Mediterranean Bean Salad
This Mediterranean bean salad recipe is so fresh and colorful! It features kidney beans and chickpeas with lemon and fresh herbs. Delicious!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on July 9, 2024
This Mediterranean bean salad is one of my all-time favorite salads and sides. Bold claim, I know, but I can back it up. I’ve been loving this recipe for ten years running now!
This salad is crisp and satisfying, fresh and full of bright Mediterranean flavors. The recipe features hearty kidney beans and chickpeas, which balance crisp cucumber, celery and red onion. The remaining simple ingredients—lemon and olive oil, garlic and lots of fresh leafy herbs—yield truly irresistible results.
This Mediterranean-style salad is perfect for spring picnics, summer potlucks and cozy fall get-togethers. It’s a crowd-pleasing salad or side dish that suits most special diets, too. The recipe is vegetarian, vegan and gluten free.
With how quickly this salad comes together, it’s an easy addition to your weekend menu! It’s a simple chop, whisk and stir situation that’s ready in about 20 minutes. I hope this dish becomes one of your standby recipes, too.
How This Recipe Developed
Back in 2013, I found creative relief from a not-so-interesting office job in books like Ethnic Cuisine by Elisabeth Rozin. On the especially tough days, I treated myself to lunch at The Mediterranean Deli in Oklahoma City. It was my safe haven, a place where I could catch up with my favorite blogs while I waited for a delicious meal. I always walked out the door with a happy belly, feeling like everything was a little more right with the world.
I often miss their kidney bean salad, which was so much more exciting than it sounds. I found a recipe for a Lebanese bean salad in Ms. Rozin’s book that seemed similar. I tweaked it quite a bit, so I’m not confident that it qualifies as Lebanese. I omitted the tomatoes and added chickpeas, celery and garlic. It’s broadly Mediterranean in flavor profile.
If you’re looking for the lemon-parsley hummus that I originally shared with this recipe, here’s a PDF. Or, make my ultra-creamy hummus recipe and add up to 3/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley.
Watch How to Make Mediterranean Bean Salad
More Mediterranean-Style Salads to Make
Consider serving these salads with falafel, hummus or baba ganoush. Check out even more bean salads here.
- Cucumber Tomato Salad with Greek Dressing
- Favorite Chickpea Salad
- Fattoush Salad with Mint Dressing
- Mediterranean Tomato & Feta Dip
- Tabbouleh
Please let me know how your bean salad turns out in the comments. I love hearing from you.
Mediterranean Bean Salad
This Mediterranean-style bean salad recipe is delightfully crisp and satisfying. Its fresh flavors include kidney beans, chickpeas, lemon, garlic and leafy herbs. This healthy salad is vegan and gluten free, but mostly just delicious! Recipe yields about six 1-cup servings.
Ingredients
- 2 cans red kidney beans (15 ounces each), rinsed and drained, or 3 cups cooked kidney beans
- 1 can chickpeas (15 ounces), rinsed and drained, or 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas
- 1 small red onion, diced (about 1 cup)
- 2 stalks celery, sliced in half or thirds lengthwise and chopped (about ¾ cup)
- 1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
- ¾ cup chopped fresh parsley
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill or mint
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup lemon juice (about 1 ½ lemons)
- 3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- ¾ teaspoon fine salt
- Small pinch red pepper flakes
Instructions
- In a serving bowl, combine the prepared kidney beans, chickpeas, onion, celery, cucumber, parsley and dill.
- Make the lemon dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper flakes until well blended. Pour the dressing over the salad and stir until combined.
- Serve immediately for the most flavor, or let it marinate in the refrigerator, covered, for a couple of hours or longer. Leftovers will keep well, covered and refrigerated, for up to 4 days. If necessary, wake up leftovers with a little sprinkle of salt or drizzle of lemon juice.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Ethnic Cuisine: How to Create the Authentic Flavors of Over 30 International Cuisines by Elisabeth Rozin.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
What an easy and delicious recipe!
Thank you, Ellie!
I found your recipe posted on Pinterest when I was looking for something to take to a Pot Luck to feed a large group. It turned out so good and everyone loved it. I will certainly be adding it to my list of frequently used recipes as I can see that it will be one of my favorites.
I am now checking out your other recipes to see what I might try next.
