Warm Cannellini Bean Salad Recipe

Whether you are a fan of Spanish recipes or just starting to make your way into Andalusian flavors, the traditional Spanish salads offer an incredible diversity of flavors and ingredients to discover and enjoy.

The warm cannellini bean salad already earned the hearts of the people in Southern Spain with its irresistible blend of flavors and textures, so you should dive right in.

To learn everything about this salad with white beans, how to make it from scratch, and get the best tips for storing, serving, and customizing, you just have to keep scrolling down this article.

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Pssst…!!?? You can’t get enough of Spanish salad recipes? Have a look at my other posts: 

• Ensalada de aguacate

• Spanish mixed green salad

• Spanish potato salad with olives

Background of the Dish

The warm cannellini bean salad has classic regional ingredients, like white beans, onion, bell pepper, and garlic cloves, and it is meant to be warm so that it can be served during the colder months.

The recipe has the same Spanish salad dressing as any traditional Spanish salad, mixing olive oil with vinegar and optionally lemon juice, ensuring that you get a burst of Andalusian flavors with every spoonful.

Besides being commonly served in the winter and fall, it also makes a delightful addition to summer picnics and outdoor gatherings, offering a refreshing and nutritious dish that appeals year-round.

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Things You’ll Need for Warm Cannellini Bean Salad

To prepare this Spanish salad recipe you need canned cannellini beans, onion, red bell pepper, garlic cloves, olive oil, vinegar, and basil as the main ingredients.

Similar to other cannellini recipes, you could make it with dry beans, but using canned beans significantly reduces the preparation time and simplifies the cooking process without sacrificing taste or quality.

Ingredients

• 2 cans (425gr each) of cooked cannellini beans
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 onion
• 1 cup (200gr) cherry tomatoes
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup (60ml) extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• Juice of one lemon (optional)
• 1/4 cup (15gr) chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika 
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

How to Make Warm Cannellini Bean Salad – Step by Step Guide

1. For the first step in this warm white bean salad recipe, drain and rinse the cooked cannellini beans under cold water. Set them aside.

2. Then, peel and chop the onion into thin slices. Cut the bell pepper in half, discard the seeds and stem, then dice it. Peel and mince the garlic cloves. Wash and chop the cherry tomatoes in half. Set them aside.

3. Now, to prepare the dressing for this cannellini salad you have to grab a small bowl and mix the vinegar with the olive oil, Dijon mustard, and lemon juice (if using). Set it aside.

4. After that, grab a large pan, and heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and cook for about one minute until fragrant. 

5. For the next step in this cannellini bean salad recipe, add the diced red bell pepper and sliced onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 4 more minutes until the vegetables get soft.

6. Then, add the cannellini beans to the pan and stir for 5 to 7 minutes until heated through. Since the beans for this white bean salad recipe are cooked, this step is to warm them up quickly.

7. Now, remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the halved cherry tomatoes, and season with paprika, salt, and pepper. 

8. To finish this cannellini bean recipe, transfer the salad to a bowl, and pour the dressing with the freshly chopped basil. Mix until every ingredient of this warm cannellini bean salad gets combined and serve it.

Substitution of Ingredients

Something that we love about cannellini bean salads is how simple they are to make, and how easy it is to make some ingredient substitutions, as you can easily substitute ingredients as long as you have beans as the main component.

First, you can prepare this warm cannellini bean salad with your favorite variety of fresh chopped herbs, including some like rosemary, dill, parsley, or thyme, to enhance its flavor and aroma. 

When it comes to vegetables, you can make this salad with cannellini beans with other options like diced regular tomatoes, green bell peppers, cucumbers, etc.

Like most salads with white beans, the easiest change that you can make to the ingredients of this recipe is using a different kind of bean, such as the one that you would use for the Catalan bean salad or the mixed bean salad.

Give a go to our newest additions like the warm bean salad or the chilled bean salad.

Tips on Serving Warm Cannellini Bean Salad

You could serve this as a Spanish side salad or as an entree, having the best way to start a fantastic Andalusian meal.

To serve the warm cannellini bean salad as a main dish, we recommend that you take inspiration from other Spanish salad recipes, such as the ensalada de Pollo or the Spanish potato salad with tuna, and incorporate some sort of protein into the mix, making it more filling.

If you follow a vegan diet, you can serve this cannellini beans salad with marinated tofu or freshly chopped nuts, to add more textures and make it even more satisfying and nutritious.

Lastly, if you have guests coming over, you may want to prepare a tapas table filled with different traditional Spanish salads, in that case, you can include the ensalada de melon and the ensalada de brocoli to add more freshness to the spread.

How to Store Warm Cannellini Bean Salad

Similar to other white bean salad recipes, we encourage you to serve it as freshly made as possible, so that you get to enjoy its optimal flavors and textures. 

Still, you can store the warm cannellini bean salad in the fridge for up to 3 days if needed or if you have some leftovers.

Once you finish making this recipe for white bean salad -but before adding the dressing- let it cool down and place it in an airtight, freezer-safe container, then take it to the fridge.

To serve, you can reheat the Spanish salad in a skillet and once it gets warm you can add the dressing (or you can choose to serve it as a cold bean salad).

Aside from that, we have more Andalusian recipes that you can make and store both in the fridge or freezer, such as the Spanish bean tomato soup, the Spanish bean soup, and the Spanish white bean soup.

Recipe Card: Warm Cannellini Bean Salad

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