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A large bowl of mixed bean salad on a white table top next to a small dish of dried beans.

Mixed Bean Salad

The best mixed bean salad recipe, sweet, sour, crisp and full of plant-based goodness. This recipe makes a large batch and freezes very well.
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Course: Salad
Cuisine: New Zealand
Keyword: mixed bean salad, bean salad, bean salad recipe, bean salad with pineapple
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 261kcal

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Ingredients

  • ½ cup haricot beans 100g
  • ½ cup lima beans 100g
  • ½ cup red kidney beans 100g
  • ½ cup chickpeas 100g
  • ½ cup blue peas 100g
  • ½ cup pinto beans 100g
  • 200 g green beans
  • 1 ½ cup white vinegar
  • 2 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • ½ cup water
  • 1 large onion
  • 200 g cauliflower
  • 185 g crushed pineapple
  • 150 g celery
  • 1 large green capsicum
  • ½ teaspoon ground ginger

Instructions

  • Place all the dried beans in a large bowl, cover with water and soak over night
  • Drain and rinse the beans
  • In a large saucepan of fresh water simmer the beans for 1 hour.
  • Slice the green beans and add to the hot saucepan of beans.
  • Let the cooked beans cool in the cooking water, strain and transfer into a large basin.
  • Pickling liquid: Heat the vinegar, sugar, salt, and water in a small saucepan. Simmer until all the sugar has dissolved and the pickling liquid is clear. Cool.
  • Add the pickling liquid to the cooked and cooled beans
  • Thinly slice the capsicum and add to the beans
  • Prep your cauliflower, you want very small 'buds' of cauliflower. If this is too time consuming you can use cauliflower rice. Add to the beans.
  • Finely dice the onion, add to the beans.
  • Finely slice the celery, add to the beans.
  • Add the crushed pinepple to the beans.
  • Finally add the ground ginger to the bean and stir to combine.
  • Chill in the fridge before serving.

Notes

  • Mixed dried beans and peas: You will need 3 cups or 600g of dried beans, you can choose the combination you like: Kidney beans, Lima beans, Pinto beans, Cranberry beans, Brown beans, Chickpeas, Haricot beans/Navy Beans, Soybeans are all fine.
  • I know that 2 cups of sugar can seem like a lot, just remember this makes a huge amount of bean salad, the sugar in the pickling liquid really does make the bean salad delicious! I tried reducing it, but the recipe was just not as nice.
  • If you don't like crunchy cauliflower you can add it to the beans for the last few minutes of cooking time if you prefer (at the same time as the sliced green beans)
  • Chopping the cauliflower into tiny 'buds' can take a while, you can blitz the cauliflower into rough cauliflower rice if you prefer.
  • Mixed bean salad is the perfect side dish to grilled meats, ham steaks, or leftover Christmas ham.
  • Bean salad will last up to 5 days if stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
  • This bean salad freezes well. Freeze bean salad for up to four months, defrost in the fridge.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 261kcal | Carbohydrates: 57g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 602mg | Potassium: 507mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 39g | Vitamin A: 232IU | Vitamin C: 24mg | Calcium: 60mg | Iron: 2mg