What Are Dense Bean Salads and Are They Healthy?

If you’ve seen some of the viral “dense bean salad” videos on TikTok, you may actually want to try making one (and rightfully so!). They look delicious and they’re loaded with lots of beautiful ingredients–not to mention lots of nutrients, too. 

Creator Violet Witchel dubbed the “dense bean salad girl” created these salads to be quick, easy, and healthy.  Below you’ll find the not-so-secret formula to create your own dense bean salads and a few recipe ideas to create two types of dense bean salads.

What is a Dense Bean Salad, anyway? 

Let’s break it down. It’s a combination of different textures, flavors, and consistencies. That’s the quickest way to describe it. (It also kind of reminds us of a new take on grain bowls, but that’s another story). 

The Formula for a Dense Bean Salad 

Here’s how you put this together.

Two kinds of beans: Drained and rinsed canned beans are a top choice because they are the quickest to add, but by all means use freshly cooked beans if you have those on hand You can also opt for no-added salt or low sodium varieties. Any of the following are great choices;  black, cannellini, red kidney, pinto, garbanzo, great Northern, and butter beans. You can even use canned lentils, too.

One soft vegetable: Choose from soft vegetables such as tomatoes, lettuce, spinach, zucchini, canned carrots, canned green beans, cooked broccoli, or cooked cauliflower.

One crunchy vegetable: Opt for a crunchy vegetable such as celery, jicama, carrots, cucumbers, bell peppers, snap peas, fresh broccoli, and fresh cauliflower.

Herbs: Roughly chop and stir in fresh herbs like parsley, cilantro, dill, or basil. Mint is good, too.

Cheese: Crumbled goat, feta, or blue cheese, shredded mozzarella, cubes of Cheddar, mozzarella balls, grated Parmesan cheese, or even ricotta all taste great.

Pickled and fermented food: Options include kimchi, sauerkraut, canned olives, sliced pickles, and pickled veggies like beets, asparagus, radishes or cabbage. 

Canned proteins (optional): You can also opt for proteins from a can or pouch to up the protein like salmon, tuna, chicken, sardines, or mackerel.

Vinegar-based dressing: Drizzle with a vinaigrette-type dressing like balsamic, red wine, lemon, herb, or apple cider.

Are Dense Bean Salads Healthy?

If you build your dense-bean salad in this manner you will have created a healthy option. However, portions matter. Overdoing it on calorie-heavy ingredients like cheese and the vinaigrette can increase the calories for the entire salad over a healthy limit for one meal. For cheese, aim for about one ounce of cheese or about two tablespoons of shredded cheese per serving, while vinaigrette dressings should be between one to two tablespoons per serving.

If you opt for numerous canned options, the sodium can go through the roof. That is why choosing reduced, low, or no-added sodium options is a good idea. You can also opt to rinse your canned foods before adding them to the salad. Research shows that rinsing canned beans can decrease the sodium by up to 40 percent.

In terms of portions, this salad is meant to serve numerous people. Portion about 1 to 1½ cups of the salad per meal and serve with a crusty piece of bread or whole wheat crackers. If this salad is just for you or even for two people, divide it into equal portions and store covered in the refrigerator with about 1 to 2 tablespoons of the dressing on the side, so it doesn’t get mushy throughout the week.

Dense Bean Salad Ideas

Below are two dense bean salads—one is a vegetarian option, while the other contains fish. Both are healthy insofar as they present a combination of protein, complex carbohydrates, healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals. In other words, there are a lot of plant-based ingredients in these bean salads, but they don’t have to be vegetarian or vegan per se.

Mexican-Inspired Dense Bean Salad

• 1 (14.5 oz) can reduced sodium pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (14.5 oz) can reduced sodium black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1½ cups chopped romaine
• 1 cup canned corn, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
• ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
• ¾ cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
• ½ cup bottled jalapeno-lime vinaigrette

Add all the ingredients to a large salad bowl and toss to combine. If meal prepping, divide the salad into individual containers, cover, and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Store the vinaigrette separately and toss the salad before serving.

Tuna and Chickpea Dense Bean Salad

• 1 (14.5 oz) can reduced sodium cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (14.5 oz) can reduced sodium chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 (3.5 oz) can chunk lite tuna, packed in water
• 1 1/2 cups baby spinach
• 1 cup cucumber, sliced in half-moons
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• ¼ cup parsley, chopped
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese pearls or balls
• 1/2 cup lemon vinaigrette

Add all the ingredients to a large salad bowl and toss to combine. If meal prepping, divide the salad into individual containers, cover and store in the refrigerator. Add the vinaigrette dressing immediately before eating. Store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

More Delicious Bean-Centric Dishes

• 10 Incredibly Delicious Ways to Turn a Can of Chickpeas Into Dinner 
• 7 Ways to Turn a Can of Black Beans Into a Healthy Dinner
• 5 Healthy Recipes You Can Make With a Can of Navy Beans
• 4 New Ways to Use a Can of White Beans