Three Bean Salad Recipe

In this Greek style Three Bean Salad Recipe we combine steamed green beans, kidney beans and chickpeas with red onion, cucumber, kalamata olives, Feta cheese, fresh herbs and a delicious Greek vinaigrette. All in, this recipe for 3 bean salad comes together in about 20 minutes and it is a crowd-pleaser!

My family loves everything about this 3 bean salad. It’s made with simple, fresh ingredients and a delicious Greek vinaigrette. 

Why You Will Love This Recipe

• Flavor. Great combination of ingredients and flavors.
• Meal Prep. This is a great meal prep salad. Its easy to make and keeps very well in the refrigerator. For a convenient lunch or light dinner, store the salad into individual serving containers in the fridge.
• Perfect For Any Occasion.  Enjoy this salad alone as a light lunch or dinner, or serve it as a side dish with grilled chicken and fish, add it to protein bowls, make it for special occasions and holidays, or to take to potlucks, backyard barbecues and cookouts.
• Special Diets. It’s loaded with plant protein and fiber. And it’s vegetarian. To make it vegan, just omit the cheese. 

Three Bean Salad Recipe Ingredients

• Fresh Green Beans. We use fresh haricot verts, a French variety of green beans that are thinner, more tender and delicate and they cook quicker (in about 3-7 minutes). We think haricot verts are better than standard green beans for salads. They’re crispier, more tender and they have more crunch.
• Canned Kidney Beans AND Chickpeas. Use low-sodium kidney beans and chickpeas (also called garbanzo beans).
• Kalamata Olives.  Kalamata olives add a lot of flavor to this salad.
• Red Onion.  We add diced red onion for flavor.
• Cucumber. Use either English or Persian cucumbers for this salad. The peels are thin and there’s few seeds. There’s no need to peel either of them. If you use garden cucumbers, you’ll want to peel them and scrape the seeds out with a spoon because they both can be bitter tasting. 
• Cherry Tomatoes. Fresh cherry tomatoes, cut in half or quarters.
• Fresh Herbs.  A combination of fresh mint and parsley adds a pop of fresh flavor.
• Feta Cheese.  Feta adds a delicious creaminess to the salad. Buy a block of Feta cheese instead of a package of crumbled feta. Block feta tastes so much better and you can either cut it into small cubes or crumble it to add to the salad.
• Greek Vinaigrette. For the vinaigrette, we use a mix of white wine vinegar, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, dried oregano, salt and black pepper, extra-virgin olive oil, kalamata olives and a little Parmesan cheese, which adds a lot of flavor to the dressing. We like to prepare the dressing first so it can chill in the fridge while we prep the salad ingredients. This gives the dressing a little time for the flavors to meld together. 

Find printable recipe with the measurements below.

How To Make Three Bean Salad

• Make Vinaigrette. Blend the ingredients together in a stand blender, or add the ingredients to a deep bowl and use a stick blender to blend them together.
• Prep Ingredients. Slice the cherry tomatoes in half, or into quarters if they’re large. Dice the cucumber and onion, and slice the kalamata olives. Finely chop the fresh herbs. Put the green beans in a colander and place under cold running water to remove any dirt. Pour the green beans out on paper towels and pat them dry. Trim the ends off each green bean and discard any bruised or discolored green beans. Cut them in half.
• Steam Green Beans.  Add about 1-inch of water to a pot and insert a steamer basket inside. Make sure the water isn’t coming through the steamer basket. Add the green beans to the steamer basket and place lid on the pot. Steam green beans on medium-low heat for 3-5 minutes or until crisp-tender and still bright green. If you’re using thicker green beans, you may need to cook them a little longer, like 5-7 minutes. Using tongs or a large spoon, transfer the green beans to a large bowl filled with ice water to stop the cooking process. Sometimes I transfer the beans to a bowl and put it in the freezer to stop the cooking process.
• Toss Salad. Put all of the salad ingredients in a large bowl. Drizzle the dressing over the ingredients and toss. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Use as much of the dressing as you like, but we like to reserve a 3-4 tablespoons to add to leftovers to freshen the salad up. Taste-test and add more fresh herbs if you like.

How To Serve Three Bean Salad

• Salad. Enjoy it on its own as a protein and fiber rich salad or add it to a simple green salad. You can also spoon it into protein bowls, like our Greek Chicken Bowl instead of adding a cucumber salad.
• Side Dish. It makes a great side dish to serve alongside Grilled Lemon Chicken, Greek Lemon Chicken, Air Fryer Chicken Thighs or our Marinated Greek Chicken.

Storage Tips

• Store leftovers in airtight containers in the refrigerator. If properly stored, this salad will last up to 5 days.

More Bean Salad Recipes

• Dense Bean Salad
• Greek Dense Bean Salad
• Italian White Bean Salad
• Mediterranean Bean Salad
• Cold Green Bean Salad

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Yield: 8 Servings

Three Bean Salad Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

In this Greek style Three Bean Salad Recipe we combine steamed green beans, kidney beans and chickpeas with red onion, cucumber, kalamata olives, Feta cheese, fresh herbs and a delicious Greek vinaigrette. All in, this recipe for 3 bean salad comes together in about 20 minutes and it is a crowd-pleaser!

Ingredients

• 1 pound fresh haricot verts string beans, trimmed and cut in half
• 1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 15-ounce can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 medium English cucumber or 4-5 Persian cucumbers, diced
• 1-1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half or quarters
• 1/2 cup kalamata olives, sliced
• 1/3 cup red onion, diced
• 1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled
• 1/2 cup fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh mint, minced, finely chopped

For the Vinaigrette

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• 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 4 kalamata olives, chopped
• 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

Instructions

1. Make Vinaigrette. Add the ingredients to a blender and pulse a few times to blend ingredients together. You can also add the ingredients to a deep bowl and use a stick blender to blend the ingredients together. Don't puree the vinaigrette, there should still be flecks of kalamata olives in the vinaigrette after blending.
2. Prep Ingredients. Slice the cherry tomatoes in half, or into quarters if they're large. Dice the cucumber and onion, and slice the kalamata olives. Finely chop the fresh herbs. Rinse and drain the canned kidney beans and chickpeas and add them to a large bowl.
3. Steam Green Beans. Put the green beans in a colander and place under cold running water to remove any dirt. Pour the green beans out on paper towels and pat them dry. Trim the ends off each green bean and discard any bruised or discolored green beans. Cut them in half. Add about 1-inch of water to a pot and insert a steamer basket inside. Make sure the water isn’t coming through the steamer basket. Add the green beans to the steamer basket and place lid on the pot. Steam green beans on medium-low heat for 3-5 minutes or until crisp-tender and still bright green. If you're using thicker green beans, you may need to cook them a little longer, like 5-7 minutes. Using tongs or a large spoon, transfer the green beans to a large bowl filled with ice water to stop the cooking process. Sometimes I transfer the beans to a bowl and put it in the freezer to stop the cooking process.
4. Toss Salad. Put all of the salad ingredients in a large bowl. Drizzle as much of the dressing as you like over the ingredients and toss. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. We like to reserve a 3-4 tablespoons of the vinaigrette to add to leftovers to freshen the salad up.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 433Total Fat: 38gSaturated Fat: 6gUnsaturated Fat: 32gCholesterol: 7mgSodium: 453mgCarbohydrates: 20gFiber: 7gSugar: 4gProtein: 7g

theharvestkitchen.com attempts to provide accurate information, however, this nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. The nutritional information provided comes from online sources and calculations. See full disclaimer on About page.