g
Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.3 g
Monounsaturated Fat: 4.1 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 611.1 mg
Potassium: 768.4 mg
Total Carbohydrate: 56.2 g
Dietary Fiber: 18.2 g
Sugars: 0.7 g
Protein: 15.5 g
Vitamin A 18.6 %
Vitamin B-12 0.0 %
Vitamin B-6 30.6 %
Vitamin C 58.9 %
Vitamin D 0.0 %
Vitamin E 4.3 %
Calcium 11.8 %
Copper 23.6 %
Folate 53.9 %
Iron 25.0 %
Magnesium 24.1 %
Manganese 61.5 %
Niacin 5.9 %
Pantothenic Acid 6.5 %
Phosphorus 28.1 %
Riboflavin 10.3 %
Selenium 8.5 %
Thiamin 20.8 %
Zinc 15.1 %
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Let’s take a quick look at the overall nutrition of this recipe. This Three Bean Salad Recipe provides nearly 20 grams of fiber (over half of your daily recommended fiber intake), 15 grams of protein, only seven grams of fat, and over 700 grams of potassium.
really easy to make and so delicious, thanks for sharing.
This looks FANTASTIC! I have a three bean salad recipe from my grandmother on a stained recipe card, but I havent made it in years because it was always too sweet for my taste. Love the idea of adding the oregano to the 3-bean salad and skipping the sugar. Making this tonight. Ill let you know how it turns out! Thanks!
Cindy, thanks for stopping by. I know exactly the kind of three bean salad recipe you are talking about. I think all of us have grandmothers who loved to pour sugar in everything especially if they grew up in the South, like mine did. The Italians are pretty skilled at using beans in traditional dishes, so I took a cue from some Italian bean recipes Ive had floating around. There are probably a few variations on this three bean salad recipe out there already, so I guess I cant claim that I was the first or only one to come up with this approach. Enjoy and stop back by to let me know what you think once youve made it.
Hi Matt! So I made the three bean salad recipe Thursday night and had to keep myself from eating the entire bowl! It definitely is even better the next day after all the flavors get soaked up in the beans. Had it in place of my usual green salad for lunch yesterday. Great recipe. Thanks!
Cindy glad you liked the three bean salad recipe. I completely agree that it tastes better the next day. This is actually one of my favorite recipes, period. One of the best parts is that its so easy to prepare if you use the canned beans. Stop by again.
Hi, I found your blog on this new directory of WordPress Blogs at blackhatbootcamp.com/listofwordpressblogs. I dont know how your blog came up, must have been a typo, i duno. Anyways, I just clicked it and here I am. Your blog looks good. Have a nice day. James.
Cindy, I made this salad recipe and everyone loved it so much they wanted a fourth bean! Thank you so much.
Hey fitness nerd, have you ever tried making this salad with some whole grains mixed in like quinoa, wheat berries, etc.? What kind of nutritional bump could that add to the dish?
brilliant! absolutly brilliant, guess we know what we eating tonight.
speaking of which, have you heard of the tomato diet? is there something like that?
anyway, thank you very much!
Great tips and a fantastic recipe thanks
Un saludo
Thanks for information Matt. Looking at the overwhelming nutritional value of beans/pulses in this recipe, it makes you realise that we could all increase our weekly intake of beans and feel a whole lot better. Many thanks.
Posted your recipe to my site (TSBMotivation.blogspot.com) and just devoured a heaping serving of some D-E to the LICIOUS! THANK YOU!
This looks FANTASTIC! I have a three bean salad recipe from my grandmother on a stained recipe card, but I havent made it in years because it was always too sweet for my taste. Love the idea of adding the oregano to the 3-bean salad and skipping the sugar. Making this tonight. Ill let you know how it turns out! Thanks!
Nice recipe thanks and good on the protein.