This sweet yet Tangy Southern-Style Bean Salad is the perfect side dish for potlucks, Church gatherings, and family picnics. It’s a super easy recipe to make; combining fresh flash steamed green beans, kidney beans, black-eyed peas, white beans, black beans, chickpeas, red onion, cilantro, and a deliciously fresh tasting simple to make Homemade dressing.

Southern-Style Bean Salad is a spinoff of the 60’s generation of Three Bean Salad. The great salad revolution began in the early 1960s, like so many other cultural cuisines in America. In the decade of more natural and organic ingredients, many Americans were first introduced to bean salads in the sixties, not to mention rice, Bulgar, wheat, all of which were destined to become increasingly popular soon.

The original 3 Bean Salad of the ’60s consisted solely of the combination of marinated or pickled kidney beans, chickpeas, and green beans. I know it’s been a good deal of time since I have even thought of that bean salad, so I decided that a good old-fashioned Southern update was for this recipe.

I decided that three measly types of beans were not going to cut it. I wanted to pay more of a Southern homage to my Bean Salad and decided white beans, black-eyed peas, and black beans would combine really well with the fresh flash steamed green beans and kidney beans.

Let’s talk about all those beans, and I know some of you are all about fresh ingredients; with that said, you can easily head to the pantry now and sift through all those bags or canisters of beans and dig out a cup of the beans listed and start soaking them now or you can take the easy way and grab 1 can of each black beans, black-eyed peas, kidney beans, white beans, and finally chickpeas.

You might ask, “What would you do, Heidy?” Well, truth be told, it depends on my mood. I might grab those dried beans and start soaking them, or I might be exhausted from work and decide to use the canned beans. Far be it from me to be the blogger who lynched you for the use of canned beans. Please drain and rinse all that salt-laden packing juice from the canned beans before putting them in this delicious salad.

I prefer using garden-fresh green beans in my Southern-Style Bean Salad over canned green beans; actually, if you know me personally, you know I seriously hate canned green beans and pretty much feel the same way about frozen green beans. However, if you want to use a decent organic frozen green bean, please do so. Just remember only thaw the green beans; they are already flash steam.

I have one question for y’ all bean lovers out there, “Doesn’t this just look so darn good?” I mean, look at all those delicious bean flavors mingling together with that dressing. I don’t know about you, but this sure doesn’t look like that boring 1960’s version called 3-Bean Salad.

When you make Southern-Style Bean Salad, remember that you can use dried beans or canned, fresh flash steamed green beans or frozen green beans, the choice is really yours. I have used both, and these days there are excellent kidney, black beans, black-eyed peas, white beans, and chickpeas in a can. Just be sure you drain and rinse them thoroughly. Don’t worry. 9 out of 10 people will not know the difference; trust me on that.

Southern-Style Bean Salad

Salad Ingredients:

• 1 cup of dried black-eyed peas or 1 can

• 1 cup of dried kidney beans or 1 can

• 1 cup of dried chickpeas or 1 can

• 1 cup of dried white beans or 1 can

• 12-ounces fresh green beans or 1-12-ounce bag of frozen

• 1 large red onion finely diced

• 1 bunch of cilantro chopped

Dressing Ingredients:

• 1/3 of a cup apple cider vinegar

• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

• juice of 2 fresh limes

• 1/4 cup of sugar

• 1 teaspoon of dried onion flakes

• 1/4 of a teaspoon celery seed

• kosher salt to own taste

• fresh ground pepper to own taste

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How long will the Southern-style Bean Salad keep? This salad is best if enjoyed within 48 hours; however, it will keep in the refrigerator and stay fresh for up to 3 – 5 days if stored properly.

2. Can I freeze the Southern-Style Bean Salad? I personally do not recommend freezing it due to some of the ingredients.

3. Does the bean salad need to be refrigerated before serving it? I recommend chilling the salad for at least 60 minutes before serving.

4. What pairs well with bean salad? You can actually serve this salad with any meat you enjoy, such as beef, chicken, pork, or fish. It’s the perfect side dish because it is so versatile. 

Southern-Style Bean Salad

Heidy McCallum

This sweet yet Tangy Southern-Style Bean Salad is the perfect side dish for potlucks, Church gatherings, and family picnics.

4.85 from 26 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Chill 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Course Salad

Cuisine American, Southern

Servings 10 People

Calories 364 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Salad Ingredients

• 1 cup Dried black-eyed peas or 1 can
• 1 cup Dried kidney beans or 1 can
• 1 cup Dried chickpeas or 1 can
• 1 cup Dried white beans or 1 can
• 12- ounces Fresh green beans or 1-12-ounce bag of frozen
• 1 large Red onion finely diced
• 1 bunch Cilantro chopped

Dressing Ingredients

• 1/3 cup Apple cider vinegar
• 1/3 cup Extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 Limes juice of
• ¼ cup Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Dried onion flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon Celery seed
• Kosher salt to own taste
• Ground pepper to own taste

Instructions

 

• Soak dried beans overnight, cook the beans until done, or open cans of beans, drain, and rinse all the packing juice off beans and let dry.
• Flash steam the fresh green beans or thaw the frozen green beans
• Dice the red onion.
• Chop the fresh cilantro.
• Put all of the canned or dried beans, green beans, diced red onion, and cilantro in large bowl; toss to combine.
• In another bowl whisk the apple cider vinegar, olive oil, lime juice, sugar, onion flakes, celery seed, kosher salt, and fresh ground pepper together; then drizzle on the top of the Southern-Style Bean Salad and gently toss to combine.
• Place the Southern-Style Bean Salad in the refrigerator for at least 1-3 hours before serving. I actually prefer mine to sit overnight.

Notes

 

Although themccallumsshamrockpatch.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and how ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Under no circumstances will themccallumsshamrockpatch.com be responsible for any loss or damage resulting from your reliance on nutritional information.

 

 

Nutrition

Serving: 01Calories: 364kcalCarbohydrates: 56gProtein: 18gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 17mgPotassium: 1093mgFiber: 13gSugar: 11gVitamin A: 317IUVitamin C: 11mgCalcium: 124mgIron: 6mg

Keyword Beans, salad, Southern Bean Salad

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If you enjoyed this recipe, here are a few other suggested recipes to try.

• Cowboy Caviar {Black-eyed Pea Salsa} aka Texas Caviar is the delicious Southern cousin of Mexican Black Bean Salsa made with black-eyed peas, sweet corn, diced red plum tomatoes, chopped spicy jalapeño peppers, crisp celery, diced cucumber, red onions, finely sliced green onion, chopped fresh cilantro, and served with crunchy tortilla chips.
• Southern-Style Green Beans and Red Potatoes are made with pure Southern love, combining freshly picked, vibrate green beans, sweet Vidalia onions, sliced red potatoes, and thick-sliced hickory-smoked bacon slowly cooked to perfection.
• Black Bean and Corn Salsa is a deliciously flavorful fresh-tasting appetizer made with black beans, corn, avocados, pineapple, and mango that your family and friends will enjoy on tortilla chips tacos, salads, grilled chicken, fish, or even steak.

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