Light, fresh 3 Bean Salad packed with protein and a delightful crunch of celery, red peppers and onions. The perfect light salad for picnics and BBQs!
Summertime is prime time for salads and I’m so excited to finally get to share some of my favorite salads with you.
I knew just the salad I wanted to share first. And, when the bright sunshine made its appearance this weekend, it motivated me to break out the beans and whip up one of our summertime favorites.
When the weather heats up, there’s nothing I like better than to dial up the salad meter and bring on the fresh crispy crunch of a light salad.
This recipe is packed with protein! We like to keep it on hand as a healthy choice for a light meal or a mid-day snack, and it’s great for keeping on hand because it will store several days in the refrigerator and it just gets more flavorful as the flavors blend.
Look at all that crunchy, crispy, snappy goodness! Celery, red and green bell peppers, green onions and black pepper. Yum!
Can you taste it?
This recipe calls for garbanzo beans, kidney beans and black beans but its so versatile, you can switch it up and use a different variety of beans (navy beans, pinto beans, white beans, or ???).
I love how colorful and festive it is!
And, if you are short on time, you will especially love this salad because it’s super easy to throw together and it’s really portable – which makes it great for sharing at picnics!
Enjoy!
3 Bean Salad
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup chopped green onions
- 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
- 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
- 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 1 15.5 ounce can garbanzo beans, drained
- 1 15.5 ounce can kidney beans, drained
- 1 15.5 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Combine green onions, green bell pepper, red bell pepper, celery, garbanzo beans, kidney beans and black beans in a medium-sized bowl.
- Whisk together red wine vinegar, olive oil and lemon juice. Add salt and pepper.
- Pour over bean mixture and stir to coat. Cover and chill at least 30 minutes to allow flavors to blend.
- Serve!
Recipe modified from Cooking Light My Recipes @ Triple Bean Salad.
3 Bean Salad
Sylvie Charette says
This is a really good recipe!
The only change I made was adding a little avocado!
CJ says
Adding avocado is a great idea! I lllooovvveee avocado! I’m going to try it next time. I’m really glad you loved the recipe!
Joseph Girouard says
I picked this recipe among dozens of others, since it looked the most appetizing in Google pictures. I followed the recipe, but I also took the recommendation to add avocado (a definite plus) and on my own I added some red onion slivers and some lime juice in addition to the lemon juice. Actually, when it came to making the dressing mixture, I doubled the recipe here for the dressing, but did not double the black pepper, as one tsp. seemed to be adequate. This provided a nice amount of dressing for the salad, which seemed to warrant more dressing. Delicious!
Kristi says
Thanks for the compliment Joseph! And, I love your recommendations – I will try that next time! I am so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for visiting!
Cyndi @ My Kitchen Craze says
This 3 bean salad looks delicious and healthy. My kind of side. Love the colors too. Pinned!
Kristi says
Thanks for the pin Cyndi! I love this salad for picnics because it keeps so well! I hope you love it!
Janene says
Thanks! This three bean salad was very delicious to my family for Memorial Day. And so healthy too!
Kristi says
Thank you Janene! I’m so glad you like it – it is one of our favorites too! So, I’m glad you loved it!
THERESA L MORROW says
I make this all the time… but with 5 beans. THE BEST EVER!! Your recipe for the dressing is perfect.