Refreshing Pinto Bean Salad: Healthy & Easy To Make

Prep Time:30

Chill Time:30

Total Time:1

Equipment

large salad serving bowl
serving bowl utensils
sharp cutting knife
wooden cutting board

Ingredients

15 oz pinto beans (cooked, drained) - or approx. 2C cooked from scratch
2 cloves fresh garlic - minced
1/2 red onion - diced
1 cup grape tomatoes - preferably organic
1 red bell pepper - diced
4 mini cucumbers - cut into small pieces
2 stalks celery - thinly sliced
1 tbsp fresh parsley - chopped
2 tbsp fresh cilantro - chopped
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
3 tbsp lemon juice - preferably fresh
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp kosher salt

Instructions

Dressing Instructions

In a small bowl, whisk together the Dijon mustard, lemon juice, garlic, parsley, cilantro, salt, and pepper. Set aside for the flavors to blend together while making the salad.

Salad Instructions

Dice the red onion, tomatoes, cucumbers, red bell pepper, and celery into small bite-sized pieces, and place everything into your large salad bowl. Toss to combine gently.
Next, add the drained and rinsed pinto beans, and toss again gently.
Drizzle the dressing onto the salad and toss gently making sure all of the dressing is spread evenly.
Season further with salt and pepper according to taste.
Cover and set in the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes, on up to 1 hour. Allowing all of the flavors to blend together.
Serve pinto bean salad into beautiful bowls, sprinkle with additional parsley and/or cilantro, and serve.
ENJOY!

Notes

Canned beans are the simplest to use, so if you are in a hurry, use canned beans. That said, cooking beans from scratch is super easy. It takes time but it is by far the cheapest way to go. So if you have the time, consider using dry beans.
I found a happy medium. I make home-cooked beans but I use an Instant Pot to speed up the cooking process. So what normally would take, soaking the beans overnight, and then cooking them for a couple of hours, now takes about 30 minutes total.
If you are cooking your beans from scratch, add a yellow onion that has been quartered and a couple of bay leaves while the beans are simmering for even more delicious flavor.
One final note on beans. If you would prefer to use another type of bean instead of pinto beans, then by all means go for it! This recipe is so easily modifiable. Other beans to consider would be black beans, kidney beans, cannellini beans, red beans, great northern beans, and more. Or feel free to use a combination of beans to make it a three-bean salad!
If you do not like mustard, you can easily use yellow miso instead. I love making this easy bean salad dressing both ways, so experiment and see which one you like best.
If you are not a cilantro fan, no worries, just swap out the cilantro for extra fresh parsley. It will still taste delicious.
This dish is naturally low in fat because I chose to make it without oil or cheese. My goal is to always make recipes as healthy as I can without losing flavor. That said, if you would like to use a smidge of olive oil or throw a smattering of cheese on top of this salad, I won't stop you.
I will sometimes sprinkle some nutritional yeast on top of this simple bean salad to give it a little cheesy flavor without the added saturated fat.
If you don't mind a little spice to your pinto bean salad, consider adding a diced jalapeno pepper to the dressing before pouring it onto the salad.
For storage, this salad stays fresh better without the dressing mixed in, so my recommendation is to keep the salad and the dressing separate when storing. Then whenever you are ready for a salad, you can mix the dressing in at that time.
This simple bean salad stores best in the fridge in an airtight container. Without the dressing, this salad will last for approximately 3-5 days. If the dressing is already on the salad, it will last about 2 days.

Nutrition

Servings: servings

Calories: 80kcal