Cannellini Bean Salad with Tuna

This tasty tuna cannellini  bean salad is a quick, easy and filling meal. It's great for lunches and light dinners as well as packed lunches and picnics. It's also a great store cupboard bean salad recipe that's great for making with any tins of beans. Well, except baked beans!

This delicious tuna cannellini bean salad is a recipe I have been making for years! I first made it as a packed lunch salad to take to work. I remember I used to be eating my breakfast and drinking coffee in the kitchen while quickly chopping up vegetables and whatever else I needed to make a tasty packed lunch.

Although I first made this tuna and cannellini bean salad as a packed lunch, it's just as good to make for a quick and easy main meal at home. It's a great store cupboard salad recipe for those days when you don't have much time. Or when you just don't feel like spending a long time in the kitchen. 

Because this salad relies on tinned ingredients it's also a good budget recipe to have up your sleeve for days when you're running low on fresh ingredients. The tuna and beans are from a tin and you could easily adapt the recipe to use whatever fresh ingredients you do have. If you really don't have anything fresh then some pickled onions and capers would work beautifully here.

By the way, if you're looking for more salad ideas using tinned fish then do check out my tinned mackerel potato salad as well.

Ingredient notes for tuna and cannellini bean salad

Do check out the recipe card further down the post for full recipes details. But, to make this high protein store cupboard bean salad recipe you'll need:

• Tinned tuna - I like to use tuna in spring water but feel free to use tuna in oil or brine if that's what you like to use. You can also use a different tinned fish such as salmon if you like.
• Cannellini beans - I always have tins of cannellini beans in the cupboards as they are so versatile. They are also quite soft beans and soak up the flavours of the dressing really well.
• Spring onions - I love the touch of green that spring onions add and of course they are not too strong and so perfect for salad. However, if you don't have any you could add half a finely diced onion instead.
• Tomato - I usually use a larage salad tomato. Feel free to add more if you like lots of tomato in your salad.
• Olives - I've used black olives, partly as they stand out and look good in this salad. But, green olives work equally well.
• Red wine vinegar - You could replace this with white wine vinegar if you want.
• Extra virgin olive oil - Do try to use a good quality olive oil as it adds lots of flavour to this salad.
• Seasoning - Just a little salt and black pepper 

How to make tuna cannelini bean salad

Honestly, this salad is the easiest recipe to make! Just dice all the vegetables, drain and rinse the beans and then mix everything together. It could not be simpler.

How can you adapt this tuna cannellini bean salad?

This white bean tuna salad is brilliantly versatile. You can switch ingredients in and out and it'll still be delicious. If you don't have cannellini beans then use a different kind of bean. How about butter beans, kidney beans or borlotti beans?

I always make this with tuna but why not use tinned salmon or even leftover baked salmon if you're lucky enough to have some?

If you don't have spring onions then replace them with red onions.

What about if you have extra vegetables that you want to use up? Of course, throw them in. Cucumber, peppers or sweetcorn would be delicious.

Don't feel you have to just use red wine vinegar either. White wine vinegar, cider vinegar or even rice vinegar would all work.

How long does this tuna bean salad keep?

If you store this white bean tuna salad in the fridge it should keep well for at least 3 days. The flavours of the dressing will soak into the beans and make it even more tasty! Just give it a stir before serving.

So, why not make a big batch to last for a few days for easy portable lunches?

Nutritional notes for tuna cannellini bean salad

Not only is this salad a great store cupboard recipe option, it's also a healthy choice. It's high in protein from the beans and tuna and low in fat with a few veggies for extra vitamins too!

How to make a balanced salad

I've been making packed lunch salads like this for years. I often start by choosing a carb such as rice, pasta, quinoa or millet. If necessary I cook it but often I use leftovers the night before. I then add some vegetables as well as some protein - nuts, seeds, beans or cheese.

Finally I drizzle on a couple of oils, sauces, vinegar or citrus juices to make a dressing. It's a much more interesting way of making packed lunches than just sandwiches.

By the way, if you like this way of making hearty salads you might like my main meal salads recipe collection!

Recipe

More great salad recipes

I love making salad so do check out some of these salad recipes:

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