We’re taking lunches and salads to the next level with this tasty dish! Healthy and utterly delicious, this easy to make Tuscan Bean Salad is filled with delicious ingredients, aromatic spices and herbs, and sure to make your belly happy. Perfectly fluffy millet, hearty chickpeas, navy beans, black beans, cannellini beans, zesty scallions, flavorful sundried tomatoes, sweet red and green bell peppers covered with a rich and delicious Tuscan dressing makes for a fantastic, filling salad. An excellent lunch dish, add some tasty taters or roasty veggies for a lip-smacking dinner!
Whole Food Plant Based, vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients, and gluten free.
Hi there, Ameera here!
Salads are our “thing,” as most of our readers have already figured out. We enjoy experimenting with different flavors, spices, and ingredients, chasing that perfect combination to make a great salad, and this one was exactly that – a really incredible and fantastic Whole Food Plant Based salad. End of story!
I could stop right here, and let that be that, but SEO and Google dictate that every blog post must have at least “X” (some magical number) of words in order for it to show up in searches. But if we threw caution and Google to the wind, then you’d also miss all of our fun (and sometimes craaaazy) “kitchen adventures” that we love sharing with you.
Get it, get it “kitchen adventures”? LOL Sorry, sometimes, I think things are funnier than they actually are. Mom just assured me that my little reference to kitchen adventures (since that is our blog name) was hilarious, but then again, Mom is well, my mom. Annnnd moms tend to think everything their kids do is “awesome”, right Mom? Thanks Mom! You are the best!
Beans, Beans, and more beans!
This beautiful and flavorful salad is jam-packed with protein-rich beans! We are a bean loving family and this dish really lets those tasty beans shine!
- Chickpeas
- Black Beans
- Cannellini Beans
- Navy Beans
The best part is you can mix and match your favorite beans; your imagination is the only limitation: lima beans, lentils, mung beans, black eyed peas, pinto beans, etc.
Add this tasty salad to a veggie bowl for a fantastic lunch! We added the following to this delicious bowl:
- Tuscan Bean Salad
- Greens (Mix of baby spinach, arugula, baby beet greens, red Romaine, frisee)
- Baked Sweet Potato Slices (cut into flower shape with a cookie cutter after baking)
- Tomato Slices
- Avocado
- Kalamata olives
- Mix and match any of your favorite ingredients 🙂
Two Thumbs Up
This beautiful salad is not your everyday bean salad. It is a fabulous salad. We absolutely gobbled it down. The truest of true tests was having Dad try it as he fancies himself as thee Italian expert on all things Italian . . . well I guess he has earned that right since he is 100% Sicilian after all.
Dad loved it. He commented that it had great flavor and perfect texture. He loved the combination of the creamy beans coupled with the crunchy bell peppers. He said he really enjoyed it and gave it a two-thumbs up sign of approval. I’ll let Mom tell you more.
This post contains affiliate links, and we may receive a very small commission if you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures! For more information, see our disclosures here.
Hi! Robin here.
Monkey nailed the flavor combination perfectly for this Tuscan Bean Salad. In my opinion the sweet sundried tomatoes really took the flavor to the next level of yumminess. I also really enjoyed the fluffy millet even though I have never been a huge millet fan, I was totally converted to a fan with this salad. You can totally substitute barley, quinoa, or farro for the millet if you wish – basically whatever you have on hand (pick a substitute that is GF if needed.) So delicious!
We hope you give this deliciousness a try! We just know you are going to love it!
Give this recipe a try! We would love to hear from you!
If you try it, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us! We would love to hear from you.
Products Used:
- Medium stock pot with a lid to cook the millet
Tuscan Bean Salad
- Prep Time: 10 Minutes
- Cook Time: 15 Minutes (Millet)
- Total Time: 25 Minutes
- Yield: 4-6 Servings 1x
- Category: Salad
- Cuisine: Italian
Description
We’re taking lunches and salads to the next level with this tasty dish! Healthy and utterly delicious, this easy to make Tuscan Bean Salad is filled with delicious ingredients, aromatic spices and herbs, and sure to make your belly happy. Perfectly fluffy millet, hearty chickpeas, navy beans, black beans, cannellini beans, zesty scallions, flavorful sundried tomatoes, sweet red and green bell peppers covered with a rich and delicious Tuscan dressing makes for a fantastic, filling salad. An excellent lunch dish, add some tasty taters or roasty veggies for a lip-smacking dinner!
Whole Food Plant Based, vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients, and gluten free.
Ingredients
- 1 cup chickpeas*
- 1 cup black beans *
- 1 cup cannellini beans *
- 1 cup navy beans *
- ¾ to 1 cup cooked millet *
- 2 celery ribs, fine dice
- ½ red bell pepper, fine dice
- ½ green bell pepper, fine dice
- 3 green onions, finely sliced
- sea salt to taste *
- black pepper to taste
Dressing Ingredients:
- ¼ cup white balsamic vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons water
- 2 teaspoons miso *
- 1 teaspoon organic maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon tahini
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 ½ teaspoons Italian Seasoning
- pinch black pepper
- 3 sundried tomato halves, (1 Tablespoon finely minced) *
Optional Garnish/Toppings:
- Chopped flatleaf parsley
- Kalamata olives
Instructions
- In the meantime, place 3 sundried tomato halves in a small bowl and cover with boiling water for 10 minutes. Then drain off the water, then mince finely. Set aside.
