Three Bean Salad

Welcome to the most delicious and high protein three bean salad you’ve ever laid your eyes on! This easy recipe comes together incredibly quickly (10 minutes or less people) and all in one bowl! What more could you ask for? Make a batch of this salad and have it ready to go for the week! (It’s delicious served chilled or room temp.) I personally love eating this after a good workout so that all of the plant protein will help me to build muscles. Quite cool if you think about it, no?

SECRET WEAPONS FOR THIS THREE BEAN SALAD

It’s no secret. I’ve been on the hunt for plant protein rich ingredients. Not only are they good for when you are weight training, but they also are great for keeping you satiated and full longer. This has definately been an issue with eating vegan in the past. I find that many of my meals (although fabulous and delicious) don’t keep me full for that long. This is ok if you have time to eat more meals than most. But on busy days when I need a hearty meal that will keep me full- more protein is the solution (in my opinion).

First up, lupini beans (those are the large, round, bright yellow beans you see in the top right corner). These beans are LOADED with protein and I think they are delicious! You can find them dried (which won’t work for this recipe, heads up) but more commonly I see them sold like this where they are pickled and packaged up. This makes them ready to be eaten. In addition, becuase they are pickled, they have a brightness that I love. Do note, these beans have a tougher skin than most but I quite like the texture and, once combined with everything else in this salad, you won’t notice it at all.

EDAMAME IS AMAZING

Next up for the beans, we will be using shelled edamame. This can be found in the freezer section and buying them pre-shelled is definately the way to go. Now, when I tell you that I love edamame, I mean it! They have the most delightful, slightly chewy texture and buttery flavor that’s almost nutty. Uh! I just adore them. In addition, they are bursting with so much protein it’s not even funny. They are non-negotiable for this salad (unless you are allergic to soy in which case I will give you a pass!).

As for the third bean, I leave this up to you. I will say that if you are going for protein, to hit the macros of 32 grams of protein per serving, you will need to use lupini and edamame. But the third one can be whatever. I like to use canned butter beans but you could also use cannellini or navy. Lima beans would also be lovely and even black or kidney beans could work! Whatever bean is your favorite is just fine to use.

ADD-INS FOR THE THREE BEAN SALAD

To give this three bean salad some juiciness, I love to add chopped tomato and cucumber. They also provide a nice variation in texture while also offering some refreshing flavor. The dressing for this salad is mixed in with everything at once and couldn’t be easier. A significant amount of nutritional yeast provides umami in addition to a handsome amount of protein!
7.5 grams to be precise. Who knew!? Lemon zest and juice, red wine vinegar, garlic powder, tamari, sea salt, and black pepper make up the rest of the dressing ingredients and they work beautifully together. Freshly chopped herbs such as basil, parsley or dill offer the final addition of aromatics that make this salad pop.

Now let’s talk about the optional add-ins for this three bean salad… I wanted to be mindful of the fat content in this salad so there is only 1 tablespoon of olive oil. You could absolutely add more in the salad but might I suggest you drizzling it over top as a final garnish? This with some flaky sea salt is truly divine! (But it doesn’t need the extra oil… just saying!) Another option for some healthy fats would be a ripe avocado. Its creamy, rich texture would work very well. For some added heat, I love to add red pepper flakes but you could also add a hot chili. And if you are a garlic fanatic like me, one clove micro-planed after you zest the lemon would be perfection.

ENJOY THIS THREE BEAN SALAD

Once everything is mixed well, you are ready to enjoy! Transfer to a pretty bowl, add any final garnishes, and enjoy. If you’d like, you can also keep this tightly-sealed in the fridge for up to 3 days. Lastly, if 3 portion sizes of this is too big, you could certainly split it into 4 which would make each serving just shy of 25 g of protein which is still excellent.

I hope that you love this recipe! If you do make it, please leave a comment below and tag me on social media. I would love to see it. Thank you for being here.