This three bean salad is a blend of kidney beans, green beans and garbanzo beans, all tossed in a sweet and sour dressing. A classic salad that’s easy to make and is the perfect addition to almost any meal!
I love a good salad, some of my favorites include pesto pasta salad and Mexican coleslaw. This bean salad is so good that I can make a whole meal out of it! Best of all, it takes just 10 minutes to prepare.
Growing up, we always had a big jar of three bean salad in the fridge. My mom would buy it at Costco and it made for the perfect easy snack or side dish. My homemade bean salad is a million times better than the store bought version, and it takes just minutes to make!
How do you make three bean salad?
This salad is a blend of kidney beans, garbanzo beans and green beans. Traditionally, this salad is made with canned green beans, but I use fresh green beans here and it makes a huge difference with the flavor and texture. The beans get tossed with a little red onion and a homemade dressing that takes just 2 minutes to make. Add a sprinkling of parsley and you’re ready to eat!
Do you need to rinse canned beans?
The kidney beans and garbanzo beans in this recipe are packed in a thick liquid that I always like to rinse off before proceeding with the recipe. Simply place your beans in a colander and rinse them under cold running water for best results.
How do you blanch green beans?
The green beans in this recipe are blanched, which means that they’re lightly cooked in boiling water just until tender. Transfer your cooked green beans to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process; this also helps them retain their bright green color.
Tips for Three Bean Salad
- This salad is actually best made at least 2 hours before you plan to serve it. You can make your salad up to 3 days before you plan to eat it, and the beans will marinate in the dressing.
- I typically use parsley in my salad because I always have it on hand, but other great options include green onions or fresh dill.
- I use a mandoline to get ultra thin shavings of red onion.
- Serve this salad as a side dish, or add some protein like cooked cubed chicken for a main course offering.
- While I recommend using fresh green beans for the best flavor and texture, you can also use canned green beans if needed.
Bean Salad variations
While I love this salad as-is, sometimes I mix thing up a bit by including other types of beans! You still want about 5 1/2 – 6 cups of beans total, but you can add in different varieties for a different flavor.
- Four Bean Salad: Kidney beans, garbanzo beans, green beans, wax beans
- Five Bean Salad: Kidney beans, garbanzo beans, green beans, wax beans, cannellini beans
- Six Bean Salad: Kidney beans, garbanzo beans, green beans, wax beans, cannellini beans, lima beans
- Seven Bean Salad: Kidney beans, garbanzo beans, green beans, wax beans, cannellini beans, lima beans, pinto beans
No matter what type of beans you choose, this salad is always a huge hit!
More great salad recipes
Three bean salad video
Three Bean Salad
Ingredients
- 1 15 ounce can kidney beans drained and rinsed
- 1 15 ounce can garbanzo beans drained and rinsed
- 2 cups fresh green beans cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1/4 cup red onion very thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the green beans and cook for 2 minutes or until just tender. Place the green beans in a bowl of ice water to cool, then drain and pat dry.
- Place the kidney beans, garbanzo beans, green beans, red onion and parsley in a large bowl.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the apple cider vinegar, sugar, olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Pour the dressing over the beans and toss to coat. Cover the bowl and refrigerate the salad for at least 2 hours or up to three days, then serve.
Julie says
My second time making this. I use whatever beans I have. Today I used green beans, pinto beans and kidney beans. Yummy, thanks for the recipe.
Marsha says
Perfect seasonings in this recipe! I make it all the time and it still tasted good after 3 days in the refrigerator.
Jan says
I use robust Italian salad dressing.
Ijo says
Yummy, love it
Nel says
I don’t use any sugar and I use a little less vinegar and add a tablespoon of cold water. Don’t understand the need for sugar here,. Might be just me, I grew up in Europe and we don’t add sugar to savory things.
TK says
Really Good!!! Used a Tablespoon of Agave instead of Sugar and it turned out great!! Thank you for the East and Delicious Recipe!!!
Sonya says
Yum! I’ve been looking for this recipe. I could easily live on this salad minus the oil.
Thank you
Lynne says
This is wonderful!! I mix it with cooked Quinoa, some Feta and call it a meal – YUM! 😋 And in the name of the old Mr. Food “any beans will do”!
Cheryl says
Wow, this was delicious – and easy! I just had leftovers from yesterday and it only got better. Great balance of ingredients to get wonderful tanginess. We are trying to wean ourselves off meat, so I was looking for a protein-rich recipe. Had it will meatless burgers on home made whole wheat burger buns. Great summer dinner.
Cheryl says
Loved it!!
Aimee A Glenister says
I got requests for a repeat for our weekly ‘potlunch’. I made one addition–a pinch of dry mustard in the dressing. A quick squirt of prepared mustard would do too, I suppose– I’ve found most cold dressed salads like this benefit from just a hint of the stuff, and I don’t even like mustard as a general rule.
Bobbie says
I used wax beans, it was delicious.
Stacey J. says
I made this recipe and I really like the result! I followed everything except I used canned green beans and dried parsley, and added some dried dill. I added the sugar 1 Tbsp at a time because some said it was too sweet, but I ended up using the recommended 3 Tbsp and got a good flavor (to me). I mostly eat vegan so this is a recipe I will keep in my usual rotation.
Thanx for the great recipe, I’m eating some right now! I like how it is simple and few ingredients.
DAGMAR says
The recipe sounds great. I can’t wait to try it. Thanks a lot. Dagmar
Marge says
So happy to find this recipe as I had everything already in the house to make it. Great flavor too!
Lori says
OMG! This was so delicious! I couldn’t wait for things in the bowl to get friendly; I started eating it right away. It was the perfect amount of sweet and sour! I will be making this a lot! Even if it’s just for me! 😁
Barbara Carter says
Sounds wonderful! I will definitely be trying this one. I have found that an old fashioned potato peeler works well for the ultra thin onion slices as well!
Mindy Hitchcock says
I like wax beans in mine too, adds more color!
Janet says
Nicest 3 bean salad I’ve ever done (and easiest!)
Thanks for sharing the recipe
Amy says
Fantastic recipe, but I have to drop a star for too much sugar. I’ve made it a couple times now and the first time the dressing was way too sweet. The second time I only used 2 Tbsp sugar even while doubling everything else and it was still pretty sweet. Next time I’ll try just one or maybe one tablespoon of honey. The second time I used cilantro instead of parsley and felt it was equally as good.