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 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 before Little Miss Spice was born 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.

In those days I had my own way of making packed lunch salads. I would choose a carb such as rice, pasta, quinoa or millet. If necessary I'd cook it but often I'd have cooked enough for leftovers the night before. I'd then add some vegetables as well as some protein - nuts, seeds, beans or cheese.

Finally I'd drizzle on a couple of oils, sauces, vinegar or citrus juices to make a dressing. It was 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!

Cannellini Bean Salad is a great store Cupboard Recipe!

Although I first made this 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.

A healthy high protein 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 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 bean salad keep?

If you store this white bean 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!

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

More great salad recipes

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

Recipe

Tuna Cannellini Bean Salad

Corina Blum

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.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 10 mins

Total Time 10 mins

Course Light main, Main Course

Cuisine International

Servings 2

Calories 282 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 120 g tin of tuna drained of liquid
• 400 g tin cannellini beans drained and rinsed
• 3 spring onions chopped
• 1 large tomato diced
• 1 tablespoon black olives
• 2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• salt optional
• black pepper optional

Instructions

 

• Put the tuna in a bowl and mash a little to break up the chunks.
• Drain and rinse the beans and add to the tuna.
• Slice the tomato and chop the spring onion and add to the tuna along with the olives. Season with salt and black pepper. Add the vinegar and mix well.
  

Notes

Nutritional information is approximate and a guideline only.

Nutrition

Calories: 282kcalCarbohydrates: 34gProtein: 23gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 21mgSodium: 647mgPotassium: 302mgFiber: 10gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 725IUVitamin C: 11.8mgCalcium: 149mgIron: 5.7mg

Keyword cannellini bean salad

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