This 3 bean salad recipe is a fresh, fun twist on the American classic! I toss fresh green beans, kidney beans, and chickpeas in a bold, tangy dressing.
Like macaroni salad and potato salad, three bean salad takes me right back to my childhood. It was something I ate at potlucks, picnics, and even the occasional school lunch. I remember liking the sweet and tangy dressing, but the mushy canned green beans? Not so much.
So, to kick off picnic salad season this year, I’ve got a new three bean salad recipe to share with you. In many ways, it’s just like the one I ate as a kid. It features dark red kidney beans and hearty garbanzos, and it’s tossed in a punchy (though considerably less sweet) dressing. But those canned green beans? You won’t find them here. Instead, I add blanched fresh ones, along with thinly sliced celery and red onion for crunch. It’s bold and refreshing, and like any good picnic salad, it only tastes better if you make it ahead. I think you’re going to love it!
Three Bean Salad Recipe Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this easy three bean salad recipe:
- Three beans, of course! I use fresh green beans, kidney beans, and garbanzos, though you could certainly experiment with using other types of beans if you’d like. Pinto beans and cannellini beans would both be good substitutes for the kidney beans and chickpeas. And if you have fresh wax beans on hand in addition to green ones, by all means, toss them in!
- Extra-virgin olive oil, apple cider vinegar, garlic, Dijon mustard, and honey – You’ll whisk together these ingredients to make the dressing. In a traditional three bean salad recipe, it would be much sweeter, with almost equal parts vinegar and sugar. I prefer the flavor of a natural sweetener like honey (or maple syrup, if you’re vegan), and I scale it wayyyy back to give the salad a tangy, pickle-y pop.
- Red onion and celery – They add savory flavor, color, and crunch.
- Parsley – It gives the salad a nice fresh finish.
- And sea salt – To make all the flavors pop!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Three Bean Salad
This three bean salad recipe is super simple to put together! Here’s how it goes:
First, blanch the green beans. This speedy cooking technique makes the fresh beans more tender and highlights their natural sweetness. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and set a bowl of ice water nearby. Drop the beans into the boiling water, and cook for 2 minutes, or until they’re crisp-tender and bright green. Transfer them to the ice water, then drain and transfer to a kitchen towel to dry.
Next, make the dressing. In a large bowl, whisk together the vinegar, garlic, mustard, honey, and salt.
Then, toss the salad together. Add the onion, kidney beans, chickpeas, blanched green beans, celery, and parsley to the bowl with the dressing, and toss to coat.
Once you toss the salad together, pop it in the fridge to chill for 1 hour. You might be tempted to skip this step, but trust me, the salad will be so much better if you don’t! As it chills, the beans soak up the flavors in the dressing, which makes the whole dish punchier and more exciting to eat.
After an hour (or up to 3 days), go ahead and dig in!
Three Bean Salad Serving Suggestions
This three bean salad would be a delicious addition to any summer picnic or cookout. Try pairing it with whatever you’re grilling – maybe veggie burgers or black bean burgers – and a few fun sides like fruit salad or corn on the cob.
This three bean salad is also a great recipe to make ahead for lunch. I often enjoy it on its own (the protein-rich beans make it plenty satisfying), but it’s a great side dish for a sandwich too. We love it with Caprese, egg salad, and chickpea salad sandwiches and these healthy lunch wraps.
More Favorite Picnic Salads
If you love this three bean salad recipe, try one of these fresh picnic salads next:
- Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
- Black Bean & Corn Salad
- Cowboy Caviar
- Easy Pasta Salad
- Orzo Salad
- Vegan Potato Salad
- Best Broccoli Salad
- Or any of these 51 Best Salad Recipes!
Three Bean Salad
Ingredients
- 8 ounces green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 garlic cloves, grated
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon honey or maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup very thinly sliced red onion
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1½ cups cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1½ cups cooked kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 celery ribs, thinly sliced
- ½ cup finely chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- 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 bowl, whisk together the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, garlic, mustard, honey, and salt. Add the onion, chickpeas, kidney beans, celery, green beans, and parsley, and toss to coat. Chill for 1 hour, then serve.
