A warm, easy bean salad combining yellow pepper, eggplant, tomatoes, garlic and fresh herbs. Perfect for summer lunches or dinners, especially served with char-grilled crusty bread.
Prepare this easy bean salad from scratch in under 20 minutes with minimal effort. It’s full of bright summer flavours—lemon zest, parsley, basil and oregano—making it an ideal side for barbecues or a light main for lunch or dinner.
Cannellini beans are one of my favourites for summer cooking. They work beautifully in salads, mashed on crostini with garlic, or even mashed with herbs as a potato substitute—especially good alongside steak. I use them often throughout the warmer months.
This salad is a traditional Italian preparation with a few personal tweaks: extra herbs, red onion and garlic to give it a bit more punch.
How to make easy bean salad from scratch
Finely chop one eggplant (aubergine), one small red onion and one yellow pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large frying pan, add the chopped vegetables and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5–10 minutes until they begin to soften.
Meanwhile, remove the seeds from two tomatoes and finely chop them. Add the tomatoes, 2 cloves of finely chopped garlic and 1/2 tablespoon dried oregano to the pan. Cook for another 5 minutes, then add the drained canned cannellini beans.
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the zest of half a lemon, a small bunch each of finely chopped parsley and basil, and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Combine gently so the beans keep their shape.
That’s it—simple and delicious. You can vary the salad by adding zucchini, red pepper, cucumber or olives; the possibilities are endless.
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Summer Easy Bean Salad
By Emily
Ingredients
- 1.6 lb (760g) canned cannellini beans, drained*
- 1 eggplant / aubergine
- 1 yellow pepper
- 1 small red onion
- 2 tomatoes
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 small bunch basil, finely chopped
- 1 small bunch parsley, finely chopped
- 1/2 tbsp dried oregano
- zest of half a lemon
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper
Instructions
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Remove the pepper seeds and white ribs, then finely chop the pepper, onion and eggplant. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan and cook the vegetables, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes until softened.
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Remove the tomato seeds and finely chop the tomatoes. Add them to the pan with the garlic and oregano, stir and fry for another 5 minutes.
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Stir in the drained cannellini beans, then remove the pan from the heat. Add lemon zest, parsley, basil and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Mix gently and serve with char-grilled crusty bread.
To make char-grilled bread (optional)
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Slice ciabatta, drizzle with olive oil and toast on a hot griddle pan until slightly charred on both sides. Sprinkle with salt. Tip: spread with goat’s cheese for an extra treat.
Notes
Helpful Info for All Recipes
- Extra virgin olive oil is used in these recipes unless stated otherwise.
- When using canned or jarred tomatoes, choose quality brands for best flavour.
- All vegetables are medium-sized unless noted.
- Recipes are tested using a fan (convection) oven where applicable.
- Nutrition calculations are provided as estimates.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should be used as an approximation.