Bean Salad With Oil Free Dressing

For a quick and easy lunch idea, or for your next BBQ or picnic, make an oil-free bean salad. Quick and easy recipe in 15 minutes or less.

With BBQ season right around the corner, a quick and easy vegan bean salad is one of my favorite go-to salads. First, it travels well when going to a BBQ, or if you are hosting a BBQ, it stays together well in the summer weather. And, of course, I made a vegan bean salad without any oil, loaded with veggies, with a tangy tasty flair. 

Jump to:

• How to reduce gas when eating beans
• The benefits of eating beans  
• Why you should eat beans 4 times a week
• Ingredients
• Salad Substitutions
• How to make oil-free dressing
• Dressing Ingredients
• Dressing Substitutions
• Recipe FAQs
• Tips
• What goes well with bean salad? Try these recipes.
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Reviews

When I start to plan menus for BBQ parties or weekly lunches, I think about the easiest and quickest meals I can make. We are all busy, so why not take the thinking out of cooking and make it as simple as possible. Since I'm all about convenience and taste, let's make it 15 minutes easy! 

Regardless if you are looking for a quick and easy lunch idea or a recipe for a picnic or BBQ, vegan bean salad is always popular with a crowd. 

How to reduce gas when eating beans

Unfortunately, a lot of people have difficulty digesting beans, and gas is the result. Stop worrying about tooting when eating beans. One solution, however, is to use a piece of Kombu in your beans when you cook them. 

What is kombu?

This magical sea vegetable can change your vegan life. Many people have asked me how I can eat so many beans and other legumes without the stomach pains and gas associated with eating beans and legumes. In my opinion, its real power is in its ability to take the gas out of beans; yes, removes the negative results of heavy bean and legume consumption.

Seaweeds are becoming more widely known as a healthy food with few calories and rich minerals. Kombu, however, possesses something that other edible seaweeds do not, and this is what makes kombu kelp the “King of Seaweed.” Not only is Kombu delicious on its own, but it is different from other seaweed in that it produces Dashi(stock). No other seaweed has that gift. This exclusive characteristic of the kombu is extremely important and indispensable to Japanese cuisine. Dashi is the base of several dishes and is valued as a vital and rich ingredient.

How to cook with kombu

All you have to do is put one piece of Kombu, whole, into your bean and legume dishes while they are cooking. For instance, I put a piece in the crockpot of the chili we ate for dinner tonight. I left the Kombu all-day brewing in the chili. Like a bay leaf, I removed it when I served the chili.

What does kombu taste like?

Despite being a form of seaweed, kombu does not leave a seafood taste; you won’t even know it was in there, but you will notice a decrease if not full disappearance of gas and discomfort that some experience when eating beans and legumes.

Where to buy kombu

I bought my Kombu at Whole Foods, in the Asian section, but you can buy Kombu on Amazon as well. 

Since I plan to use canned beans for this salad, instead of cooking kombu into my beans, I ground up kombu to put in my vegan bean salad. 

The benefits of eating beans  

Dr. Joel Fuhrman, in a 2015  article, "Beans Lead to a Longer Life," says, "Beans contain both insoluble fiber and soluble fiber and are very high in resistant starch. Although resistant starch is technically a starch, it acts more like fiber and 'resists' digestion. Since it passes through the small intestine undigested, it means that a significant amount of the carbohydrate calories are not absorbed."

And as any vegan knows, eating beans is a great way to get that protein everyone thinks we can't get from vegetables alone, which of course is untrue.

Why you should eat beans 4 times a week

• Heart-healthy
• Good for digestion
• Helps regulate weight
• Reduces the risk of different types of cancers
• High in fiber
• High in protein
• High in vitamin B
• High in iron

Ingredients

In order to make a crunchy and tasty vegan bean salad recipe, you need very few ingredients. Because I like to include several colors, as well as textures, I add some additional vegetables not typically in a traditional bean salad. In my bean salad I included: 

• Cannellini Beans: a popular white bean native to Southern Italy. They are large and oval in size with a nutty flavor and a creamy texture. Also called white beans or navy beans
• Chickpeas (or garbanzo beans): actually a legume rather than a bean, chickpeas are compared in flavor to cannellini and pinto beans because they're starchy. They're also known to have an earthy taste with nutty undertones.
• Dark red kidney beans: are known for their slightly sweet taste and firm texture.
• Red onion: this sweet onion is less harsh tasting than a white or yellow onion, and provides a mild flavor.
• Garlic: contains antioxidants that support the body's protective mechanisms against oxidative damage
• Celery: provides an earthy, fresh taste when added to salads
• Red bell pepper: the sweetest of all bell peppers, red bell peppers are not bitter, and often have a slight citrus flavor.
• Parsley: parsley has a bright, herbaceous, and slightly bitter taste that serves as a contrast to emphasize the other flavors in a dish, similar to lemon zest
• Dill: has a bright, sweet flavor—somewhere between anise, parsley, and celery. 
• Red pepper flakes: Red pepper flakes can really be quite hot, and for those who are sensitive to heat, it might be way too much heat in a meal. So, always add small amounts until you get your desired heat level.
• Salt
• Pepper

Salad Substitutions

• Substitute other preferred beans for any of the band and legumes in the recipe such as pinto beans, black beans, or prepared brown lentils if preferred.
• For a stronger onion presence, choose a white or yellow onion instead of red onion.
• Choose thyme or tarragon to replace parsley in recipes. Dill also works very well with the combination of ingredients in this recipe.
• Cayenne Pepper or paprika can substitute for the red pepper flakes in the recipe, but remember to add in small amounts for desired heat preference. Or, if you are sensitive to heat, omit it altogether.
• Or choose a diced jalapeno as a way to add a little spice to your bean salad.

How to make oil-free dressing

Whenever I am making an oil-free dressing, I start by replacing the oil I would have used with water. Yes, water! Although water is not oil, it does mellow out the flavors of the vinegar and other ingredients. Oil, after all, doesn't really taste like anything. For instance, you wouldn't drink olive oil; that would just be disgusting! 

Dressing Ingredients

• Red wine vinegar: It's known for its delicious and distinctive tangy flavor
• Maple syrup: provides a slightly sweet dressing component as a sugar replacement
• Dijon Mustard: Dijon mustard tastes like a smooth, slightly salty, complex tang.
• Salt
• Pepper
• Italian Seasoning: Italian seasoning usually consists of basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, and marjoram, with other herbs and spices sometimes making an appearance
• Water

Dressing Substitutions

• When I don't have any red wine vinegar, I often substitute it with a similar dark vinegar such as sherry vinegar, balsamic vinegar, or raspberry vinegar.
• Stone-ground or spicy brown mustard is close to the taste of dijon mustard as a substitute in a pinch.
• Fresh herbs add a more fresh taste, so if using fresh herbs, make sure to double the amount of fresh to the dry Italian herb blend. Dry herbs are much stronger than fresh herbs at a 2:1 ratio in terms of taste.

Not only is this bean salad, healthy, but it is also easy to make. So, the next time you are wondering what to make for lunch, or bring to your next picnic or BBQ, just bring a bean salad. 

Recipe FAQs

Tips

• If you meal prep, as I do, bean salad is easy to pack for lunch and the oil-free dressing enhances the bean salad the longer it marinates.
• If soaking and cooking beans instead of using canned beans, soak the beans overnight before cooking.
• Keep the aquafaba (chickpea brine) from the chickpea can when draining to use for other recipes.
• Dress the salad in advance and allow it to chill in the refrigerator for a couple of hours because the flavors enhance over time.

What goes well with bean salad? Try these recipes.

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📖 Recipe