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This old-fashioned three bean salad recipe is an easy side dish that you can stir together in about 10 minutes — no cooking required! Pack it for picnics, bring it to a potluck, or offer it alongside a burger at your next cookout.
Table of Contents
- Canned Three Bean Salad
- Health Benefits of 3 Bean Salad
- Ingredients
- How to Make Three Bean Salad
- What to Serve with Three Bean Salad
- Preparation and Storage
- Recipe Variations
- Tips for the Best Three Bean Salad Recipe
- Three Bean Salad Recipe
I’ve been making grandmas three bean salad for as long as I can remember, and it totally reminds me of my childhood. There’s just something delicious about that classic sweet and sour dressing paired with tender beans and crisp onion, which creates the most perfectly satisfying vegetarian side dish!
Canned Three Bean Salad
One of the best features of the original 3 bean salad recipe is its convenience. The tasty dish comes together with just a handful of simple ingredients that you can keep stashed in your pantry for last-minute meals. Plus, there’s no cooking necessary, and it only requires about 10 minutes of hands-on prep time!
What is three bean salad made of?
The classic three bean salad recipe includes canned beans — typically a combination of kidney beans, cut green beans, and golden wax beans or garbanzo beans — along with onion. The ingredients come together in a dressing made with oil, vinegar, sugar, and salt. As I said, it’s quick and easy!
Health Benefits of 3 Bean Salad
There are many great health benefits from the beans in this salad. They are excellent sources of dietary fiber, protein, B vitamins, and many other important vitamins and minerals. Some studies show that they can help reduce blood sugar, improve cholesterol levels, and help maintain a healthy gut, too.
The olive oil in the dressing is full of healthy monounsaturated fats and antioxidants, while the apple cider vinegar may lower blood sugar levels, lower cholesterol, and improve heart health.
Ingredients
This is just a quick overview of the ingredients that you’ll need for this recipe for three bean salad. As always, specific measurements and step-by-step preparation instructions are included in the printable recipe box at the bottom of the post.
- Canned kidney beans: drained and rinsed.
- Canned cut green beans: they’re nice and soft, straight out of the can, so you don’t even need to worry about parboiling or pre-cooking the beans.
- Canned cut golden wax beans or garbanzo beans: both of these varieties are common in a three-bean salad, so pick whichever you prefer. Wondering what’s the difference between green beans and wax beans? Green beans get their color from chlorophyll, while yellow wax beans are simply green beans that are bred without this pigment (source). The two beans taste almost exactly the same!
- Onion: I prefer a sweet Vidalia onion for savory crunch, but you can use red onion, white onion, or yellow onion as well. Even chives or green onions will work!
- Olive oil, apple cider vinegar, sugar, and salt: come together to make the simple salad dressing.
How to Make Three Bean Salad
This easy side dish is gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan, and it comes together in just minutes! I’ve included the detailed directions in the recipe card below, but here’s the quick overview:
- Combine beans and onion in a large mixing bowl.
- Whisk together the dressing, or shake together the ingredients in a jar.
- Pour the dressing over the salad, and toss to combine.
- Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
What to Serve with Three Bean Salad
You can serve this salad cold, warm, or at room temperature. There are many dishes that go well with the side, including:
- Crispy Fried Chicken,Oven-Fried Chicken Breast,Cornflake Chicken,orPecan-Crusted Chicken
- Grilled Pork Tenderloin,Oven-Baked Pork Tenderloin,Cider Braised Pulled Pork, orBBQ Pork
- Grilled Hamburgers or Chili Dogs
- Grilled Salmon
- Oven BBQ Chicken Breast,Grilled BBQ Chicken Breast, or Baked BBQ Chicken Thighs
- Egg SaladorChicken Salad
- Shrimp and Grits
- Crock Pot RibsorBaked Baby Back Ribs
- Crab CakesorCrab Imperial
- Shrimp Creole
- Dutch Oven Beef BBQ,Cast Iron Skillet Filet Mignon,Grilled New York Strip Steak,Steak SaladorBourbon-Glazed Beef Tenderloin
- Classic Beef Chili,Crock Pot White Chicken Chili,Buffalo Chicken Chili,“Good Luck” Southern Chili,Easy White Bean Chicken Chili,Crock Pot Chili,Ground Turkey Chili,orTexas Chili
- Beef Stew,Chicken Stew,orBrunswick Stew
- Southern Fried Catfish
- Frogmore Stew
- Grandmother’s Hamburger Soup,Corn Chowder,Tomato SouporSplit Pea Soup
- Rosemary Oven Roasted Chicken
Preparation and Storage
- Prepare the salad at least 1-2 hours before you plan to serve it. This allows the vegetables time to marinate in the dressing, absorbing more flavor.