I made this bean salad last night for my fiance and I to have as a quick thing to grab for lunch in the morning and it is SO GOOD. I even forgot to put in the red pepper flakes and the garlic and it was still nuts. I made it in a hurry before we were supposed to meet a friend for dinner and we ended up huddled over the bowl with an open box of pita chips anyway haha. The lemon and dill flavors are phenomenal together. Thank you so much for this recipe!
Yes! Thank you, Claire! :)
Hi Kate! We’ve been making several of your recipes lately and I just wanted to drop by and say thanks for posting all of the wonderful recipes! This Lebanese bean salad is delicious and I just finished making it for the second time! It’s great for taking to work for lunch!
Hey Christine! Thank you so much for saying so! Delighted to hear it. :)
Absolutely delicious and a family favourite. The kids adore this and it is a great way of getting them to eat healthily. perfect with pitta bread and a nice cold glass of your favourite tipple. We often take this when the family have a get together lunch and it is the first thing to go. Such a lovely dish and so versatile. !0/10
Thank you, Christopher! Happy to hear it. :)
I made this as a side for guests and the leftovers have been my favorite thing ever! I ate it on its own for lunch, and my husband and I served it over greens with some diced grilled chicken for dinner last night. Really flavorful, versatile, healthy dish!
So awesome! Thanks for letting me know, Kath!
I really can’t wait to try this!!
Do you happen to know the calorie count is on a serving of this?
Thank you! :)
I don’t, I’m sorry!
This salad is delicious! I left the onion out because it hurts my stomach, but I kept everything else. My mom loved it, and told me already I have to make it again next week. It’s delicious *-* Here it’s weird to only eat salad, so we eat it together with meat or something, but this salad I could eat it as my sole lunch. <3
Thank you! So glad you both enjoyed this one!
This Lebanese lemon parsley bean salad is the best! We have made it several times and love it. Thank you for the recipe!
Yay, thanks Lisa!
I do not often leave comments after making recipes I find online (I know … shame on me!!); but your Lebanese Lemon-Parsley Bean Salad was so successful that I had to thank you! The flavors were incredible – balanced, assertive, and addictive. It makes a lot so I shared (but only with people I really like). Every recipient called to demand the recipe.
Great job and thank you for sharing! I will be returning often.
Really happy to hear it, Heather! Thank you for saying so. :)
So I went a little crazy last night and made these both and a pot of your lentil soup. HAPPY. BELLY. I’ve never cooked with chickpeas or lentils but your dishes always turn out great so I went with it. Leftovers again today. Its 8am and I’m already excited for lunch. Keep up the good cooking!
That is so awesome!!! Thanks for letting me know!
This bean salad is simply delightful! The flavors are so refreshing and it’s my new go to lunch. I added a little drizzle of vinegar and extra splash of lemon in my serving bowl to give it some extra zing, but it was excellent to begin with. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe!
The bean salad was fabulous! I added some kalamata olives – delish!!
I just made this. It is delightfully crunchy and light. I followed the directions exactly except I used dried dill Weed since I have limited ingredients avail living in an island in another country. I have a lot left over so I will have to store it and eat it throughout the week, I hope it handles well.
Hi Kate,
Loved your story about your boring office job and your lunch day dreams. You just made me appreciate my self employed life, it gets tough sometimes but at least I’m free. Thank you for sharing!
Elvie
I knew I would like this, but I didn’t expect to like it as much as I do. Beautiful to look at, filling, and healthy too, as well as easy to make. Who could ask for anything more. I served it with baked pita triangles and some plain Greek yogurt. Thanks so much!
I LOVE your recipes and was about to make this for a picnic tomorrow when I realised I’m out of kidney beans. will black turtle beans or lima beans work?
Hi Kate!
Totally loved this recipe. Adapting it to what ingredients I have available. Will be sharing it in my blog swalads.wordpress.com
Thank you!
Made the bean salad this afternoon – its is fabulous! I subbed 4 oz. can sliced black olives for a TBSP of EVOO only because I look for any excuse to add olives to dishes!
This is amazingggggg. I just made it to prep for dinner tonight, and now i can’t stop eating it! hopefully there is some left over for my husband to enjoy…or maybe not.
