Hearty Bean Dinner Salad with Sun Dried Tomato Dressing

Salads are lovely, but if I’m eating a salad as my meal it had better be filling and interesting- no plate of iceberg with two cherry tomatoes for me! Sometimes that means I end up cooking and spicing different components, and chopping huge amounts of vegetables, and am left with a giant salad that took hours, cost half my bank account, and could feed a small army. This dinner salad is a good compromise between the two- it’s filling and hearty, with plenty of variation, but it doesn’t involve a lot of cooking or chopping, can be made in about 15 minutes, and for less than $10. The main component of this salad is three cans of different beans, which only need to be opened, drained, and rinsed- and the only cooking you’ll do is sticking an ear of corn in the microwave for 3 minutes. I do go through the effort of making my own salad dressing- I rarely buy salad dressings anymore, because I prefer the taste of homemade ones (plus, you don’t get all the sugar and preservatives). If you do have a store-bought salad dressing you love, feel free to save yourself the effort and use that instead.

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Eat More Beans!

I eat a lot of fancy beans- dried beans, from Rancho Gordo which I very much recommend. But I’m not actually a bean snob. I’ve never met a bean I didn’t like, and for days when you’re in a rush, or your budgets a little tight, canned beans are a healthy and delicious way to get some food in a hurry. Beans are a super environmentally friendly crop to grow, so you can feel good about eating them. In addition, they’re really high in protein and several vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. They’ve been shown to benefit your body by reducing your risk for several health conditions, including heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. So for the earth, your pocketbook, and your health, eat more beans!

Love cooking with beans? Try one of these great legume recipes!

• Teff Vegan Burger with White Beans and Mushrooms
• Vegan Hearty Black Bean Meatballs
• Roasted Black Bean Tofu-A High Vegan Protein Dish
• Vegan Pane Cotto (AKA Bread and Bean Casserole)
• Giant Buffalo Beans- White Beans in Buffalo Sauce
• Spicy Garlic Roasted Chickpeas Snack

Assembling your Hearty Bean Dinner Salad with Sun Dried Tomato Dressing

My challenge for myself making this recipe was in keeping my costs under $10- it meant that I had to think carefully about what vegetables and dressing would make the best addition to my trio of beans in my dinner salad. A single ear of corn is cheap, adds a bit of fresh sweetness, and the only part of this salad I cooked- you can actually microwave corn for about 3 minutes (still with it’s leaves on the cob) to get a quick and easy cook. Then shuck it and cut the kernels off the cob- as an aside, I always cut my corn off the cob as a child, and I still do to this day. I don’t like how it gets stuck in my teeth when you eat it straight off the cob- is that weird?

The beans just need to be drained and rinsed, and added to a mixing bowl with the corn. Half a bell pepper adds a lovely red color. Onion, of course (chopped). Cilantro (or parsley) to add freshness to our canned beans. All of this sits on a bed of salad greens, which add volume, crunch, and bitter notes. The salad dressing is made with oil, vinegar, a little garlic, salt, and sugar, and sun dried tomatoes for their unique flavor and umami taste. The simple vinaigrette adds a new level of brightness to the overall flavor of the salad, and has a lovely, orange-red color. Serve the salads with the salad greens as the base, next the mixed bean salad, and top with the homemade dressing.

Hearty Bean Dinner Salad with Sun Dried Tomato Dressing

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