This three bean salad is a blend of kidney beans, green beans and garbanzo beans, all tossed in a sweet and savory 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!
Salad ingredients
This salad includes garbanzo beans, kidney beans, thinly sliced red onions and green beans. The beans are coated in a dressing made of olive oil, sugar, cider vinegar, salt, pepper and parsley.
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!
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.
Recipe FAQs
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.
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.
The most common beans for a three bean salad include garbanzo beans, kidney beans and green beans. You can include other types of beans to make variations on the classic recipe.
Most bean salads use a sweet and savory dressing that includes some type of vinegar, olive or vegetable oil, sugar and a variety of seasonings.
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 Beans: Kidney beans, garbanzo beans, green beans, wax beans
- Five Beans: Kidney beans, garbanzo beans, green beans, wax beans, cannellini beans
- Six Beans: Kidney beans, garbanzo beans, green beans, wax beans, cannellini beans, lima beans
- Seven Beans: 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.
Notes
- 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 prefer to use fresh green beans, but canned will also work and do not need to be blanched.
This is one of the best 3 bean salad recipes I’ve tried. Living an hour from San Antonio I changed out black beans for the kidneys, cilantro for the parsley and low sodium Tajin seasoning for the salt and pepper. I don’t know if the Tajin is available nationally (made in Mexico) but it should be. It’s a mild blend of chili pepper with dried lime powder and sea salt and I use it a lot. I guess it’s more Tex Mex now but the dressing is delicious and the bean amounts are spot on for us. I will make this again.
I’d bought green beans just to try this recipe and it didn’t disappoint. I was into it and realized I didn’t have any kidney beans on hand and sub’d black beans instead. I also cut the sugar to 2T and it was still delicious. Compliments all around. Thanks for a simple, healthy, super recipe!
I lessened the amount of sugar but otherwise followed the recipe & my family loved it!
Excellent flavor. I used coconut sugar. The only issue I had was that the green beans were not cooked long enough for my family. I increased the cook to 5 minutes and the beans were still too crunchy for my family. Next time I will increase the cook time on the beans. I don’t want mushy beans but my family doesn’t want crunchy either.
I have never used fresh beans. Instead canned green beans, canned kidney beans and frozen thawed sweet peas.
How long will it keep in the refrig?
Up to 3 days!
Ça semble léger et frais… a essayer !
Very good recipe! I will make it again
Very yummy
Excellent 3 bean salad. Better than any store bought brand. Also, easy to make.
How many would this recipe feed?
It makes 6 servings.
This was so good but too much dressing. I added extra beans! Soo delish 🙂
Love! Anyone try canning this recipe? If vinegar & sugar are boiled first? Have so many beans this year!