I plan to make it soon. One question… can I use red wine vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar?
Hi JoJo, Yep, you could! I might start with 3 tablespoons vinegar instead of 1/4 cup and add more to taste, as red wine vinegar can be pretty assertive.
This salad is amazing! Served with grilled salmon – perfect combo! I’m increasing my fiber intake while undergoing cancer immunotherapy and this will be something I make often. Thank you for all your healthy, lovely recipes. Also love your cookbook!🩷
It’s 89 degrees out and I put this salsd on the table surrounded by great, huge eyes! The kind of eyes that take way more than they can actually eat! The BBQ chicken came in along with grandma’s cornbread and the only empty bowl after dinner was this salad! Made exactly according to the recipe as written using the maple syrup option.
Hi Rick, I’m so glad it was a hit!
I love this recipe. The tang from the Dijon mustard is really nice. Today is my 2nd time making this recipe and I didn’t change a thing except for using small red beans instead of kidney beans.
So glad you love the salad, Anne!
I almost rated it again, forgetting that I rated it last summer. I love it that much!
Awww yay! So glad it’s a favorite.
I made this today and it’s a great recipe, though I prefer a sweeter dressing. I used 2 tablespoons of local maple syrup. Just a tip if folks like a sweeter version.
Glad you enjoyed the recipe, Casey! Thanks for sharing your tip.
One word … Perfect!
Not only does it look beautiful but it’s delicious. Love that the dressing isn’t one with lots of sugar. It’s an ideal salad when it’s hot outside with a grilled protein. That’s all you need.
I’m so glad you loved it!
Love this recipe. Give a great texture base for different riffs on this salad. Tonight’s version added a cucumber seeded and diced in place of the celery. And a home grown field onion. Delish!
Hi Rebekah, I’m so glad you love the salad! That variation sounds delicious.
This salad is excellent. I served it with roasted sweet potato cubes for a light dinner. I think the real key is to make sure to thoroughly dry the beans and parsley before mixing into the dressing. The dressing clings better to the veggies and tastes more pungent if it doesn’t get watered down by extra moisture on the vegetables. I learned this after being slightly careless the first time I made the salad, but the most recent time I blotted everything very well with a kitchen towel to remove water and had amazing results.
Hi Ava, great tip! I’m so glad you loved the salad.
Could you use garlic paste instead?
Great recipe! I used black beans instead of kidney beans because that is what I had. It was delicious.
How do you cook the chickpeas?
Hi Teresa, you can use canned chickpeas or follow this recipe if you’re starting with dried chickpeas: https://dailycove.info/how-to-cook-beans/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv class=reply>
Great salad! Love making this as part of my meal prep for the week. I like adding lentils and hemp hearts too.
Hi Lauren, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
really good but be careful with your onion! I used 1/2 red onion that had been in my fridge for a few days so it was probably already really strong, didn’t measure. It is really overpowering the salad. Otherwise, will def make again!
Served this to my friends and every one of them asked for the recipe. Lol. I’m vegan. They don’t like my food normally.
Great recipe, thank you for sharing! I think eating beans are a great source to add more vegetable proteins to your diet: https://www.dietofcommonsense.com/eat-more-beans/
Thank you so much for this recipe! Always looking to cut back on sugar for family members with diabetes. This salad is still packed with flavor!
I’m so glad you’ve loved it!
This is such a delicious and refreshing bean salad! Wonderful recipe with great flavor. It’s my hearty, protein-packed afternoon “snack”. Satisfying yet great nutrition.
I’m so glad you loved it!
This recipe is absolutely genius! I’m on the third round of making it since it posted a few weeks ago. This time I did not skimp on the olive oil, salt or vinegar, I did on the first few rounds, and it is the best when following exact ratios. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this one!
I’m so glad you loved it so much!
great salad, thank you, legumes are part of my regular diet, and haven’t had a bean salad in a long time so this will be a nice change
This was really good!