Pesto White Bean Salad
It’s that time of year for pesto white bean salad. With all the gatherings, parties and abundance of fresh basil, there’s no reason to not make this! When everyone else is bringing a boring pasta salad to the next potluck, this pesto bean salad will be the star of the party.
Video: Pesto White Bean Salad Recipe
Homemade Basil Pesto
If you’re gardeners like us then you know fresh basil is a staple and a priority to grow. Our homemade basil pesto recipe is our go-to Summer condiment. Even if you don’t have a garden, Summer farmers markets and even Trader Joe’s always have huge bunches of fresh basil. The prices are fair because basil grows like a weed during Summer so it’s the perfect time to stock up on making homemade pesto.
Best Tool for Making Homemade Pesto
Don’t bother with a huge clunky food processor or blender. These smaller batch pestos won’t grind or blend in such a huge blender or processor bowl. Invest in a small mini food processor. You won’t regret it and it’ll make homemade pesto so much easier to make. Now, we do use a larger food processor if we’re making a triple batch or double batch of pesto. So if you’re making a huge quantity, then it’s worth the effort to pull out the big appliances.
Store Bought Pesto
Buying pesto at the store is just as good and best of all, simple. There’s so many different brands out there to choose from. Our pesto bean salad should be quick and easy. We don’t want this recipe to be fussy and using store bought pesto is great.
What Type of Beans to Use for Bean Salad?
You can use what ever canned beans you like. Everyone has a favorite bean and we’re not here to tell you what to use. But what we do want to remind you is that using canned beans is way quicker and just as good for this pesto bean salad recipe. If you’re a die-hard dried bean fan, then go for it! We love using canned white beans because they’re creamy and buttery tasting. So do what ever your beany-heart desires.
Pesto White Bean Salad
Ingredients
- 14 oz. (400 g) canned white beans , or beans of preference
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) pesto
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 Tablespoon (15 ml) lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon (15 ml) soy sauce , tamari or amino acids
- 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) garlic powder
- 1 cup (240 ml) cherry tomatoes , halved
- 1 cup (240 ml) chopped cucumber
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) sliced red onions
- 1/2 cup (75 g) crumbled feta cheese (optional)
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) chopped fresh basil
Instructions
- Drain and rinse the beans.
- In a bowl, combine the 1/4 cup (60ml) of pesto, lemon zest, 1 Tablespoon (15ml) lemon juice (or vinegar), 1 Tablespoon (15ml) soy sauce, and 1/2 teaspoon (2.5ml) of garlic powder. Stir to dissolve the garlic powder in the dressing.
- Add drained beans, cherry tomatoes, cucumber and red onions. Add feta cheese or your cheese of choice (optional).
- Stir gently to coat all the beans and vegetables in the pesto marinade.
- Top with fresh chopped basil.
- Serve immediately or chill overnight.
Nutrition Information per Serving
Other Recipes with Pesto
Beyond the pesto white bean salad, here’s some awesome recipes ideas to use for the leftover pesto after making the bean salad:
- Chicken pasta salad with pesto will be the hit of your next potluck party
- Heirloom tomato tart with pesto is fancy schmancy looking but it’s not! It’s easy to make and drool worthy
- add it to a great Summer lemon cucumber salad
- Our kale and white bean salad would be great with a dollop of pesto
Here’s more easy recipes
- tuna salad with sauteed onions
- check out our loquat tree
- sriracha bloody mary
