One of my favourite things to do is recreate a dish or meal that I’ve enjoyed at a restaurant or purchased in a store.
I’ve recreated the Detox salad and Layered Salad with Orange Ginger Dressing from Whole Foods, the Adzuki Bean & Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad and Pink Flamingo Smoothie from Fresh restaurant, Endurance Crackers from Chocolatree Café, and the Layered Raw Taco Salad from The Naked Sprout, to name just a few.
This time, I had my sights set on a Fontaine Santé Three-Bean Salad.
In addition to hummus that rocks my face off, Fontaine Santé also makes hearty salads – and many of them are vegan. You can find these pre-made salads at Costco and various grocery stores in the refrigerator section (however, I’m not sure if they are sold in the US?). Sometimes when I’m in a crunch for dinner, I pick one up and pair it with a simple salad.
A peek inside…
It tastes better than it looks…I swear. Am I the only one who loves mushy bean salads?
Well, have no fear this version is bursting with fresh, crisp vegetables. My version has the same ingredients (with the addition of jalapeno), but the nutrition stats turned out quite a bit better with half the fat and calories per serving. Another advantage of preparing food at home – it’s often healthier without even trying. This recipe has more bite from the lemon, Dijon, and apple cider vinegar, but I countered the acidity with a bit of pure maple syrup. It’s also a better bang for your buck and you can save even more money if you make the beans from scratch. This recipe makes 5 cups worth, whereas the one I pick up from the grocery store has about three 1/2 cup servings per 350g container (granted, the salads from Costco are much larger and a better deal). Plus, who only eats 1/2 cup of bean salad anyway? Certainly not this girl.
Featuring all new, protein-packed salads, hearty toppers, flavour boosters, and dressings you'll want to drink, my new cookbook will transform the way you think about salads. Oh, and be sure to flip to the back for a surprise dessert chapter!
Speedy Three-Bean Salad
Yield
5 cups
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Like many bean salads, it tastes better as it sits and is even better the next day once the dressing has mingled with the beans and veggies. If you can make it in advance I suggest doing so. It should keep for at least 3-4 days in an air-tight container or jar, perhaps longer.
Ingredients
For the salad
- 1 cup chopped green beans, stems removed
- 1 (15-oz) can chickpeas (I use Eden Organic BPA-free), or 1.5 cups cooked
- 1 (15-oz) can Red Kidney Beans (ditto above), or 1.5 cups cooked
- 1 orange bell pepper, finely chopped
- 1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped (optional)
- 1/3 cup packed fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 3 green onions, finely chopped
- Salt & pepper, to taste
For the dressing
- 8 tbsp fresh lemon juice (about 1.5 lemons)
- 1.5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, or more to taste
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1/4 tsp fine grain sea salt
Directions
- Add several cups of water into a medium-sized pot and bring to a boil. Add chopped green beans and blanch for 2-3 minutes in boiling water. Drain and rinse with cold water. Place into a large bowl.
- Drain and rinse chickpeas and kidney beans and place into a large bowl along with the green beans, bell pepper, optional jalapeno, parsley, and green onion. Mix.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients until combined. Adjust to taste if needed.
- Pour on dressing over salad and mix well. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to allow the flavours to develop. Season with salt and pepper and adjust dressing to taste. Salad will taste even better the next day. Store in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
Next on my list? The 3-Lentil Cranberry Salad. Quite possibly my all-time fav.
What do you think I should add to my “recreate” recipe list?
As much as I don’t like eating out at restos, I always get inspired to make something better at home. :) I urge you to go to Saravanaa Bhavan, get the onion uttapam, and then tell me how to make it. :) That one is on my “recreate” recipe list right now. :)
Btw, I love how the lemon juice totally dominates the other dressing ingredients – that’s my kind of salad dressing! :)
This looks delicious! I have a get-together this weekend that I need a dish for…and I think this might be a winner!
And I’m all about mushy salads — they’re just too great that way. I should start soaking some beans now…I’ve got a craving.
I would love you to recreate Fontaine Santé’s Tofu spread!! It’s SO delicious!
This looks amazing! I seriously LOVE beans but I don’t know if I have ever made a three bean salad. I wonder why? Looks like I need to get on this ASAP! Thanks for another great recipe!
I am eagerly awaiting the lentil cranberry!!
I wish my copycat recipe skills were better. Working on it! :)
I love bean salads and I haven’t made one in a very long time, I can’t wait to try this one. Live Food Bar has a delicious Raw Mediterranean Tart; I would love to see a recipe for a non raw version that can be made in the over rather than in a dehydrator.
I have a rather large recreate list. It’s insane. I love the idea of adding the cranberry dish to the list, anything with cranberry is delicious! I also adore mushy bean salads, no judgement being passed here!
If you could recreate the Sweets from the Earth carrot cake it would be amazing! :)
My wallet and belly would both be so happy!
I’m in the US and I’ll keep my eye out for this brand next time I’m at Costco. However, if I can’t find it, I know where to get the recipe. :-) I love the looks of this for a quick and easy Summer side.
I love, love, love bean salads! Thanks for the new recipe!
3-Lentil Cranberry salad sounds YUM! Can’t wait to see the recipe!
This salad sounds fabulous! Yum!
Delicious looking dish, and stunning pictures as always Angela! It always looks so colorful and beautiful :)
A question regarding beans: I put some garbanzo beans to soak yesterday morning before I left for work, intending to use some for a salad and sprout the rest. Unfortunately, when I got home from work yesterday, I became inexplicably dizzy. I could not even sit up without the room spinning. Thankfully that has passed, but it led to me completely forgetting about the beans soaking (at room temperature) until I was already at work today. By the time I get home they will have been soaking for probably about 36 hours. Does anybody have any experience with this? How can I tell if they’re bad…just the smell? I would hate to throw away good beans I wanted to sprout anyway!
Hey Ana,
I’ve definitely forgot about soaking chickpeas before and I figured if they smelled ok it was fine. I just rinsed them well and cooked as usual…I think they were soaking for a good day and a half. Not sure if thats bad to cook them anyways or not though! Hope you feel better soon!
I ran into the kitchen and made this right away since I have so many green beans from my garden! I subbed red pepper for yellow and basil for parsley as it’s also plentiful in my yard… Yummy! My daughters LOVE it. Thanks!
I LOVE 3 bean salads by I have never made them myself and stoped buying them years ago due to them being quite high in fat and calories.
Im so excited that now they can be back in my life!
Thanks xx
My Mom makes the best 3-bean salad, but it has a lot of sugar in the dressing. I have become sensitive to peppers and citrus, so I may try an altered version of this. I absolutely love 3-bean salad and yours looks great!
love that you used orange pepper rather than the hard-to-digest unripe green ones! ^_^ i fell in love with bean salads after some time in quebec this summer ^_^
3 bean salad is always one of my favourite dishes at BBQs! I’m sad I haven’t encountered it yet this summer though. I guess it’s a good thing you posted this recipe! ;)