A salad this simple has no business being so delicious, but it just is. This Classic Three Bean Salad has minimal ingredients, the most basic of basic dressings, and yet I can’t seem to get enough of it. The creamy beans are the perfect contrast to the tangy-sweet dressing, and there’s just enough savory crunch from the red onion to keep the flavors grounded. It’s the perfect summer side dish for all of your BBQs and potlucks, or on those busy weeknights when you don’t want to spend a lot of time fixing dinner.
This post contains some affiliate links, which means that we make a small commission off items you purchase at no additional cost to you.
What Beans Go In Three Bean Salad
My three bean salad has dark kidney beans, cannellini beans, and green beans. You can also try other beans like chickpeas, wax beans, purple hull peas, or black eyed peas.
Three bean salad is really flexible, so you can swap out the beans, and you can even add more than three beans if you’d like. The most important thing to remember when choosing your beans is that you want to have a variety of colors, textures, and shapes. Make sure to have at least one creamy bean, too.
What is the Dressing Like?
The dressing for this classic three bean salad is a very basic, slightly sweet vinaigrette with just enough Dijon to give it a little zing. If you don’t want to make your own dressing, you could potentially swap it out for something like a bottled Italian dressing, although that will have a different flavor.
What to Serve with Three Bean Salad
The sweet-tart flavor of this three bean salad makes it go perfectly with other sweet-savory flavors, like BBQ sauce. This week I served it with my BBQ Cheddar Baked Chicken and potato salad. It would also be a great side to something like Glazed Ham Steaks, Honey Mustard Wings, Brown Sugar Roasted Pork Loin, Baked Chicken Drumsticks, or BBQ Tofu Sliders.
How Long Does it Last?
Three bean salad is one of those recipes that actually gets better with time in the fridge. As it refrigerates the beans begin to absorb the flavors in the dressing and everything get SUPER tasty. This salad will probably stay good in the fridge for about four days (if you don’t eat it all by then).
Classic Three Bean Salad
Servings 5 1 cup eachIngredients
- 1 15oz. can kidney beans ($0.50)
- 1 15oz. can cannellini beans ($0.55)
- 1.5 cups frozen green beans (thawed) ($0.44)
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley ($0.17)
- 1/4 cup finely diced red onion ($0.05)
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar ($0.24)
- 1/4 cup olive oil ($0.64)
- 2 Tbsp sugar ($0.12)
- 1 tsp salt ($0.03)
- 1/4 tsp freshly cracked pepper ($0.02)
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard ($0.03)
Instructions
- Rinse and drain the kidney beans and cannellini beans. Place the kidney beans, cannelini beand, and thawed green beans in a bowl.
- Slice the red onion, then soak the onion in a bowl of ice water for about five minutes before draining and finely dicing. Chop the parsley. Add the onion and parsley to the bowl with the beans.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the vinegar, sugar, olive oil, salt, pepper, and Dijon.
- Pour the dressing over the beans, onion, and parsley, then stir to combine.
- Transfer the bean salad to the refrigerator and let the beans marinate in the dressing for about 30 minutes before serving. Give the salad a good stir just before serving to redistribute the dressing.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!
How to Make Three Bean Salad – Step by Step Photos
Rinse and drain one 15 oz. can of kidney beans and one 15 oz. can of cannellini beans. Add them to a bowl with 1.5 cups of thawed frozen green beans.
Slice some red onion and soak them for about 5 minutes in a bowl of ice water (this takes the sharp edge off their flavor). Finely dice about ¼ cup of the red onion. Chop about ¼ cup fresh parsley.
Whisk together ¼ cup apple cider vinegar, ¼ cup olive oil, 2 Tbsp sugar, 1 tsp salt, ¼ tsp freshly cracked pepper, and 1 tsp Dijon mustard.
Add the onion and parsley to the bowl with the beans, then pour the dressing over top. Stir everything to combine.
Refrigerate the three bean salad for about 30 minutes to let the beans marinate. Give it a good stir, and then serve!
It’s very sweet. Perhaps its 2 teaspoons sugar.
Beth, Could I freeze chopped/diced red onion? I also wonder would pickled red onions work? Thanks
I made this recipe in the past and loved it, but I’ve recently been cutting way back on fats and oils. So this time around it followed the recipe to the letter but I just didn’t add the oil. I was a little worried about how it would be but it turned out great! I think I might even like it better. The sugar, vinegar, and pepper really pop and the flavors are intense. I feel confident saying that you can leave out the oil if you want or need.
EVO (extra virgin olive oil) is a good fat so don’t be concerned about using it in recipes that call for it. It lowers cholesterol.
Since I found out sugar feeds cancer cells, I’ve been watching my sugar intake so I omit the sugar & salt too.
With it being summer and fresh green beans being in season, would you just blanch them for 1-2 minutes then ice bath them? I have an abundance of fresh and would rather use them while the getting is good!
Yep, that’s exactly what I’d do. :)
Beth,
How about using a can of green beans? would this work?
