If you’re looking for a salad that packs a punch, you’ve come to the right place. The sweet beans and fresh pears get a big contrast with the homemade spicy mustard vinaigrette and funky blue cheese. This sweet bean salad is perfect as a light lunch or an inventive vegetable side for dinner. It’s a true heavy hitter.
What are some other bean recipes?
Besides this vegetarian sweet bean salad, there are a lot of other great recipes that work as a lunch or dinner. Here are our favourites:
Mains (Lunch or Dinner)
- White Bean and Swiss Chard Veggie Burgers
- Vegan Black Bean Burgers
- Flank Steak Salad With Crispy White Beans
- Warm Butter Bean Salad With Chorizo
- One-Pot Steak and Beans Pizzaiola
- White Bean Turkey Chili
- Better-Than-Classic Beans on Toast
Side Dishes
- Green Beans Almondine
- Spicy Sichuan Green Beans
- Molly Yeh’s Vegan White Bean Dip
- Molly Baz’s Spicy Coconut Green Beans
- White Bean and Cauliflower Purée with Roasted Vegetables
- Charred Green Beans With Roasted Garlic Anchovy Drizzle
Sweet Bean Salad
The spicy mustard vinaigrette in this salad plays off against the beans’ sweetness, while the creamy blue cheese offers a zingy flavour.
Equipment
- baking sheet
- parchment paper
- 2 small bowls
- whisk
- large pot
- large bowl
- serving platter
Ingredients
Candied Walnuts
- ¾ cup cane sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1 egg white
- 2 cups walnut halves or pieces
Dijon & Sherry Vinaigrette
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil or grapeseed oil
- 1 small clove garlic minced
- 1 tbsp grainy Dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp sherry vinegar
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Salad
- 110 g fresh yellow beans trimmed
- 110 g fresh green beans trimmed
- 1 small head bibb lettuce rinsed
- ½ each red and green pear thinly sliced
- 100 g Roquefort blue cheese
- 1 cup Candied Walnuts
Instructions
Candied Walnuts:
- Preheat oven to 300°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In small bowl, stir together sugar, salt and cinnamon. In large bowl, whisk egg white to loosen it and create light froth. Add walnuts and stir until evenly coated. Sprinkle sugar-spice mixture over walnuts and stir to coat.
- Transfer walnuts onto prepared baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove tray from oven and stir walnuts around to break them up. Return to oven and continue to bake for another 15 minutes. Remove and let cool.
Dijon & Sherry Vinaigrette:
- In small bowl, whisk together olive oil, garlic, Dijon mustard and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
Salad:
- Bring large pot of salted water to a boil. Add yellow and green beans and cook, 2 to 3 minutes. Strain and transfer to bowl filled with ice water, 2 to 3 minutes. Once cooled, strain, slice beans in half and set aside.
- Assemble salad by layering bibb lettuce, beans and pears. Crumble Roquefort cheese over salad and top with Candied Walnuts. Drizzle Dijon & Sherry Vinaigrette over salad to serve.
