Zesty Bean Salad

This Zesty Bean Salad is a throwback recipe from my days working in the deli of a local grocery store. This is a very easy salad to make using canned beans, diced bell peppers, red onions and your favorite zesty Italian dressing. You can make this a day in advance of serving, as it tastes better as it sits. This salad is also a great meal prep option as it lasts in the fridge for up to one week.

Ingredients

1 medium red onion, diced

1 yellow and 1 red bell pepper, diced

Approximately 1 Cup of Diced celery

1 16 ounce bottle of Zesty Italian Dressing

1 14.5 ounce can of cut green beans

1 14.5 ounce can of pinto beans

1 14.5 ounce can of kidney beans

1 14.5 ounce can of great northern beans

1 14.5 ounce can of cannellini beans

1 tablespoon of white sugar

1 tablespoon of dried parsley

1 teaspoon of celery seed

Instructions

Open and drain each can of beans. Additionally, I add the beans to a mesh strainer and rinse them well with cold water. Let them drain. This removes most of the excess salt used in canning.

Add your onions, celery and peppers to a large bowl. Sprinkle the onions and peppers with the sugar, parsley and celery seeds. Let this sit for about 30 minutes on the counter. It will make its own juice. Then add the entire bottle of Zesty Italian Dressing. Stir well to combine.

Once the beans are drained and rinsed add them to the bowl with the pepper and onions. Toss well to combine.

Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or ideally overnight.

These beans make a great side dish or add some grilled chicken for a complete meal.