You can, but in my experience canned green beans have a sub-par texture and their flavor is kind of muted/salty from the canning liquid.
I just made this today using canned green beans. I usually use the canned ones & it tastes fine.
Made this two days ago & it was great!! Question: would lima beans count as a type of creamy bean?
Lima beans would be great in this. :)
Beth,
Do you cook the green beans after defrosting them?
Thanks!
Nope! They’re blanched before freezing, so they have a nice tender-crisp texture once thawed.
This salad was a weekly staple last summer (2022) during my pregnancy- quick and easy, delicious, healthy and stored well. I’ll be making it a lot again this summer too!
Great recipe.
And it was happily received at the St. Vincent de Paul dinner gathering!!
I’ve made this about 10x, it is so simple and perfect as is.
Great directions. And the salad looks wonderful. I’ll comment on taste this afternoon, after the party!
This is a good salad.
Good recipe. Price/cost is so 2018 (or before!)
I made this recipe yesterday. I followed it to the letter, no alterations and no substitutions. It was FANTASTIC. I will make it again and again. So flavorful and delicious and satisfying. Thank you!
5 star recipe! I just wanted to add that I used fresh green beans and the crunch elevates this recipe to another level. Loved it with a side of grilled chicken breast.
sooo good
Is there any way this could work for dried beans? Just because I have a lot of them.
I tried this once – I can say that the ratio will NOT be 1 cup canned beans to 1 cup dry beans… I actually had problems with getting the beans soft enough. I know that Beth has a post specifically for using dry beans (which I want to try when I have a free day and need to meal prep). However, that method is NOT for kidney beans. You’ll have to either substitute the kidney beans or cook the kidney beans in a different manner.
This was good. Like some others, I cooked my frozen green beans as I wasn’t sure I’d like it as much if they were thawed only. I also added more red wine vinegar and dijon. I preferred the tang of these ingredients that seemed muted by the oil/sugar amounts. Next time I’ll probably decrease oil/increase vinegar and dijon by around 25%.
Onions are a no-go here. I could easily just leave them out but does anyone have any good ideas for what would make a good substitute? Are they needed for crunchy texture, pungent flavor, or both?
I am thinking a bit of celery could replace the crunch and maybe a little raw garlic could give e the pungency – but I don’t know how well these will work out in this recipe, having never tried it.
It looks like a pretty healthy side dish or lunch!
A lot of people do use celery in three bean salad for the crunch, so I think that’s your best bet! :) The onions are pretty mild here, so I wouldn’t worry too much about replacing them.
I made this and it was delicious, so much better than my old recipe. I partially cooked the green beans and added some seedless cucumber for crunch. I like the bit of Dijon in here–it added another layer of flavor– and using fresh green beans rather than canned made this salad much tastier and fresher than using canned. Will be making this often!
Try replacing the onion (or complimenting it) with 1/4 cup finely diced green pepper. That will add some crunch AND another layer of flavor. About 60 years ago, our neighbors introduced us to 3-Bean Salad. It was green beans, wax beans, kidney beans, red onion, green pepper, and a simple vinaigrette like in this recipe, so I’m very confident about the green pepper 🙂
We needed more “tang” in our dressing. Added some red wine vinegar instead and more Dijon (doubled). Came out well. Good as a side for hot dogs or steak off the BBQ.
I love this salad but what do you do so that the dressing doesn’t congeal. I’m assuming it’s from the olive oil and being in the fridge but it doesn’t look appetizing.
Unfortunately there’s not really anything you can do about olive oil solidifying at colder temperatures. But if you leave it out at room temp for about five minutes and then give it a good stir, that should be enough time for it to liquify again and look pretty. :)
I swear every time I’m about to say “okay this is gonna taste weird” it always tastes amazing! Every recipe I try exceeds my expectations. And this one is so easy and fresh tasting. I did cook my frozen green beans though.
same recipe that my mom made 40 years ago! most delicious, easiest classic salad that people have forgotten about over the years. my mom used to use wax beans too, but they are impossible to find now, unless you want to pay $6 a can on amazon. thanks for reminding me of this fabulous recipe!!
I have found wax beans in my Kroger affiliate, Ralph’s in Southern California.
Kroger affiliates are nation wide. Find your local Kroger affiliate to see if they can get it for you.
There are whole yellow beans in a frozen mix with carrots and whole green beans. That’s what I use, (with or without the carrots!) cut them into pieces and cook about half way.
Thank you for sharing this delightful recipe. I can hardly wait to try it.
Oh interesting! I love this, and it looks so great.
Hi! Are the green beans uncooked??
I used frozen green beans, which are par-boiled before freezing (all frozen vegetables are). If you want to use fresh green beans, I suggest boiling or steaming them first. :)
I used frozen green beans but they were still too crunchy and raw-tasting for me. This salad is delicious and I will definitely make it again, but next time I’ll cook the green beans a bit instead of just thawing them.
Do you think it would taste just as yummy with a yellow onion? Looks delicious!
Absolutely! xoxo
Looks yummy and easy. I’ll have to try it as a side with some chicken.