- The salad is best if enjoyed within 24 hours; however, it will stay fresh in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
- I do not recommend freezing this salad, as the vegetables will have a mushy, watery texture when thawed.
Recipe Variations
- Add a can of drained corn to the salad for some sweetness. You can use corn in place of the onion, or add an 11-ounce can of corn in addition to the rest of the ingredients.
- Just about any variety of canned beans will work in this salad. For instance, swap out the wax beans or chickpeas and try navy beans or white beans, lima beans, pinto beans, pink beans, black eyed peas, black beans, or cannellini beans.
- Use cut fresh green beans instead of canned green beans. If starting with fresh beans, you’ll need to boil them in a pot of boiling water until crisp-tender, transfer them to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process, and drain them well.
- Instead of apple cider vinegar, try distilled white vinegar or red wine vinegar.
- Sweeten the dressing with honey rather than sugar. Just make sure that you really whisk or shake to incorporate the honey into the other ingredients.
- Swap out the extra virgin olive oil and use vegetable oil or canola oil instead.
Tips for the Best Three Bean Salad Recipe
- You do not need to cook canned beans before using them in this salad. Simply drain and rinse the beans and they’re ready to serve!
- Serve the salad cold or at room temperature. It’s delicious either way.
- Garnish the salad with fresh herbs, such as parsley, fresh dill, or basil for a bright, colorful finishing touch. A squeeze of fresh lemon juice or lime juice would also be great!
More Vegetable Salad Recipes to Try
Carrot Salad
1 hour hr 15 minutes mins
English Pea Salad
3 hours hrs 15 minutes mins
Cucumber Dill Salad
30 minutes mins
Prep: 10 minutes minutes
Chill 1 hour hour
Total: 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes
Servings 6 cups
Calories 90.7 kcal
This old fashioned three bean salad is perfect for cookouts, potlucks, and quick weeknight dinners!
Ingredients
- 1 (16 oz) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (14.5 oz) can cut green beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (14.5 oz) can cut golden wax beans or garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 small sweet onion, diced (about 1 cup total)
- Optional garnish: chopped fresh parsley, basil, or chives
Instructions
In a large bowl, gently combine the beans and onion.
Whisk together dressing ingredients in a small bowl until completely combined (or shake in a jar with a lid). Pour the dressing over the salad; toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve (up to 24 hours in advance).
Taste and season with additional salt or ground black pepper, if desired. Garnish with chopped fresh herbs for a bright, fresh, and colorful finishing touch.
Notes
- You do not need to cook canned beans before using them in this salad. Simply drain and rinse the beans and they’re ready to serve!
- Serve the salad cold or at room temperature. It’s delicious either way.
- Garnish the salad with fresh herbs, such as parsley, fresh dill, or basil for a bright, colorful finishing touch. A squeeze of fresh lemon juice or lime juice would also be great!
- Add a can of drained corn to the salad for some sweetness. You can use corn in place of the onion, or add an 11-ounce can of corn in addition to the rest of the ingredients.
- Instead of apple cider vinegar, try distilled white vinegar or red wine vinegar.
- Sweeten the dressing with honey rather than sugar.
- Swap out the extra virgin olive oil and use vegetable oil or canola oil instead.
- Use cut fresh green beans instead of canned green beans. If starting with fresh beans, you’ll need to boil them in a pot of boiling water until crisp-tender, transfer them to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process, and drain them well.
- Just about any variety of canned beans will work in this salad. For instance, swap out the wax beans or chickpeas and try navy beans or white beans, lima beans, pinto beans, pink beans, black eyed peas, black beans, or cannellini beans.
Nutrition
Serving: 0.5cupCalories: 90.7kcalCarbohydrates: 10.2gProtein: 2.4gFat: 4.8gSaturated Fat: 0.7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.6gMonounsaturated Fat: 3.3gSodium: 416.2mgPotassium: 100.9mgFiber: 3.4gSugar: 4.1gVitamin A: 115IUVitamin C: 3.9mgCalcium: 21mgIron: 0.5mg
Keyword: bean salad recipe, canned three bean salad, easy three bean salad, three bean salad, vegetarian side dish
Course: Salad
Cuisine: American
Author: Blair Lonergan
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This recipe was originally published in July, 2019. The photos were updated in May, 2023.