Love this salad!! As a student I need to pack lunches to get me through the day without having to buy something expensive on campus each time. This salad is filling, healthy and super yum! Thanks for the recipe!
Awesome! Happy to hear this is both convenient and a money-saver :) Thanks, Jenny!
I definitely feel your pain. I worked a 9 to 5 in busy NYC many years ago, and absolutely dreaded it. I woke up one morning and realized that even if I win the ‘rat race’, I’m still a rat, so I left and never looked back. I work from home now, so I am always thinking of new things to make for lunch – I really enjoyed this salad. Thanks!
That was a super brave thing to do! I hope things are better for you now–and include lots of good lunches.
Love the salad! Quick, easy and great for lunches on the go.
Exactly! Thanks, Connor.
This salad is soooooo good! I didn’t have neither dill nor mint:( but it came out delicious!
I’m very happy I found your website. I’m trying to include more vegetables into my family’s diet but it was very hard to find interesting and delicious recipes! Thank you! I can’t wait to try more of your recipes!:)))
Had never made a bean salad before, but I learned through a nutrition class that more color variety in vegetables means more vitamins, and also I’m a vegetarian, so the beans are a critical source of protein for me. I made this in about 45 minutes to bring as a side dish for a mother’s day dinner, and it was well received. It tastes delicious and is healthy… the only thing I will change next time I make it – go a little lighter on the onions and garlic :) Thank you for the recipe!!
Yes, that’s a great tip, Jessica! The more you vary the beans, the more nutrients you can pack in. I’m so glad it was well-received, and for such a special day.
This salad is off the charts! Since the weather is warming up, I’ve been looking for recipes that don’t require me to turn on the stove or oven and this was perfect with fresh herb- and lemony-goodness. I only had one can of chickpeas, which I used in the salad, and subbed the chickpeas (leaving everything else the same) with roasted eggplant for something like baba ganoush. It still paired perfectly with the salad and fresh flatbread.
Also, a big huge congratulations for your cookbook! My copy with be coming to Germany, and I’m sure it will be dog-eared immediately. Everything I have made from your blog is always a guaranteed success. Cheers to all your hard work!
Thank you, Rana! Your eggplant version of this salad sounds excellent– I’ll have to try that. I hope you love the book, and that it’s worth the wait!
I made the lemon parsley bean salad tonight (with a BBQ’d turkey/beef meatloaf) and it was fantastic. just added abit of apple cider vinegar to salad to give it a wee bit more kick. I found that the recipe for dressing didnt quite cover the salad amount. But overall, the combination of ingredients for salad was really delicious.
Sounds tangy and delicious, Maggie! I’ll check on the amount of dressing.
Thanks for this recipe. Made this evening, as is, using rinsed canned beans and chickpeas. Found it to be a little “flat” (canned beans overwhelmed the other flavors) so I amped up the parsley, lemon juice, used lemon zest, added some cayenne powder to the red pepper flakes.
I found this recipe/your site through search on “red kidney beans salad.” I’ll have to check out your other recipes! Thanks again! BTW, I’m more or less retired now, doing the cooking to keep my wife fit for work. She’s in healthcare, I was the cube rat. Although I had a hectic career, I empathize with your experience.
Thanks, M! I’m glad you could adjust the flavors to your tastes. I hope you get the chance to try some of my other recipes!
I made the bean salad tonight– a perfect light, summer salad! I substituted white kidney beans for chickpeas, and couldn’t resists adding creamy feta!
Awesome! Thanks, Rebecca!
I like making a hearty salad on Sunday nights to pack with my lunch all week. I made this one today and I can already tell I’m going to love it. Nice mix of flavors and textures. Plus not too difficult to assemble. Mostly just some basic knife work. Highly recommend adding to the rotation.
Made this today and it was super tasty. Appreciate that it’s healthy and that I can make it ahead to eat for lunch.
It is a great lunch salad for sure. Thank you, Elizabeth for your review.
Absolutely delicious – I’ve made it twice in 3 weeks. One suggestion is to replace kidney beans with Fava beans. A little more mediterranean but also creamier, and the look of the big beans is impressive.
Sounds wonderful, Wink. Thank you for your review!
Excellent and tastes so fresh! I made a batch and have been eating it for lunch over the past couple of days. It is delicious with avocado on top. I even diced a handful of leftover boiled shrimp one day and mixed them in. Yum! Keeping this recipe on hand for meal prep rotation.
