Ingredients for The Best 3 Bean Salad!
Hey guys, good day to you. Today we’re going to show you how to make the best recipes for 3 bean salad. We start by using great northern beans or white beans. Normally, I use red kidney beans, but today I’m going to be using garbanzo beans. Then we’ll use green beans.
Today, I want to show you the quickest and easiest way. So, we’re using the canned variety of beans. Nutritionally, they are the same as dry, if you use the No-salt variety. And, it makes it super simple to put together.
We’re going to use some avocado, as well, for this recipe. We’ll also use some fresh tomato to add some freshness and color. Then, we’re going to use some spices like Basil, and some Oregano. I like to use a little bit of granulated or powdered onion, which adds flavor.
And then my favorite is using some olives to add protein and healthy fats. You can use any type of olives you’d like, as well, for this. Black olives and Kalamata olives work great here.
Aqua-who?
So what we’ll do is rinse and drain the beans first. This step is not so important if you are using ‘No-Salt added’ canned beans. If yours have salt, make sure to rinse them as there can be a lot of salt in the aquafaba.
Just toss that in there like so. We’re going to toss in our garbanzo beans like so or any other bean you choose. And then, we add our green beans, like so. Normally, I use red kidney beans instead of garbanzos. But, any of your favorite beans can work here.
Next, I like to include some manzanilla olives in there as well. If you want to add some additional flavor you can put some of the olive brine, too. That adds a little bit of unique flavor. And then we put the olives in there as well. You can use this trick with Kalamata olives as well.
They are usually brined in red wine vinegar and spices. They are delicious and healthy! Just add these in moderation as they are very calorie dense.
Now, we’re going to add the avocado. I like to slice it lengthwise and crosswise to make a nice dice of avocado. You can use a spoon to remove the flesh from the peel. I think you’ll agree, this is the best recipes for 3 bean salad!
My wife and I like to debate which is the CORRECT tool to remove avocado flesh. I think that the rounded spoon does it all in one easy pass. She thinks it’s easiest and most effective with a fork. What do you think/use?
Salt-Free, Oil-Free and…..Fun-free (say my kids :))
I’m going salt-free and oil free these days, so I’m not using any. But, a little bit of salt shaken in there does add a nice punch. I love to add some pepper to the dish. I’ll also include some onion powder and a healthy pinch of oregano.
I grind it in my fingers, like so, to release the aroma and help to disperse the herb more evenly.I think that herbs and spices are some of the cheapest and healthiest ways to add flavor to any dish. So, I always use Basil, Oregano and Thyme for almost everything that I make.
To dress the 3 bean salad, we add two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. You can add a bit of olive oil and salt to the dish if you like. I’m opting out of that these days, but it is a delicious add-on.
We can cut up our tomatoes, like so. What I typically do is I put it upside down on it’s flattest side. I like to use a serrated knife when I cut my tomatoes just because it seems safer to me. You can use a chef’s knife but just make sure it’s very sharp.
Believe it or not, a sharper knife is so much safer than a dull knife. Dull knives end up sliding all over the place and can end up causing an accident. You don’t want that.
I like to make a little incision in my tomato first and then go ahead and slice it carefully. Keep your fingers away from the blade for safety-sake. And, what I do is lay it down like so. It doesn’t have to be perfectly cut, just do your best. You can add the whole tomato or just half a tomato.
Honestly we just stir it up like this. The tomato and the avocado lend a nice color, some lycopene, and some healthy fats and fiber. The olive brine and the vinegar add a nice acidic touch and help to brighten up the dish.
Make it YOUR WAY
So feel free to play around with different bean combinations and spices that you put in there. Like I mentioned earlier, before I was salt-free and oil free I would add a little bit of olive oil. I would also shake some salt. That makes it taste really, really good, as well. I’ll leave that up to you really.
There’s a ton of different ways to keep this healthy and keep it flavorful. That’s pretty much it. What I would do is let that sit in the fridge for about an hour, maybe two, The flavors will meld together and it will taste even better.
You can eat this wonderful 3 bean salad on its own, or add it on top of something. I typically put it over a bed of lettuce or arugula. I typically prefer to use Romaine or Green Leaf lettuce for this application. I’ll put it on a bed of lettuce, or arugula.
If you want to take it really to the top level, try this method. Lay down a bed of lettuce, put down a scoop of quinoa or whichever whole grain you prefer. Brown rice could work really great as well. Then, put two or three heaping spoonfuls of 3 bean salad on top of the grain.
This way, you have the benefit of the greens. You also have the fiber and bulking fullness of the grains. And, you have the beans for protein and fiber that you find in here. So it makes a nice, well-rounded dish in general that’s healthy, quick, and delicious.
So that’s it. I hope you enjoyed the best recipes for 3 bean salad. If you liked that, make sure to click the like button and smash that subscribe button and catch up with us on the next video. Have a great day, everybody!.
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