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Easy Kidney Bean Salad Recipe (In Less than 15 min)

This easy to make Kidney Bean Salad recipe with a creamy dressing is a delicious potluck favorite that can be ready to serve in under 15 minutes. Boiled eggs and crunchy celery add extra texture and flavor that really help make a super healthy. nutritious side dish everyone will love.

During warm summer months, cold simple salad recipes, like this Kidney Bean salad recipe, Greek Quinoa Salad and this Green Bean Salad are great options to keep on hand for those times when you want a light but hearty dish without having to do a lot of prep work or cooking.

What We Love About Red Kidney Bean Salad

  • This Kidney Bean Salad recipe requires no cooking and very little prep time, perfect for a quick and easy side salad
  • This is such tasty salad, and it only uses a handful of ingredients you already have on hand
  • Between the protein in the eggs and the beans, this is a great salad to act as complete meal! Perfect for a light lunch or dinner.

What’s Needed to Make this Kidney Bean Salad Recipe

  • Dark Red Kidney Beans, drained (2 cans)
  • Boiled Eggs, chopped
  • Diced Red Onion
  • Diced Celery
  • Mayonnaise
  • Sweet Pickle Relish
  • Salt & black pepper, to taste
ingredients for kidney salad in small bowls celery, kidney beans, eggs, red onions, salt and pepper

How to Make Easy Kidney Bean Salad

  1. Rinse the kidney beans well and set aside. Don’t skip this step because there is a starchy liquid that is canned with the bean that you want to remove.
  2. Chop all the over ingredients and add to a large mixing bowl.
  3. Combine beans with dry other salad ingredients.
  4. In a small bowl, mix mayo and relish together and toss over salad.
  5. Serve immediately or place in an airtight container and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Because this recipe has mayo in it, don’t leave it sitting out too long at room temperature.

eggs, red onions, celery, mayo, salt and pepper for kidney salad in a bowl to be mixed

Can I Freeze Leftover Kidney Bean Salad?

Freezing this salad is not recommended. The eggs and mayonnaise change texture when frozen and just isn’t as good when thawed.

The good news is you can store this salad in a big bowl that is sealed in the fridge up to several days! But trust me, this is such a delicious salad, you probably won’t have any leftovers.

bean salad in 2 bowls with celery and red onion beside bowl

Can I Use Dry Beans in this Kidney Beans Salad?

This recipe calls from canned beans, but if you have the extra time, you can certainly soak them in cold water until rehydrated then cook them until slightly fork tender. You will need to let them chill in the fridge before adding them to the salad.

Are Kidney Beans Healthy?

Not only are kidney beans a great source of protein, but they are also rich in healthy fiber as well as being good source of several other vitamins and minerals, such as molybdenum, folate, iron, copper, manganese, potassium, and vitamins K1.

For more nutritional information about kidney beans, check out this article on Healthline.

mixing salad ingredients together in bowl

Add-ins and Recipe Variations for Kidney Bean Salad:

Beans: If you want to make this salad more like a 3-bean salad you can choose from a combination of garbanzo beans, chick peas, cannellini beans or black beans for your own take on this salad. If you are adding a larger amount of beans, you will need to adjust the other ingredients as well.

Dressing Ingredients: If you want a creamy dressing but aren’t a fan of mayo you can use plain Greek yogurt. If you’d like a lighter dressing, you could use extra virgin olive oil with a little lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar. You could even use a little Italian dressing instead of the mayo.

Fresh Herbs: Change up the flavors by adding your favorite herbs. Fresh parsley, dill, basil and thyme are all great choices.

Relish: Even though this recipe calls for sweet relish, you can use dill relish or no relish at all. Instead, you can use finely chopped sweet pickles or dill pickles.

Other Veggies: Add more color and nutrients to this salad with any of your favorite raw vegetables. Bell peppers, green onions, diced jalapeño pepper or carrots are all great options.

fork with salad over bowl of salad

Want More Great Recipes for Summer?

bowls of kidney bean salad with fork

Easy Kidney Bean Salad Recipe

Published By Stephanie
This easy to make Kidney Bean Salad recipe with a creamy dressing is a delicious potluck favorite that can be ready to serve in under 15 minutes. Boiled eggs and crunchy celery add extra texture and flavor that really help make a super healthy. nutritious side dish everyone will love.
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 15 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Course Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 6 servings
Calories 331 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 30 oz Dark Red Kidney Beans 2 cans, drained
  • 4 eggs boiled, chopped
  • ½ cup red onion diced
  • ½ cup celery diced
  • cup mayonnaise
  • cup sweet pickle relish
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • Rinse the kidney beans well and set aside. Don't skip this step because there is a starchy liquid that is canned with the bean that you want to remove.
  • Chop all the over ingredients and add to a large mixing bowl.
  • Combine beans with dry other salad ingredients.
  • In a small bowl, mix mayo and relish together and toss over salad.
  • Serve immediately or place in an airtight container and refrigerate until ready to serve

Notes

Because this recipe has mayo in it, don’t leave it sitting out too long at room temperature.
  • You can use real mayo or miracle whip, whichever you prefer. Miracle whip will add a bit of sweetness.
  • If you aren’t a fan of sweetness in your salad, swap out the sweet relish for dill relish.
  • Be sure to rinse your kidney beans well. Some brands leave a strange mushy layer at the top and it’s not good in the salad.
  • You can use light red kidney beans as well. This is totally up to you. Light kidney beans don’t have as much flavor as dark red.
  • Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Do not freeze

Nutrition

Calories: 331kcalCarbohydrates: 39gProtein: 16gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 7gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 114mgSodium: 241mgPotassium: 659mgFiber: 11gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 370IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 64mgIron: 5mg
Keyword Healthy, Quick
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Recipe Rating




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