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A large bowl of dense bean salad beside two glass meal prep containers filled with the same salad
Emma Hartwell

High-Fiber Dense Bean Salad

A make-ahead dense bean salad with white beans, chickpeas, artichokes and chopped vegetables in a red wine vinaigrette. 11.7g fiber and 16g protein per serving; keeps up to 4 days.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Course: Salad
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Calories: 385
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 can white beans (cannellini) 15 oz, drained and rinsed, about 240g drained
  • 1 can chickpeas 15 oz, drained and rinsed, about 240g drained
  • 150 g frozen artichoke hearts about 1 1/2 cups, cooked per the pack, cooled and roughly chopped
  • 1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes dry-packed, not in oil, about 40g, chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper about 150g, finely diced
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes about 150g, quartered
  • 1/2 English cucumber about 150g, finely diced
  • 1/2 small red onion about 60g, finely diced
  • 1 packed cup flat-leaf parsley about 30g, chopped
  • 1 small handful basil leaves about 10g, torn
  • 3.5 oz feta 100g, cut into small cubes
Dressing
  • 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 small clove garlic grated
  • salt and black pepper to taste

Method
 

  1. Cook the artichoke hearts from frozen according to the pack, drain, and let them cool while you start the dressing. Roughly chop them.
  2. Whisk the olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, oregano and garlic in the bottom of your largest bowl with a good pinch of salt and plenty of black pepper.
  3. Drain and rinse the beans and chickpeas, then shake them in the sieve for a full minute. Water left on the beans thins the dressing and makes the salad taste sharp by the second day.
  4. Tip the beans, chickpeas, artichoke hearts and sun-dried tomatoes into the dressing, stir well and leave for 10 minutes while you chop the rest. The beans absorb the dressing; fresh vegetables would only sit in it.
  5. Dice the pepper, cucumber and onion to roughly the size of a chickpea, quarter the tomatoes, chop the parsley and tear the basil.
  6. Fold the vegetables, herbs and feta into the beans. Taste and add more salt or lemon as needed.
  7. Eat straight away, or divide between containers and refrigerate for up to 4 days. For the crunchiest last portion, keep the cucumber aside and add it on the day.

Notes

Fiber: 11.7g per serving from USDA values — 15.4g chickpeas, 11.5g white beans, 6.9g artichoke hearts, 4.9g sun-dried tomatoes, 3.1g red pepper, 1.8g cherry tomatoes, 1.0g parsley, 1.0g red onion, 0.8g cucumber and 0.2g basil, 46.6g across four servings. Garlic, mustard, oregano and salt are not counted.
Vegan: leave out the feta. Fiber stays the same; protein drops by about 3.6g a serving.