Creamy, punchy and tangy Sun Dried Tomato & Cannellini Bean Salad – make in 15 minutes or less with minimal prep! Serve as a simple side, as a snack or starter with bread or crackers or enjoy as a light lunch or dinner. Gluten Free + Vegetarian + Vegan Option
May I please introduce to you the most fancy-ass salad you have ever seen which just so happens to also be the easiest salad you can ever make? Okay maybe it’s not actually the ~fanciest~. I’ll admit that my bar for what qualifies as fancy miiiight be a bit low. What can I say? I’m a simple girl with simple tastes.
HOWEVER I’ll stand by the statement that this is probably the easiest salad you can make and I’ll even go so far as to say it’s one of my favourites. Picture me as Julie Andrews singing about all of my favourite things….except all my favourite things are food and they’re mixed together in this Sun Dried Tomato Cannellini Bean Salad.
Sun Dried Tomato Cannellini Bean Salad
Altogether this salad take about 10 minutes to throw together. It all comes down to the prep work which is pretty minimal here. It’s really just a matter of chopping up a few ingredients and draining/rinsing your beans.
As a side note – speaking of beans save your aquafaba! Aquafaba (literally meaning bean water) – the weird, starchy water found in cans of beans. It makes for a really fantastic egg substitute that can be used in a number of different ways. You can make gluten free vegan bread, brownies, chocolate mousse and even meringue!
Back to the salad…
A note about the cheese: you can absolutely make this salad without or without the feta. I’ve personally been on a bit of a feta kick lately so I went ahead and tossed some in there. That being said this salad really does have enough flavour going on already that you can leave it out without missing any crucial flavours. Alternatively you can also opt to use a dairy free feta if you’d like! Store bought is fine if you’ve got a favourite. I’m personally a huge fan of this homemade feta from The First Mess. Whenever I’m in need a dairy free, plant based feta I make this and it really hits the spot.
There’s nothing too tricky here – just throw everything in a bowl and toss to combine. If you really want to enhance the flavour then I recommend covering and chilling this prepped salad in the fridge for at least 30 minutes just to let the flavours all get to know each other.
It’s perfect if you need a quick and easy make-ahead-salad to bring along to potlucks and BBQ’s!
Hope you enjoy!
Sun Dried Tomato Cannellini Bean Salad
Creamy, punchy and tangy Sun Dried Tomato & Cannellini Bean Salad - make in 15 minutes or less with minimal prep! Serve as a simple side, as a snack or starter with bread or crackers or enjoy as a light lunch or dinner. Gluten Free + Vegetarian + Vegan Option
Ingredients
- 2 cans | 15 ounces cannellini bean, drained & rinsed
- 1/2 cup red onion, diced
- 1 teaspoon minced or grated garlic
- 1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, packed in oil
- 1/4 cup pinenuts
- 1/4 cup fresh basil, loosely packed and slices
- 3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt + more to taste
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon oil from jar of sun dried tomatoes
- 2 oz feta, crumbled (optional) use vegan feta if you like
Instructions
- Combine everything to a large salad or mixing bowl and toss well to combine. Toss for at least a minute or two to make sure that everything is mixed well. Taste and season with additional salt, pepper and vinegar as needed.
- Serve as is, over a bed of greens, in wraps, on bread/crackers.
Notes
For best flavour cover and let this salad marinate in the fridge for about 30 minutes to soak in all the flavours.
Shay B says
Delicious! I soaked the red onion in red wine vinegar to soften the “punch” and added a bit more of the oil from the sun dried tomatoes. But followed the recipe otherwise and I’ll definitely make this again!
Sarah Nevins says
Love that idea of soaking the onions in vinegar! So glad you enjoyed the salad – thank you so much for coming back to let me know how it went 🙂
Elaine says
I but sun dried tomatoes from Costco they are packed in Olive Oil I believe so suggestions as to what I should do as far as the oil you suggest adding to the salad.
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Elaine – You can add the olive oil in the jar to the salad!
Melissa says
Can you tell me the whole fat content for a serving? Thanks it’s delicious!
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Melissa – sorry about that! Not sure why it wasn’t showing up before. At any rate – 1 serving (1 cup) has 14 grams of fat total.
Paula says
Very delicious.
I have been looking for bean recipes. This is one I will make again.
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Paula – so glad you liked it! 🙂