This marinated bean salad is dressed in a creamy charred scallion ranch dressing. A fresh and tangy combo that will make you excited to hit your fiber goals.
Why You’ll Love This Charred Scallion Ranch Bean Salad
- Meal prep-friendly. Holds up well when prepped in advance and gets better as it sits in the fridge.
- A tasty way to hit your fiber needs. The fiber you get from the beans and veggies help to support your gut health while also reducing your risk to chronic diseases like colon cancer, type 2 diabetes, and even heart disease.
- Use the veggies you love. This helps make this salad more customizable to your own preferences.
Key Ingredients and Substitutions
- Beans: This was made with chickpeas and cannellini beans, but you can stick to one kind of bean or try this with other beans you like.
- Cucumber: I used Persian cucumbers, but English or Japanese cucumbers work just as well. I do not recommend using regular cucumbers as they are very watery and can dilute the flavor of the dressing.
- Jalapeño: Optional, but a great way to add spice to our salad.
- Artichoke Hearts: I used the jar and marinated variety. When I made this I used grilled marinated artichokes, but any jarred variety can work here.
- Pepperoncini: Can be omitted or swapped with more artichoke hearts.
- Red Onion: Can also work with white onion.
- Herbs: Dill and chives are all you need for the dressing. Feel free to alter the amount you use based on your preference.
- Yogurt: I used a plant-based yogurt from Kite Hill for more protein, but I’ve also made this with Forager Project with great success.
- Vegan Mayo: This will add richness to the sauce, but can be replaced with extra yogurt.
- Scallions: Swap with shallots if desired.
- Nutritional Yeast: Helps add more umami flavor to our dressing.
- Avocado: Can be omitted, but adds a lovely creamy element to our bean salad that helps hold everything together.
How to Make a Marinated Charred Scallion Ranch Bean Salad
Char the scallions: Heat a heavy bottom pan over medium heat. When hot, place the scallions in the pan and allow to char for about 2-3 minutes each side or until charred to your liking. Transfer to a cutting board to cool, then remove the stems and roughly chop.
Blend up the ranch: To a blender cup add the milk and vinegar then allow to sit for five minutes. Add the yogurt, mayonnaise, lemon juice, grated garlic, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, onion powder, scallions, and 1/4 tsp salt. Blend until completely smooth. Add the dill and chives, then pulse together 2-3 times to evenly mix. Taste and adjust with more salt to your liking, then place in the fridge.
Pickle the onion: Add the sliced red onion to a large mixing bowl with the lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Toss together and set aside.
Drain the cucumbers: Place the flat of your blade to smack the cucumber down its length until they start to split. Roughly cut on a bias into 1 inch pieces. Transfer the cucumber to a bowl and sprinkle with a generous pinch of salt. Toss, then set aside for at least 10 minutes. Discard any water that drains away.
Mix together the bean salad: To the bowl with the pickled onion, add the cannellini beans, chickpeas, pepperoncini, marinated artichokes, and jalapeño. Pour the ranch overtop, then toss everything together to combine.
Final add-ins: When ready to serve, gently fold in the cubed avocado. Portion what you like and serve with a piece of freshly toasted bread.
Expert Tips
- To get the most life out of your salad, fold in the avocado when ready to serve.
- Soak your sliced onions in cold water for 5 minutes. This will help cut their sharp flavor significantly. Just rinse off and pat dry before using.
- Remove excess water from your cucumbers. Sprinkle with salt and allow the water to drain away from it for 15 minutes. Now the flavor of your salad won’t be diluted.
- Customize it. I went for a mix of pickled, jarred and fresh ingredients to compliment the dressing, but you can feel free to add more or less of any of the recommended salad components.
- Fix the flavors. If you feel the salad is to sharp or tangy, you can mellow it out with a few spoons of yogurt, mayo, or extra virgin olive oil. If tasting bland, make sure you are adding enough acid or salt to bring out the flavors of the garlic and herbs in your dressing.
