White Bean Salad w/ Lemony Italian Dressing

White Bean Salad —

This recipe for White Bean Salad is so easy to make and so colorful that it looks great on the dinner or buffet table. You can substitute any kind or combination of beans in this recipe and also substitute other onions and peppers based on what you can find and/or have on hand.

Bean salads can be made with dry cooked beans or canned beans, and they can be eaten as a side or main dish or added to a green salad and then you can forgo any other added dressing.

I like to use the food processor to shred the carrots, but a cheese grater could be used as well. I usually add a whole recipe (3 cups) of the Italian Dressing because I like to use this bean salad on my green salads and not add dressing, but you could add a cup at a time and see what you prefer. So easy!

Cooking Dry Beans:

Check for stones and discard. Rinse the beans and place in a pot and fill with water to cover the beans, until you have about 4″ of liquid above the beans. Soak overnight or for at least 6-8 hours. Drain and rinse the beans and return to a clean, deep rather than wide pot. Add 6 cups of hot water to beans and simmer for 1 – 1.5 hours, until the desired tenderness is reached. Here’s a post about cooking dry beans.

Serves: 8-10

Ingredients:

16 oz. package of large lima beans, cooked (How-to cook beans below)

2 carrots, shredded

1/2 red onion, chopped

5 green onions, chopped

2 large shallot bulbs, chopped

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

1/2 yellow bell pepper, chopped

Lemony Italian Dressing

Servings: makes 3 cups

Ingredients:
1 cup white vinegar

1 1/3 cups extra-virgin olive oil

2 Tbs. lemon juice

2 tsp. agave syrup or other natural sweetener

2 tsp. sea salt

1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

2 tsp. garlic powder

2 tsp. onion powder

1 Tbs. dried oregano

1  Tbs. dried parsley

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1/2 tsp. dried basil

Directions:
Shake Method: Pour ingredients into a glass jar with a lid. Cover and shake well.

Whisk Method: Pour ingredients into a medium size glass bowl. Whisk ingredients until mixed well.

Directions:

Gently toss together the beans, the carrots and all of the onions and peppers.

I usually add a whole recipe (3 cups) of the Italian Dressing because I like to use this bean salad on my green salad and not add additional dressing, but you can add a cup at a time and see what you prefer. Now it’s ready to serve: so easy!