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This easy Italian Dense Bean Salad is made with chickpeas, cannellini beans, salami, Parmesan, crisp vegetables and banana peppers tossed in a tangy homemade Italian dressing. It’s a no-cook recipe that’s perfect for lunch, meal prep, potlucks and side dishes!
If you love a salad with lots of stuff in it, this one is for you!
Unlike a traditional green salad, a dense bean salad skips the lettuce and uses hearty beans as the base. Chicken peas and cannellini beans are combined with cucumber, bell pepper, tomatoes, salami and Parmesan cheese, along with tangy banana peppers for the perfect combination of ingredients.
This easy, no-cook salad is perfect for make-ahead lunches and meal prep but it also makes a fantastic side dish!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
No cooking required
Perfect for meal prep!
Big Italian flavor
Loaded with great ingredients!
Easy to customize
Make it once, and eat it all week long!
Ashley
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Pin It NowItalian Dense Bean Salad with Salami
Here’s the funny thing about this recipe: I’m not actually a huge fan of beans.
I had heard that adding more beans to your diet, and specifically, getting more fiber, might be helpful for sleep. And as someone who would very much love to sleep better, I figured it was worth experimenting with.
The problem? I wasn’t about to start eating cans of plain beans.
So I started thinking about how I could turn them into something I’d actually look forward to. I love the flavor of a good Italian antipasto salad with the salami, parmesan, banana peppers and vegetables, so that was the inspiration for my own version of an Italian Dense Bean Salad.
And much to my surprise, I fell in love with it!
Did eating more beans magically solve all of my sleep problems? Unfortunately, no. But beans are a great source of fiber and getting plenty of fiber is an important part of a balanced diet. If eating more fiber means making another batch of this salad, I’m totally on board!
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!
Dense Bean Salad Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this Italian Dense Bean Salad. Ingredient amounts are in the recipe card below.
Chickpeas: drained and rinsed
Cannellini beans: drained and rinsed
English cucumber
Cherry tomatoes
Red bell pepper
Shallot
Flat-leaf parsley
Salami
Parmesan cheese
Banana Peppers
Easy Swaps
Cannellini beans: Swap with Great Northern beans, navy beans, or another mild white bean.
Chickpeas: Use another can of white beans.
Salami: Try pepperoni, or chopped turkey salami.
Parmesan: Swap with cubed provolone, mozzarella pearls, or crumbled feta.
For the Creamy Italian Dressing
Red wine vinegar
Olive oil
Dijon mustard
Mayonnaise
Banana pepper juice
Italian seasoning
Red pepper flakes
Salt and black paper
Easy Swaps
Red Wine Vinegar: White wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar will work, although it w ill change the flavor slightly.
Olive oil? Avocado oil is a good substitute.
Dijon mustard? Spicy brown mustard works well in a pinch.
Mayo? Use plain Greek yogurt for a similar creamy element.
How to Make Italian Dense Bean Salad
This no-cook recipe comes together quickly!
1. Prep the beans.
Drain the chickpeas and cannellini beans and rinse them thoroughly under cool water. Let them drain well.
Rinsing canned beans helps remove the excess sodium and that starchy liquid from the can. Letting them drain well also keeps excess water from diluting the dressing.
2. Chop the vegetables and salami.
Chop the cucumber and cherry tomatoes. Finely dice the shallot and red bell pepper. Chop the parsley, salami and banana peppers. Shred the parmesan cheese. Try to keep everything relatively small and uniform.
3. Make the dressing.
In a small bowl or jar, combine the red wine vinegar, olive oil, Dijon mustard, mayonnaise, reserved banana pepper juice, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, salt and black pepper. Whisk or shake the jar until the dressing is smooth and well combined.
4. Assemble the salad.
Add the chickpeas, cannellini beans, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, parsley, Parmesan, shallot, red bell pepper, salami, and banana peppers to a large bowl. Pour the dressing over everything and toss gently until evenly coated.
5. Let it chill.
You can eat this salad immediately, but I recommend covering it and refrigerating it for at least 30 minutes before serving. As it rests, the beans will absorb some of the dressing and the flavors will all come together. Be sure to give it another good stir before serving.
Ashley’s Tip
Chop everything evenly! When I take a bite of this salad, I like a little bit of everything in each bite which means you need to chop everything fairly small.
More Dense Bean Tips & Tricks
- Drain the beans really well!
- Don’t discard the banana pepper juice. You’ll need one tablespoon for the dressing. It adds so much flavor!
- Give it time to rest if you can, even 30 minutes makes a difference. This is one of those recipes that tastes even better after it’s had time in the fridge!
- Taste again before serving – after the beans have absorbed the dressing, it might need another little pinch of salt, black pepper, or even a splash of banana pepper juice or red wine vinegar.
Make the prep faster!
This salad has quite a bit of chopping, so this is one of those recipes where a good vegetable chopper or a sharp knife can save a ton of time. Here’s the vegetable chopper I like to use.
Italian Dense Bean Salad Recipe
Ingredients
Salad Ingredients
- 15 ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 15 ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 English cucumber chopped
- 6-8 ounces cherry tomatoes chopped or halved
- ¼ cup flat-leaf parsley chopped
- 1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 shallot finely diced
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 6-8 ounces salami chopped
- 10 ounce jar banana peppers, drained, with 1 tablespoon juice reserved
Creamy Italian Dressing Ingredients
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon reserved banana pepper juice
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Drain and rinse the chickpeas and cannellini beans thoroughly. Allow them to drain well.
- In a large bowl, combine the cucumber, cherry tomatoes, parsley, Parmesan, shallot, red bell pepper, chickpeas, cannellini beans, salami, and banana peppers.
- In a small bowl or jar, combine the red wine vinegar, olive oil, Dijon mustard, mayonnaise, banana pepper juice, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper. Whisk or shake until smooth and emulsified.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and gently toss until everything is evenly coated.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to develop.
- Toss again before serving. Taste and adjust salt and pepper if necessary.
Notes
What is a Dense Bean Salad
A dense bean salad is exactly what it sounds like – a hearty salad made primarily with beans and lots of chopped vegetables! Because there isn’t any lettuce that can get soggy, everything can be tossed with the dressing ahead of time.
As a dense bean salad rests, the beans absorb the dressing which makes this one of those recipes that tastes even better after it has had time to sit. That means this is a great make-ahead, meal-prep meal.
This Italian version starts with two kinds of beans and adds in some of my favorite antipasto-inspired ingredients (if you love the flavor of antipasto, try my Antipasto Pasta Salad!).
How to Store
Store this dense bean salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
For the best texture, enjoy it within 3-4 days. Give the salad a good stir before serving.
I do not recommend freezing this salad. Fresh vegetables will not retain their texture once frozen and thawed.
Serving
This salad is heart enough to eat on its own for an easy lunch, but it also works great as a side dish! Serve it alongside grilled chicken, burgers, sandwiches, or your favorite summer dinner.
Looking for more summer sides? Try my Easy Broccoli Salad, Summer Corn Salad, or my Corn, Black Bean, Avocado and Tomato Salad!
FAQ
No. Canned chickpeas and cannellini beans are already fully cooked. Simply drain and rinse them before adding them to the salad.
Rinsing removes the starchy canning liquid and can also remove excess sodium. Be sure to allow the beans to drain well.
Yes, in fact, I recommend making it at least 30 minutes ahead so that the flavors have time to develop and come together.
Yes. Great Northern beans and navy beans are great substitutes for cannellini beans.
Yes, I prefer Italian Dense Bean Salad chilled or cool from the refrigerator.
