Italian Butter Bean Salad

Name: Italian Butter Bean Salad
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 70 min
Ingredients: 800 g canned butter beans (2 x 15.5 oz cans, or thawed from frozen); 1 small red onion (thinly sliced); 1 tablespoon fresh parsley (finely chopped); 60 ml olive oil (¼ cup); 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar; 2 tablespoons lemon juice; 1 medium clove garlic (chopped small); ½ teaspoon salt; ⅛ teaspoon black pepper

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This Italian butter bean salad is creamy and refreshing, delicious on its own with fresh bread or alongside a juicy steak, stews and grilled food.

As days grow warmer our Italian butter bean salad makes a wonderful refreshing light meal or side.

Its made with creamy butter beans, finely sliced sweet red onion and fresh parsley tossed in a tangy, garlic-y, creamy dressing.

We like to serve it with fresh bread or alongside steaks, stews, grilled meats and vegetables.

It only takes 10 minutes to make but we recommend making it at least an hour before serving so flavours develop fully.

Fresh butter beans can be difficult to find as the season is so short (only a few weeks in summer), so we use canned or frozen for this recipe which are easily available in supermarkets.

Try it with our eggplant parmesan, lamb ribs, mini frittatas, or meatballs.

And if you’d like more bean salads check out our tuna and cannellini bean salad, Italian two bean salad, and this cowboy salsa.

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Ingredients
Helpful tips
Optional extras
Make ahead and storing
FAQ
Related
Pairing
📋 Recipe

Ingredients

The ingredients you will need:

butter beans – also known as lima beans, canned or frozen are fine.
red onion – (not shown) small
fresh parsley – for fresh flavour
olive oil – forms the base of the creamy dressing
vinegar – white wine vinegar
lemon juice – for tanginess
garlic – for flavour
seasoning – salt and freshly ground black pepper

See recipe card for quantities.

Helpful tips

Ingredients for the dressing.

Ingredients for dressing on wooden board.

The dressing can be prepared in advance and kept in a sealed jar. It is a temporary emulsive dressing which means it will separate after resting so shake well before tossing in the salad.

Whisked dressing in glass bowl with whisk.

Whisk together the ingredients for the dressing to make a creamy emulsion.

Pour the dressing over the beans, parsley and sliced red onion (not shown) and mix till well coated.

Tip: We recommend covering and setting the dressed salad aside in a cool area/in the fridge for at least an hour before serving for the flavours to fully develop.

Optional extras

These are some extra ingredients you could add:

make it spicy – sprinkle over some chili pepper flakes for extra heat.
seafood – mix in some tuna, garlic shrimps , smoked fish or anchovies.
for color – add sliced roasted red peppers, a sprinkling of gremolata or capers.

Make ahead and storing

This bean salad improves in flavour after resting. For best results prepare an hour before serving.

Keep in a sealed container and keep in the fridge for 2-3 days.

FAQ

What are butter beans?

Butter beans also known as lima beans are larger than cannellini or black beans. They are high in protein and rich in vitamins, minerals and fibre.

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Pairing

Some of our favorite dishes to serve with Italian butter bean salad:

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