Zesty Bean Salad

Without fail, Mister Tipsy texts me everyday, halfway through his work day, to ask me what we are having for dinner. Last week when he texted me and asked and I responded with my answer that we were having Zesty Bean Salad, I didn’t get the typical excited response. He hasn’t quite caught on that I have been working more meatless meals into our weekly rotation this Summer. I knew this Zesty Bean Salad would be a hard sell in theory, but I also knew once he tasted it , he would love it. I used to make a very similar salad when I worked in the deli of a grocery store. I always loved that bean salad and I wanted to give this one a modern day upgrade. What I love about this salad besides the great taste, is that that it is an easy make ahead meal. This Zesty Bean Salad tastes even better the longer it sits.

You need only a few ingredients for this  Zesty Bean Salad and most of them are super affordable. This recipe will feed at least 6 people but if you don’t need to feed a crowd you can still make this and keep it in the fridge for the week to snack on, to take for lunch and to serve as a side dish to any grilled proteins.

Here is what you will need to make the Zesty Bean Salad:

Ingredients

• 1 Can each of:
  • Kidney Beans
  • Pinto Beans
  • Cannellini Beans
  • Green Beans
  • Great Northern Beans

Tipsy Tip

You must drain and rinse all the beans before using them in the salad. This cuts down on the sodium and makes for a better dressing.

• 1/2 of a Red, Yellow & Orange Pepper, Diced
• 3/4 C Diced Purple Onion
• 1 Bottle of Zesty Italian Dressing
• 1 C of Crumbled Goat Cheese
• 1/2 C Fresh Parsley, Minced
• 1 Cup of Diced Celery

Once you process all your veggies and drain and rinse your beans the rest of the steps are extremely easy. You are basically throwing everything in a bowl, tossing it and letting the Zesty Bean Salad sit and marinate. Let me be more specific of the steps to making the Zesty Bean Salad:

Steps

1. Drain and rinse all your beans well and let them drain again.
2. Dice your purple onion.
3. Dice your red, orange and yellow peppers
4. Dice your celery.
5. Add all the veggies and beans to a large bowl, open your Zesty Italian Dressing and pour the whole bottle over the beans and veggies.
6. Toss well to coat, cover and place in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight.
7. After the beans have marinated, mince your fresh parsley and sprinkle the goat cheese and parsley over the salad.

Tipsy Tip

If you are making this Zesty Bean Salad as a make ahead meal, keep the parsley and goat cheese on the side until serving.

Everything in one bowl makes this an easy recipe to make with easy cleanup.

If you are short on time, this salad can be made and eaten immediately. I would recommend making this salad and letting it sit in the dressing for the time I advised because the beans marinated in the Zesty Italian Dressing take on such a delicious flavor. The added crunch of the celery and the sweet crunch of the peppers really make this salad outstanding. This is a meatless meal but the goat cheese crumbles add that flavor that you would think you would miss from not having any meat. Finally, the fresh parsley elevate the flavor of this Zesty Bean Salad to next level status. This salad is definitely Summer in a bowl.

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Zesty Bean Salad

Ingredients

• 1 Can each of:
  • Kidney Beans
  • Pinto Beans
  • Cannellini Beans
  • Green Beans
  • Great Northern Beans
• 1/2 of a Red, Yellow & Orange Pepper, Diced
• 3/4 C Diced Purple Onion
• 1 Bottle of Zesty Italian Dressing
• 1 C of Crumbled Goat Cheese
• 1/2 C Fresh Parsley, Minced
• 1 Cup of Diced Celery

Steps

1. Drain and rinse all your beans well and let them drain again.
2. Dice your purple onion.
3. Dice your red, orange and yellow peppers
4. Dice your celery.
5. Add all the veggies and beans to a large bowl, open your Zesty Italian Dressing and pour the whole bottle over the beans and veggies.
6. Toss well to coat, cover and place in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight.
7. After the beans have marinated, mince your fresh parsley and sprinkle the goat cheese and parsley over the salad.

Mister Tipsy ended up LOVING this salad and even took it for his lunch a couple days in a row. I ate it for lunch as well and had it as a side dish to some grilled chicken. This salad is a Summer delight. It is perfect for dinner or to take to a party or picnic. I hope you make it and love it as much as we did!

Thank you for reading and happy eating!

Love, Tipsy

For more great recipes check out these!

Seven Layer Salad

Crispy Bbq Pork Chops

Fried Chicken Sliders

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