This homemade Three Bean Salad recipe is a family favorite that’s easy to prepare and tastes delicious!
This easy side salad has three types of beans (we use canned beans to make it extra fast to prep) marinated in a sweet and tangy vinaigrette dressing.
Why You’ll Love This Bean Salad
This recipe comes from my mother-in-law and it’s a favorite!!
- This old-fashioned three bean salad is both fast and easy to prep!
- The dressing is sweet, tangy, and honestly so delicious.
- This recipe uses canned beans making it easy and no soaking or boiling is required.
- This is best made ahead of time so it’s perfect for any gathering or BBQ!
What’s in Bean Salad?
BEANS: This salad uses a mixture of 3 types of canned beans. I usually use green and yellow beans along with red kidney beans but use any kind you’d like.
Change them up based on what you have on hand (or whatever your preference for beans in salad is). Great options include lima beans, navy beans, chickpeas/garbanzo beans, cannellini, among others.
VEGGIES: Celery, green peppers, & onions are added to the beans in this salad for a texture and bright color.
When purchasing the onion for this recipe, choose white onions with white papery skin (not yellow skin) as they’re milder and add great flavor to this recipe!
DRESSING: This simple dressing is both tangy and sweet. Be sure you use celery seed (not celery salt) and don’t skip it, it makes a big difference in the taste (I also use it in coleslaw dressing).
How to Make Bean Salad
- Make dressing: Simmer the dressing per recipe below.
- Combine all ingredients: Drain the beans and place in a bowl with bell pepper, celery, and onion. Toss with the bean mixture.
- Marinate: Let sit in the refrigerator overnight.
To ensure everything marinates evenly, we place this in a freezer bag or container with a lid and shake or turn it a few times as it marinates.
Using Fresh or Dried Beans
This recipe can be made with dried beans or fresh green or yellow beans. Either will need to be cooked first.
- Trim green/yellow beans and cook in boiling water with a pinch of baking soda until tender crisp.
- If using dried beans, they should be cooked and cooled according to package directions. You can also find more cook times for dried beans here.
What Goes With Bean Salad?
We most often serve bean salad at BBQs or picnics with ribs, coleslaw, corn, and beans.
This side dish is sweet and tangy so it pairs well with grilled foods like burgers or grilled chicken.
Storing Bean Salad
Bean salad can be stored in an air-tight container or ziptop bag in the refrigerator for 5 days.
It can also be frozen for up to 3 months, the vegetables will soften a little bit. To make ahead for lunches, separate the salad into single portions and freeze.
More Classic Salads
- Famous Dill Pickle Pasta Salad – a reader favorite
- Creamy Cucumber Salad – summer classic
- The Best Potato Salad Recipe – easy make-ahead recipe
- Italian Pasta Salad – potluck perfect and full of flavor
- Cucumber Onion Salad– cool, creamy, and refreshing
A Sweet Return
I truly have the most amazing Mother-In-Law, I don’t think I could’ve hand-picked a better one myself. Sometimes when my mother-in-law comes for a big turkey dinner, I send her home with leftovers in containers. Last week I was so excited to see that she had brought back my containers because when she returned them they sometimes come back full of food too! Bran muffins (and my kids totally love them too), sometimes her amazing baked beans, and one day, this amazing bean salad.
I’d been sneaking spoonfuls out of the fridge all day long when I finally phoned her and asked for the recipe! She originally found this recipe in an old cookbook called “Women in Uniform” and it’s a great version of a classic bean salad.
Did you make this Bean Salad? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Old Fashioned Three Bean Salad
Ingredients
- 14 ounces green beans
- 14 ounces yellow beans
- 14 ounces red kidney beans
- 14 ounces lima beans optional
- ½ cup green pepper thinly sliced
- ¾ cup white onion thinly sliced
- ¾ cup celery chopped
DRESSING
- ⅔ cup white sugar
- ½ cup white vinegar
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon celery seeds
- ½ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Drain all of the beans well. Combine beans, green pepper, celery and onion in a bowl.
