Feel Good Crunchy Bean Salad

The gorgeous bean salad you’ll actually love (and look forward to enjoying).

To me, bean salads were always old-fashioned, cop-out, straight-from-the-can processed types of salads that I would never want to touch.

Not this one.
Totally not.

It’s a shame that beans get neglected because they could totally be amazing and so healthy.

Finely diced fresh vegetables, a pile of each, in a large bowl.

This is not a quick prep type of salad. To start, there’s a lot of chopping of fresh veggies. When I make this, I try to do the chopping on Thursday night. But once you have this beauty in your fridge, you’ll be happy and satisfied. It’s a l’kavod Shabbat type of salad, but it’ll still last all week–great for a filling lunch when you don’t have time to prep anything.

Pouring a 15 oz can of Eden Organic Black Beans into a black plastic scoop colander over the sink.

If you don’t want that high-sodium canned-product taste and after-feel, Eden Organic makes Black Beans in a can with no sodium. Beware, though, they also make a product which looks similar called Black Soy Beans and those are totally different and would not work. I bought them by mistake once – don’t make the same mistake! I’m still using canned vs. dried black beans because 1) they’re more accessible 2) unlike lentils, dried black beans will take a long time to cook.

Holding a black plastic scoop colander of Eden Organic Black beans under running water.

Want to know about this colander spoon? It’s featured in this post.

Boiling green lentils on the stovetop.

Lentils cook quickly, so I’m using dried vs. canned. 

Feel Good Crunchy Bean Salad in a large bowl with a serving spoon.

So pretty. 

The dressing is minimal–a splash of vinegar, olive oil, salt, and sugar. Just a bit. I like rice vinegar because it’s neutral and doesn’t have a strong vinegary type of taste, but regular white vinegar is fine too.

Print Recipe
5 from 4 votes

Feel Good Crunchy Bean Salad

Ingredients

  • 3 Persian cucumbers, finely diced 
  • 2 bell peppers (any colors), finely diced 
  • 1 large kohlrabi, finely diced 
  • ½ red onion, finely diced 
  • 1 (15 oz) can black beans (I used Eden Organic – NOT Black Soy Beans) 
  • cup green lentils, boiled for 15 minutes 
  • ½ (15 oz) can corn or kernels of 2 ears corn 
  • Lots of fresh parsley 
  • 2 tbsp olive oil 
  • 2 tbsp rice vinegar 
  • 1 tbsp sugar 
  • 2 tsp 2 tsp salt 

Instructions

  • Combine all ingredients. This salad is best when made one day ahead, but is totally great when enjoyed immediately after preparing too. I find that it stays fresh and tastes great for one week, but it loses some of its prettiness after 3-4 days.
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Feel Good Crunchy Bean Salad closeup

Victoria Dwek

Victoria is the best-selling author of nine kosher cookbooks and a popular columnist for Ami Magazine. She always has the words for bringing everything that’s in our hearts onto the page. 

17 responses to “Feel Good Crunchy Bean Salad”

  1. Chany h Avatar
    Chany h

    You can use a chopper it will take you no time to make the salad

    1. Victoria Dwek Avatar
      Victoria Dwek

      Renee Muller did use a chopper when prepping this for the photoshoot. She loves hers. I’m not so into gadgets so I use a knife. But, of course, a chopper would do the job beautifully.

  2. Rochel Avatar
    Rochel

    do you think it would still be good without beans ?

    1. Victoria Dwek Avatar
      Victoria Dwek

      No!!! The whole point of this salad is to gain a new appreciation for healthy beans which otherwise get neglected! Otherwise, you may as well just make Israeli Salad. https://betweencarpools.com/israeli-salad/

  3. Chaya Avatar
    Chaya

    This looks beautiful and delicious! Do you mind sharing where the salad bowl is from?

  4. Raquel Avatar
    Raquel

    How do you boil the green lentils? How much water do you need to add?

    1. Victoria Dwek Avatar
      Victoria Dwek

      Hi 😉
      Just add ample water and drain after

  5. sara kornfeld Avatar
    sara kornfeld

    do I add the dressing when I make the salad a day ahead or only right before serving ?

    1. Victoria Dwek Avatar
      Victoria Dwek

      When you prep it.

  6. Rachel Avatar
    Rachel

    5 stars
    Looks super yummy! The photo shows red onion- but I think you left it off the ingredients.

    1. Esther Avatar
      Esther

      5 stars
      it is in the recipe

  7. AG Avatar
    AG

    5 stars
    So delicious! Great shaleshudos option, was a big hit!

  8. S C Avatar
    S C

    Can you leave out tye kohlrabi

  9. Shira Avatar
    Shira

    Looks so colorful and delicious! What would you suggest if you can’t get kohlrabi? (I live out of townl) thanks!

    1. Victoria Dwek Avatar
      Victoria Dwek

      I don’t think out of town has anything to do with kohlrabi (it’s a vegetable, not a Jewish brand product). But fine to leave out. Maybe just include extra cucumbers.

  10. MOT Avatar
    MOT

    5 stars
    Do I need to cook the fresh corn before using or I can use raw corn?

  11. Michele Avatar
    Michele

    I use shredded cabbage instead of kohlrabi because I don’t always get to the farmers market, and they don’t always have it.
    I would love it you would post how many people your recipes feed. I can’t always judge by the recipe, and almost all of them don’t have that information.
    Thanks.

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