- Make the salad dressing by adding all the salad dressing ingredients (including the finely minced sundried tomatoes) into a bowl and whisking until well combined. Set aside.
- Place the cooked and cooled millet, and all the remaining ingredients into a large bowl and then add in the salad dressing, tossing gently as you go until everything is coated in the dressing.
- Serve immediately at room temperature.
Notes
*Beans: You can use any mix of cooked beans (and ratio) that you wish equaling 4 cups total. If using canned beans, be sure to drain and rinse thoroughly.
*Cooked Millet: Cooked and cooled millet (or quinoa) works beautifully in this salad. If you do not need to be gluten free, you could also use bulgur, barley, or farro. Measure the ¾ to 1 cup after cooking.
*Miso: We used Miso Master Organic Mellow White Premium Lite Miso, Certified Gluten Free. Miso really lends itself to balancing flavors when you don’t use oil. If you are going to live the Whole Food Plant Based lifestyle, then you will quickly find that miso is your friend. Miso is simply a paste made from fermented soybeans, barley or rice malt. We use a gluten-free mellow white miso. It is Whole Food Plant Based compliant, and most grocery or health food stores carry it these days. You can find it in the refrigerator section. A lot of Vegans and Whole Food Plant Basers call it “the secret weapon” because it really brings that rich umami flavor forward in a lot of dishes. Since we discovered it, we use it a lot. Simply because it really adds something special to our dishes that you just can’t get with other ingredients. It has a long refrigerator shelf life because it is fermented. So, if you can’t find it locally, we suggest that when you are taking any trips out of town, find a store that carries it, take a small ice chest and stock up.
*Sea Salt: Our family was divided over if this recipe required sea salt or not, please use sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
*Sundried Tomatoes: We used Mediterranean Organic Sundried Roman Tomatoes. Be sure to select oil free sundried tomatoes. They are typically dried like dates.
*Servings: 4-6
*Storage: Refrigerate, use within 5 days.
This post contains affiliate links, and we may receive a very small commission if you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures! For more information, see our disclosures here.
HURRAH!!! Millet! No one seems to use that beautiful grain anymore.
Many thanks for including it in this beautiful recipe!
Hi there Jenna 🙂
Yay, so glad you are a millet fan too! It is truly such a fantastic and delicious grain! Thank you so much for taking the time to write; we appreciate your wonderful feedback 🙂
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
Agree Jenna. I didn’t give millet a fair chance about 5 yrs ago when I first tried it. Tried it today and was so confused why I didn’t like it before. It’s really nutty and has a great “bite” to it.
Hi.. Do you know the sodium content of this salad? Thanks.
Hi there Rita 🙂
Thank you so much for reaching out to us. We don’t include the sodium content because it varies so greatly depending on if you are using canned beans or using cooked beans from dried, plus sea salt amounts can be adjusted to personal preference. You can always use an app like chronometer and include the exact products and ingredients to create a more in-depth nutrition facts label. Wishing you a wonderful day!
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
This is the most delicious salad ever! I am making it for the second time in 2 days.. can’t get enough and my husband says “wow” every time He eats it, we absolutely love it! Thanks for sharing.
Hi there Teresa 🙂
Yaayyy!!! We are SO excited that you love this salad and have made it a couple times now. We too can’t get enough. We truly appreciate you and your wonderful feedback! Thank you so much for taking the time to write <3
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
I was very happy to try this recipe. I did not use canned but dried beans.
Hi there Donna 🙂
Woo Hoo! So glad that you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback!
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
What could I sub for miso ? We can’t have soy and don’t have soy free miso in our country !
Hi there Stephanie 🙂
Thank you so much for reaching out to us. You can leave the miso out of the dressing.
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
Just made this for lunch today!! I used quinoa instead of millet and added avocado and baked sweet potato. I am so satisfied! It was DELICIOUS! and I have plenty leftovers!!!
Hi there Vanessa 🙂
Wooooot! We are so thrilled that you enjoyed this recipe. Thank you so much for sharing your adjustments with us – sounds SO yummy! We appreciate you sharing your awesome feedback and for taking the time to write.
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
You ladies just keep blowing me away! This recipe is BURSTING with amazing flavors. It’s loaded with protein & fiber. It’s a cooling comfort food. I’m also going to try this in a wrap with greens and sundried tomato hummus. In addition – it’s super easy to throw together.
Hi there Tiffany 🙂
Woo hoo! We are SUPER excited you enjoyed this recipe. We appreciate you sharing your wonderful review. Thank you so much for taking the time to write.
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
Thank you for your amazing recipes! Any chance you can use regular balsamic vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or red wine vinegar in the dressing in place of white balsamic? Thanks so much!
Hi there Emily.
Thank you for your question. Yes, you can substitute the white balsamic with regular balsamic vinegar. The bean salad will just be slightly darker in color with a hint more sweetness. You may wish to cut back on the maple syrup or test with a smaller amount before committing.
-Ameera and Robin