- Heat all dressing ingredients in a small saucepan until sugar is dissolved and mixture is hot.
- Pour the hot dressing mixture over the beans and toss to coat. Refrigerate overnight turning or stirring occasionally.
Video
Notes
- lima beans
- navy beans
- chickpeas/garbanzo beans
- cannellini
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Salad, Side Dish
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hi do you have to cook the beans if using beans that are in a tin. Also is marinating overnight essential. thanks
I do not cook the beans, just drain them. You do not have to marinate the beans overnight, but it will not have the same flavor. I hope this helps.
i love to add chick peas to mine ..i love the crunchiness from the chick peas/garbanzo
I used to make this exact recipe decades ago… fast easy and delicious… I make it now using swerve as a sweetener and have no guilt… in summer I use fresh green and yellow string beans… I also like to add dillweed to change it up…
Yum! That sounds delicious, Denise. Glad you are enjoying it.
Wonderful salad!!! I’ll be making this all summer. Thank you!!!
Boy, this recipe is Absolutely the Best! My family want it as often as I wish to make it and I sure plan to! It has the perfect balance of sweet and tangy. I had a small broccoli crown and a skinny carrot and I thought I’d get it used. Well that added a wonderful flavor as well. I’ll definitely will be using this recipe for cook outs, and potlucks!
One of my favorites, I usually have it in the fridge all the time. This recipe is a base for mine. I do all the same except I double the dressing and I always add in garbanzo beans, sliced carrots, cauliflower (raw and cut into bite size pcs), cooked brussels sprouts and sliced radishes. I also make it just as the recipe also. Great dish to go with just about anything.
Made exactly as written. My first reaction was that it tasted netter than anything I’ve found in a grocery store deli. 2nd reaction was it may be better than anything from a potluck.
One change I may try – a little less oil. I’m a northerner and we tend to use less oil and butter than some southerners.
Thanks for the recipe share.
So happy to hear that Amy, you’re welcome!
When I first stirred this up, I thought there looked to be more oil than necessary. By the next morning, the oil amount was perfect as written.
I’ve put this in my “good enough for company” collection of recipes. Even good enough for a church pot luck.
Used a 6 bean blend and with red pepper instead of green, perfect!
Thanks for this and allowing me to print this cold bean salad recipe. Your site has been usefull to me in comparison to some online which were just an exercise in frustration. I really needed this recipe and I will mark your website as a favorite and come back and check it out (after i have been to the store and made the recipe which I needed for tomorrow)
Thanks James, so happy to hear you are enjoying our site! Have fun cooking.
Really good bean salad I did only add 1/2 C SPLENDA I like it on the tart side enjoyed by all! Thank You
Great idea MZ! Glad everyone enjoyed it :)
This bean salad was excellent! I used garbanzo, canellini, kidney, and French cut green beans. Next time I will use a little less sugar. Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed it!
Hi hi, I love beans, all kind of beans, I love your combination and it looks yummy
You will love this salad then! Enjoy!
I have been trying for years to try to find a bean salad recipe like my mom used to make with no luck, but this one is it !!!
Sweet but a little tangy , mm m mmm , delicious! Thank you for sharing!
Happy we could help Rick! Enjoy!
Have a few questions. What is the serving size? Are calories for the whole dish or per serving?
This makes approximately twelve servings, 1/2 cup each. The calories are per serving.
I’m thinking I would like to use fresh beans in the salad. Should I just blanch them or?
I’d cook them to your desired doneness, then pop them into an ice bath to stop them cooking further. Enjoy Lynn!
Love bean salad and cowboy caveat..as well as others…thank you very much!!!
You’re welcome Marilene! Enjoy!
I am not a fan of lima beans, so I substituted a can of garbanzo beans. Very good recipe, one I’ll keep.
I use garbanzo beans inplace of the Lima beans and I use apple cider vinegar and red/purple onion