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Easy 5 Bean Salad
4.6 from 21 votes

Easy 5 Bean Salad

🫘🙌🏻🥗 The BEST bean salad with 5 types of beans, artichoke hearts, red onions, veggies, and takes just 10 MINUTES to prepare! Everything is tossed in a tangy, savory yet slightly sweet vinaigrette that ties everything together perfectly. Serve this as a protein-packed side dish for dinner, at picnics and potlucks, or as a stand-alone healthy lunch option. The recipe is EXTREMELY flexible, too!For the beans: I select no-salt added or low-salt varieties when possible. Rinsing not only removes the canning residue but some of the salt, too. Can sizes are approximate and if you find cans that range from 14 to 16 ounces, it's perfectly fine.

Prep Time
10 mins
For Chiling
1 hr
Servings: 8
Calories: 321 kcal
Course: Side Dish, Salad
Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Salad
  • 14.5 ounce Kidney Beans drained and rinsed (light red or dark red, can
  • 14.5 ounce black beans drained and rinsed, canned
  • 14.5 ounce garbanzo beans drained and rinsed, canned
  • 14.5 ounce White beans such as great northern beans or cannellini beans
  • 14.5 ounce green beans drained and rinsed, canned
  • 14.5 ounce artichoke hearts drained, rinsed, and roughly chopped (See Notes for other options, canned
  • 1 medium green bell pepper seeded and diced small (or your favorite color bell pepper)
  • ½ small red onion thinly sliced
  • 1 talk celery diced small
Vinaigrette
  • 2 cloves garlic finely minced
  • ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar or to taste
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons kosher salt or to taste
  • ½ to 1 teaspoon black pepper or to taste, freshly ground

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. To a large bowl, add all the drained and rinsed beans, and then all the remaining ingredients.
  2. Toss very well to combine and taste the bean salad and make sure it's properly seasoned. Seasoning Tips - If the salad tastes at all flat, boring, or like it's missing something, it probably needs more salt. You're flavoring about 5 pounds!! worth of plain ingredients and it all needs salt to bring out the best flavor. I easily add 2-3 teaspoons salt total, but it is personal preference and depends on how salty the beans were you purchased. Consider adding additional pepper, too. However, salt tends to be more crucial than pepper. For a touch of heat, a sprinkle of dried red chili flakes is great or a tiny pinch of cayenne pepper. The sugar is necessary to balance the acidity of the vinegar so I do not recommend skipping it. If you are very concerned, start with 1 tablespoon at first, and then go from there. You can sub with honey or agave syrup, (or maple syrup but that adds its own flavor) rather than sugar if desired although I prefer just plain white sugar.
  3. Cover the bowl tightly and chill for at least 1 hour prior to serving. Give a good toss before serving.
  4. Storage - Salad will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days and I find actually tastes best on the second day after the flavors have marries. While I haven't personally froze leftovers, I think it would be fine frozen for up to 2-3 months.
  5. Make Ahead - You can make this salad up to 24-36 hours in advance. Cover it tightly, pop it in your fridge, and let the flavors marry and meld. Since I think it tastes better on the second day, if you’re making this for an event like a party, a summer holiday, game day party, or holiday entertaining, and want to get a jump on things, this is an easy choice to knock out ahead of time.

Notes

  • Artichokes - Any type is fine. The cheapest/healthiest is either using a can of them OR buying a bag of frozen artichoke hearts from Trader Joe’s (if you have one in your area), thawing, and dicing. If you want to use artichoke hearts packed in oil from a jar, that’s fine. Just make sure to drain them and then give them a rough chop. I am not a fan of artichokes packed in oil because they are just TOO greasy for me, but it's up to you. 
  • Want to add other ingredients/veggies/herbs/cheese or make substitutions? - Read the FAQs, it's likely just fine, this is a very flexible recipe so you can mix and match as desired. 

Nutrition Information

Serving 1portion Calories 321kcal (16%) Carbohydrates 48g (16%) Protein 16g (32%) Fat 9g (14%) Saturated Fat 1g (5%) Polyunsaturated Fat 2g (12%) Monounsaturated Fat 5g (25%) Sodium 795mg (33%) Potassium 940mg (20%) Fiber 16g (64%) Sugar 6g (12%) Vitamin A 502IU (10%) Vitamin C 24mg (27%) Calcium 133mg (13%) Iron 5mg (28%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 8 Serving

Amount Per Serving

Calories 321

% Daily Value*

Serving 1portion
Calories 321kcal 16%
Carbohydrates 48g 16%
Protein 16g 32%
Fat 9g 14%
Saturated Fat 1g 5%
Polyunsaturated Fat 2g 12%
Monounsaturated Fat 5g 25%
Sodium 795mg 33%
Potassium 940mg 20%
Fiber 16g 64%
Sugar 6g 12%
Vitamin A 502IU 10%
Vitamin C 24mg 27%
Calcium 133mg 13%
Iron 5mg 28%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.