Dense Bean Salad (Viral TikTok Recipe)

Want a fast and straightforward meal prep salad for the work week? It’s time to raid the pantry and put collectively this easy however scrumptious dense bean salad made with beans, peppers, and tomatoes.

In relation to meals developments, Tiktok and Instagram have an enormous affect. From the viral Jennifer Aniston salad to the sleepy woman mocktail, it’s enjoyable to present the most recent viral development a attempt in my very own kitchen. Should you’re on the lookout for a brand new one so as to add to your checklist, the protein-packed dense bean salad is a scrumptious one which can be good for you! 

This dense bean salad is tremendous easy to place collectively and works effectively for meal prep because the flavors solely get higher with time because it chills within the fridge.

The bottom for this salad is beans (after all), with chopped veggies for crunch, and spiced with chili powder and cumin. Eat this straight from the container or pack some scoops-shape tortilla chips for choosing up bites.

This salad is allergen and eating regimen pleasant because it’s vegan, gluten free, and dairy free.

Discover much more wholesome and filling choices in my checklist of wholesome salad recipes!

What’s a Dense Bean Salad?

So what precisely is a dense bean salad or a DBS for brief? The time period was coined by a Tiktocker named Violet Witchel who went viral for her meal-preppable bean salads.

Should you watch her movies, you’ll see that her salads use a mixture of beans, veggies, herbs, meat, and cheese with a home made vinegar-based dressing. 

She calls them “dense” as a result of the salads use beans as the bottom as a substitute of lettuce – which suggests they’re heartier and extra filling than a lettuce-based salad.

With out the lettuce, dense bean salads are additionally nice for meal prep since they don’t get soggy within the fridge. 

Elements for Dense Bean Salad

Use these easy and contemporary substances filled with dietary worth to make this scrumptious dense bean salad recipe.

• Canned Beans: use a mixture of three kinds of beans for this recipe. Actually, any mixture of beans will work so be happy to get inventive. The recipe as written contains chickpeas, black beans, and kidney beans. 
• Corn: contemporary or frozen corn works equally effectively for this recipe. If utilizing frozen, thaw within the microwave earlier than tossing into the salad. 
• Tomatoes: I like including tomatoes to this salad as a result of they not solely add taste and shade but additionally assist marinate the beans.
• Onion and Bell Pepper: these each add taste, crunch, and shade to this easy recipe. Should you don’t have purple onion, shallot can be utilized as effectively. Be at liberty to make use of any shade bell pepper – I picked purple however inexperienced, yellow, and orange all work as effectively. 
• Cilantro: contemporary herbs like cilantro add scrumptious taste and shade to the completed salad. 
• Jalapeno: be happy to regulate the quantity of jalapeno primarily based in your most well-liked spice stage. I discover that the spice stage can fluctuate from pepper to pepper so style earlier than including to your salad. If you wish to attempt one thing totally different, use pickled jalapenos as a substitute. 
• Chili Powder and Cumin: add taste to the beans on this recipe. 
• Additional Virgin Olive Oil: creates a easy salad dressing. 
• Pink Wine Vinegar: I like utilizing purple wine vinegar for the French dressing dressing for this salad. Nevertheless, you possibly can substitute with both balsamic vinegar or a white vinegar. 
• Sea Salt: be beneficiant together with your salt to ensure there’s sufficient to assist improve the flavour on this easy salad. 

Variations

Add Extra Protein: be happy so as to add chopped, cooked hen breast or rotisserie hen for additional protein. 

Strive Totally different Beans: be happy to make this recipe your personal by making an attempt different beans like butter beans, white beans (like cannellini beans), lima beans, pinto beans, and even black-eyed peas. 

Make it Spicy: if you wish to add extra warmth, use extra contemporary jalapeno or add a few of your favourite scorching sauce.

Add a Complete Grain: add much more fiber and protein by mixing in 1 cup of cooked quinoa into this salad. 

Find out how to Make Dense Bean Salad

This wholesome dense bean salad recipe is easy to place collectively in a number of steps.

Prep Salad Elements: Drain and rinse the canned beans. Chop your whole greens (tomatoes, pepper, jalapeno, onion, and cilantro).

Toss Salad: Gently toss collectively the beans, corn, tomatoes, onion, pepper, jalapeno, and cilantro in a big bowl. Add the olive oil, purple wine vinegar, chili powder, cumin, and salt. Toss to coat within the dressing. 

Chill and Serve: Chill for at the very least 1 hour to in a single day. Toss beans once more as soon as extra earlier than serving. Give it a squeeze of lime, style, and add extra salt if wanted – then get pleasure from!

How Ought to I Serve Dense Bean Salad?

I like serving this dense bean salad with tortilla chips and utilizing them to scoop up bites of the salad. You may also add this to a tortilla with some cheese and lettuce and serve it as a wrap.

In fact, you too can use it as a topping for a lettuce salad. 

How Lengthy Does Dense Bean Salad Final within the Fridge?

Retailer your dense bean salad in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 5 days. I prefer to shake the container earlier than allotting to ensure the dressing will get redistributed over the salad. 

How Many Energy in Dense Bean Salad?

One serving of this dense bean salad supplies 235 energy, 11 grams of protein, and a whopping 10 grams of fiber.

If you wish to bump up the protein, add in some hen, chopped cheese (like cheddar or colby jack) or serve this salad as a aspect with a protein of your selection.

This salad is wealthy in coronary heart wholesome fat from the olive oil whereas being low in saturated fats and ldl cholesterol.