Frequently Asked Questions
To get the longest life out of your bean salad, I recommend folding in the avocado when you are ready to eat. Store the salad in an airtight container without the avocado and place in the fridge for up to 5 days. If you want to add the avocado regardless, I recommend using an avocado that isn’t overly ripe. It should just have a tiny bit of give to it. When mixed with the fat and acid from the dressing, it should help keep the avocado preserved for about 2-3 days.
Yes. Just replace the mayo with the same amount of yogurt. Do note, that there won’t be as much richness to the dressing as a result.
Add some more nutritional yeast to taste and use a protein-rich plant-based yogurt like Kite Hill or Forager Project Greek Yogurt to bump up the protein a bit more.
Ways to Enjoy a Bean Salad
Feel free to eat the bean salad as is. However, if you need ways to use your bean salad without getting bored of it, here are some ideas!
- Serve with a toasted piece of your favorite crusty bread
- I enjoyed this a lot with rice, but other options like couscous or quinoa can work great too
- Wrapped up in a warm tortilla (make double the dressing so you can use the other half for dipping)
- Paired with your favorite chip/cracker (I love it with vegan bagel chips)
- Scoop it up with some warm pita (if you don’t want to make it yourself, try Kontos pitas and flatbreads)
More Marinated Bean Salads to Try
If you tried this recipe or any other recipe on the blog, then let me know what you thought in the comments below! And if you loved it, don’t forget to rate it too. Feel free to follow on Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok for the latest nutrition tips and recipe videos.
Description
This marinated bean salad is dressed in a creamy charred scallion ranch dressing. A fresh and tangy combo that will make you excited to hit your fiber goals.
Ranch Dressing
Bean Salad
- 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
- Juice of half a lemon
- 3 Persian cucumbers
- 1, 15oz can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1, 15oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1/3 cup pepperoncini, thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup marinated artichoke hearts, chopped
- 1 jalapeño, thinly sliced
- 1 medium avocado, cubed
- Toasted bread, for serving
- Heat a heavy bottom pan over medium heat. When hot, place the scallions in the pan and allow to char for about 3 minutes. Flip the stalks, and char again on the opposite side for another 2 minutes, or until you see enough charring to your liking. Transfer to a cutting board to cool, then remove the stems and roughly chop.
- To a blender cup add the milk and vinegar then allow to sit for five minutes. It should appear a bit chunky or granular as it sites. Add the yogurt, mayonnaise, lemon juice, grated garlic, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, onion powder, scallions, and 1/4 tsp salt. Blend until the mixture is completely smooth. Add the dill and chives, then pulse together 2-3 times to evenly mix everything together. Taste and adjust with more salt to your liking, then place in the fridge while you prep the bean salad.
- Add the sliced red onion to a large mixing bowl with the lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Toss together and set aside.
- To remove excess water from the cucumber, place the flat of your blade on top of each cucumber and use your other hand to smack the cucumber down its length to crack open. Roughly cut on a bias into 1 inch pieces. Transfer the cucumber to a bowl and sprinkle with a generous pinch of salt. Toss, then set to the side for at least 10 minutes. Discard any water that drains away.
- To the bowl with the pickled onion, add the cannellini beans, chickpeas, pepperoncini, marinated artichokes, and jalapeño. Pour the ranch overtop, then toss everything together to combine.
- When ready to serve, gently fold in the cubed avocado. Portion what you like and serve with a piece of freshly toasted bread.
Notes
To get the most life out of your salad, fold in the avocado when ready to serve.
Soak your sliced onions in cold water for 5 minutes. This will help cut their sharp flavor significantly. Just rinse off and pat dry before using.
Remove excess water from your cucumbers. Sprinkle with salt and allow the water to drain away from it for 15 minutes. Now the flavor of your salad won’t be diluted.
Customize it. I went for a mix of pickled, jarred and fresh ingredients to compliment the dressing, but you can feel free to add more or less of any of the recommended salad components.
Fix the flavors. If you feel the salad is to sharp or tangy, you can mellow it out with a few spoons of yogurt, mayo, or extra virgin olive oil. If tasting bland, make sure you are adding enough acid or salt to bring out the flavors of the garlic and herbs in your dressing.
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