This three bean salad recipe is simple, affordable and delicious! Green beans, red kidney beans and garbanzo beans are combined with a sweet and tangy dressing.
The dressing is as easy to make as the salad. Apple cider vinegar, olive oil, sugar and spices, that’s it! Three bean salad is best when it sits for a while in the dressing and gets nice and cold. So make it ahead of time and refrigerate until party time.
This three bean salad is a cold side dish that goes great with barbecue chicken, ribs, hot dogs, hamburgers and sandwiches. Serve the bean salad along with this loaded potato salad and this refreshing and simple artichoke salad for a fantastic side dish buffet.
Since this bean salad is meatless, your veggie loving friends will be happy. For another meat free option, try these delicious marinated tomatoes.
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What kind of beans can I use?
We make this bean salad with green beans, red kidney beans and garbanzo beans (chickpeas) but bean options are varied and plentiful!
Commonly used beans include: Wax beans, which are green beans that have been bred without the pigment obtained from chlorophyll. Cannellini beans are another popular option.
Do I have to use canned green beans for three bean salad?
In this recipe we forgo the canned green beans and go for frozen instead. This is a personal choice, I prefer the texture of the frozen green beans. I like my green beans snappy!
The frozen beans work great. Get the steam in the bag microwave variety for added convenience. There are a couple of tricks to keep the beans from getting mushy.
- Use the lowest suggested cooking time. Don’t overcook the beans.
- As soon as they’re done, carefully open the bag drain the green beans and rinse them with cold water. This will stop the cooking. If you leave them in the bag, the residual heat will continue to cook the beans.
How long should I refrigerate three bean salad?
Serve the three bean salad cold, very cold. Plus, you want it to sit in the delicious sweet and tangy dressing for at least a couple of hours so the flavors come together.
You can refrigerate the salad overnight for serving the next day. Just make sure you cover it well with a lid or plastic wrap and give it a really good stir before serving.
Three bean salad ingredients
Dressing:
- ⅓ cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- ¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 tablespoons Sugar
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon Garlic Powder
Bean Salad:
- 16 ounce can Red Kidney Beans, rinsed and drained
- 16 ounce can Garbanzo Beans (chickpeas), rinsed and drained
- 10 ounce package Frozen Cut Green Beans, cooked to the lowest recommended time on package
- 2 tablespoons Onions, sliced paper thin
- 2 tablespoons Parsley, chopped
Prep Work
The prep work is quick and easy here. The only knife work required is slicing the onions. Everything else is rinsing and measuring.
- Slice the onion into paper thin slices. We only need two tablespoons for the bean salad, that’s less than half a small onion. Save the rest for another dish.
- Add the garbanzo and red beans to a strainer. You can add them together or separately it doesn’t matter. Rinse them gently with cold water and drain completely.
- Cook the green beans following the package directions and use the lowest recommended time. As soon as the beans are done, add them to a strainer, drain and rinse them under cold water to stop the cooking.
Make the three bean salad dressing
Add the apple cider vinegar, olive oil, sugar, salt, pepper and garlic powder to a small jar or bowl. I like using canning jars to make dressings. The lids close tightly and you can shake vigorously without spilling. They’re super convenient.
Shake the jar, or whisk until combined. Refrigerate the dressing while you finish the salad to allow the flavors to come together. Just make sure to give it a good shake or stir before adding it to the beans.
Finish the salad
Add the red beans, garbanzos, green beans, sliced onions and parsley to a large bowl. Make sure the bowl is large enough that you can get in there and stir without spilling. We use a large bowl from a set of glass nesting bowls. They’re great because there’s a size for whatever you need.
Next, add the dressing to the three bean salad.
Gently toss and stir the ingredients with a rubber spatula until it’s all combined and coated. Take care not to tear the beans.
Cover and refrigerate the 3 bean bean salad for 2 hours, up to overnight. Stir and toss well before serving. Enjoy!
You may also like these easy side dishes:
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Three Bean Salad Recipe
Ingredients
Dressing
- ⅓ cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- ¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 tablespoons Sugar
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon Garlic Powder
Bean Salad
- 16 ounce can Red Kidney Beans rinsed and drained
- 16 ounce can Garbanzo Beans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 10 ounce package Frozen Cut Green Beans cooked to the lowest recommended time on package
- 2 tablespoons Onions sliced paper thin
- 2 tablespoons Parsley chopped
Instructions
- Cook the green beans following the package directions and use the lowest recommended time. As soon as the beans are done, add them to a strainer, drain and rinse them under cold water to stop the cooking.
Make the dressing
- Add the apple cider vinegar, olive oil, sugar, salt, pepper and garlic powder to a small jar or bowl. Shake the jar to combine, or whisk until combined. Refrigerate the dressing while you finish the salad to allow the flavors to come together. Just make sure to give it a good shake or stir before adding.
Finish the three bean salad
- Add the red beans, garbanzos, green beans, sliced onions and parsley to a large bowl.
- Add the dressing to the bean salad.
- Gently toss and stir the ingredients with a rubber spatula until it’s all combined and coated. Take care not to tear the beans.
- Cover and refrigerate the bean salad for 2 hours, up to overnight.
- Stir and toss well before serving.
I had to adjust the ingredients to what I had on hand – garbanzos, black beans and leftover steamed green beans. The dressing is perfect. Most recipes I found had too much sugar. Yours was just enough.
Hi. I’m glad you put leftover steamed green beans to good use, that’s a good idea! Thank you for your kind review.