It’s so good left over! The flavors really have a chance to meld together. Thanks so much for your star review, Alexandra!
I made the bean salad with no onions as many people at potlucks including myself do not like raw onions..ruins salads for me. I added artichoke hearts in oil and used that oil for the dressing. Didn’t have any cucumbers available so added some sweet purple cabbage..everything organic..and it was a hit at my potluck. Thanks for the basic recipe.
Su
Sounds like great alterations to make it fit your taste, Su! Thanks for sharing and for the review. Glad it’s a hit at potlucks.
Love the site! I finally went full veg a couple years ago and I’m always looking for new ideas, left-over producing dinners, and crowd pleasing party dishes.
The Bean Salad and Budha Bowls are some of my favorites. Keep ’em coming!
Yesterday I made BOTH the bean salad and hummus and went to heaven!!! I loveee bean salad AND hummus and couldn’t resist this recipe. I couldn’t find whole grain pita bread though :(
Both! That’s awesome. I really appreciate your review, Jessica.
I tried without the dill :)
I’m glad you still liked it, Anne! Thanks so much for sharing.
I’ve tried hummus and it was out of the world delicious. I’ll try out ur other recipes too. Thanks for sharing
Out of this world?! I love that. Thanks for the review.
Thank you for this bean salad recipe! I made it as part of a big family dinner and everyone was asking me for the recipe. It was so flavorful and really great leftover as well!
Wonderful, Lauren!
Hi Kate
At the week-end I made your Lemon Parsley Bean Salad for my family. It was so good. We had it as a side but I love that there were leftovers and I can put it in my lunchtime salads for work. It was very refreshing on a hot summers day. We are having a very hot summer in England this year so loving your post for no cook recipes.
It’s hot everywhere then! I’m glad you enjoyed it, Mandy. Thanks for your review.
This is part of my fortnightly roster of summery work lunches. Fresh andfilling (but never forget a mint afterwards for any sneaky garlic breath!). It’s so cheap and easy because I never have to worry because it’s there already made for the week. So good I even look after my windowsill herbs so they give me the yield for this. I have made this salad a dozen times at least. Thank you Kate!
You’re welcome! Thanks for your review, Micha.
I love my mom’s bean salad. Everybody does.
BUT I have made so many of your recipes and they have literally, never been a disappointment.
So, I bit the bullet and made your bean salad for a family BBQ this weekend.
When I told everyone it was a new recipe they seemed skeptical and took only a small portion. But what did everyone get seconds of? The bean salad! My mom even asked for the recipe!
We loved the light dressing and all of the herbs!
I tweaked the recipe only slightly by using one can garbanzo bean, one can red kidney and one can mixed bean and I added more celery and cucumber for extra crunch. It was perfect.
Thank you so much!
I love to hear that, Maclean!! Thanks for sharing and for your review.
Love this bean salad recipe–always gets rave reviews when I bring it to a party! I will say that I always make it with dill and I probably at least double the salt–which I think is what really gives it that bright pop!
Wonderful! Thank you, Jenn.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I live in Florida where nice lettuce is hard to find in the summer so lately, i have been making various grain/légume salads. I will definitely be making this today!
Wonderful, Lisa!
delicious!!!! cant wait to have it again.
Quite frankly I love anything with a nice big serving of beans in it, and this dish was great. My onion was pretty harsh so I scaled it back, but I’m always impressed when I find a recipe that makes me want to eat cucumber.
Thank you, Shelby for sharing!
Hi! I made your bean salad recipe this morning so I could shake up my work lunch routine, and it was delicious! I had it with a piece of Indian flatbread to sop up the extra dressing. Very bright and refreshing. Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome, Janelle!
I have never been more upset for not having a cucumber in the House!! I can’t wait to make this with the hummus of course! I can already tell this will be a 5 star recipe. That being said….I am making the hummus today!
Thank you Katie for having such faith in the recipe! :)
This was quite yummy. At first, I was skeptical, but after the first bite, I was changed into a believer.
Thank you!
I’m glad you tried it, N!
I’m thinking of making this for a party. Do you think adding diced avocado would work well or leave it out?
I would be careful how long it’s left out as avocado is known to brown once exposed to air.