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This green olive bean salad really has it all — it’s protein-packed, fiber-rich, loaded with flavor and micronutrients, among many other things. It’s safe to say that this bean salad is living rent-free in my fridge!
This green olive bean salad is a combo of not one but two beans (both chickpea and butter beans), loads of castelvetrano olives, parsley, cilantro, aromatics, and a sweet honey dijon vinaigrette. Plus, the beauty of this chickpea salad is that it tastes better the longer it sits (within limits, of course). Making it perfect for meal prep.
Green Olive Bean Salad Ingredients
Here’s everything you’ll need for this green olive chickpea salad.
- Chickpeas
- Butter beans: I highly recommend Strianese canned butter beans (also labeled fagioli bianchi di Spagna); they taste amazing!
- Castelvetrano olives: Aka my favorite olive variety, but any green olive will work here.
- Fresh cilantro
- Fresh parsley
- Shallots: Feel free to use red onion instead or even pickled red onions if you have them on hand.
- Fresh garlic
- Lemons
- Olive oil
- Honey: If you’re vegan, swap the honey for maple syrup.
- Dijon mustard
- Spices: Including ground cumin, ground coriander, and cayenne pepper. Feel free to swap out the cayenne pepper for 1 tsp of red pepper flakes or Aleppo pepper.
- Kosher salt
A Visual Guide to this Salad
Prep the salad base (beans, olives, shallots, and herbs) and add everything to a large mixing bowl. I like to chop the shallots finely — it helps them quick-pickle in the dressing faster.
To make the dressing, whisk everything together in a jar until emulsified. Taste and adjust for salt or honey as needed.
Pour all the dressing over the salad and toss together. Adjust for salt as needed and let sit at least 30 minutes before serving. Not only will the beans absorb some of the dressing, but it will also help quick-pickle the shallots, making them milder and sweeter.
Store any leftovers in an airtight glass container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Serving Suggestions
My vehicle of choice for the green olive bean salad is toasted sourdough with a generous smear of ricotta – it’s the perfect quick-and-easy lunch. However, you can enjoy the salad on its own. Because it’s just that good!
Can’t wait for you to make this green olive bean salad. Don’t forget to leave a starred rating and review — love hearing from you!
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Green Olive Bean Salad
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Rest Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 3–4 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner, Salads
- Cuisine: American
Description
Ingredients
Salad Base
- 1 can (13.4 oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 can (13.4 oz) butter beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup (115g) castelvetrano olives, halved
- 1 medium shallot, finely chopped (65g chopped)
- 1/2 cup finely minced cilantro
- 1/2 cup finely minced parsley
Honey Dijon Vinaigrette
- 3 tbsp (30g) lemon juice
- 3 tbsp (34g) olive oil
- 1 tbsp (12g) honey (a heaping tablespoon)
- 1 small clove garlic, finely grated
- 1 tsp (5g) dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (sub with 1 tsp red pepper flakes or Aleppo pepper)
Instructions
- Prep the base. Prep the salad base (beans, olives, shallots, and herbs) and add everything to a large mixing bowl. I like to chop the shallots finely — it helps them quick-pickle in the dressing faster.
- Make the dressing. To make the dressing, whisk everything together in a jar until emulsified. Taste and adjust for salt or honey as needed.
- Toss everything together. Pour all the dressing over the salad and toss together. Adjust for salt as needed and let sit at least 30 minutes before serving. Not only will the beans absorb some of the dressing, but it will also help quick-pickle the shallots, making them milder and sweeter. Store any leftovers in an airtight glass container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Made this amazing salad and added cherry tomatoes as they are in season and I had a bounty of them . So so good . The dressing was a winner and I will make it again and again I’m sure !
Fantastic!! Love the flavors – olives with beans is absolutely magical!!
Delicious! Will make again.
easy knockout summer recipe
I discovered this recipe on Sunday. It’s now Thursday and I’ve made it 3 times already! I don’t like cilantro so I went without. I also doubled (okay, tripled) the amount of garlic. The flavors and textures are great. I might char some lemon and add it to the next batch to add a smoky element. Thank you for the recipe!
This bean dish looks delicious. We dont like the taste of cilantro. Is it possible to substitute another herb?
Absolutely, parsley would work great!
I make this like once a week for my work lunch!! It’s great sitting overnight & at room temp. If I wanna bulk it up w/ veggies I add cucumbers & radish
I can’t get enough of this and have introduced it to several friends who love it too. I add chopped celery and/or nuts for crunch. Sometimes I use maple syrup instead of honey. Sometimes I add other kinds of olives too. Everything makes this even more incredible.
I LOVE this salad and make it at least once a week. I like to add a jar of sundried tomatoes. So good.
ooo sun-dried tomatoes in this is GENIUS!!! thank you so much for leaving a review, appreciate it 🫶🏼
It was so delicious we finished it in one meal ! I didn’t find honey so I substituted with maple syrup, no fresh herbs (used dried instead) and less olives because I lacked a full jar, it was still delicious and I’ll make it again for sure!
Wow this was very tasty. Will definitely make again.
This was a perfect light side!!!!!!! Thank you so much! I paired mine with filet mignon and it was absolutely a crowd pleaser!
So delicious and unique. It lasted in the fridge for days and days. I served it on a bed of romaine.
Ah so happy to hear – thank you so much for leaving a review!! 🙂
Incredible! Just made it for the first time today and I can’t get enough! Thank you for this new staple 🙂
This salad is easy to make the flavors are wonderful
Hubs loves bean salads and loves heat! I used cayenne infused olive oil, double the dressing, and add 5 sliced jalapeños & one whole chopped cucumber. Granddaughter added another tablespoon of red pepper flakes (knows Papa well!)- hands down his favorite bean salad recipe!
So tasty, it goes well with lots of main dishes.
I make a double batch to last the week. I use the olive oil that comes with the olives it has a great toasted flavor and left over olive oil for salads.
This recipe is perfection! I did no change a thing. So
Good!
Since discovering your recipe two weeks ago, I’ve made this salad six times! It’s absolutely so delicious! When I first read through the recipe, I thought, “cilantro with a honey-dijon vinaigrette? How strange!” But it was fantastic! The flavors burst and make so much sense! Then at one point I made the mistake of running out of cilantro. I figured it wouldn’t be that big of a deal, but boy, was I wrong! The salad completely changed and it just didn’t taste even close to the same. Anyway, I’m absolutely obsessed. Thank you so much for such a brilliant salad with such simple ingredients ❤️
This salad is amazing!! Super filling and beyond quick to make!
So happy you liked it! Thank you SO much for leaving a review 🫶🏼