This Costco copycat Tuscan Bean and Barley Salad is a delicious take on the store-bought salad! Fresh herbs and a pesto dressing lighten this salad into something special.
I love when I get a prepared salad from a store and think, “Wow, I can make this just as good at home.” And this salad meets and exceeds the original! This is a riff off of Costco’s Tuscan Bean Salad with a pesto dressing, but I made this version vegan. This is a fantastic salad because its both fresh and really filling.
I absolutely love Costco Salads, but don’t always love all the ingredients in them (preservatives, too much sodium, etc). This Bean and Barley salad recipe was right up my alley: it has everything I love! The version in the store contains cheese, so it’s not vegan, but I made a veganized version below. Costco runs are a real treat for us, we only go when we are in Canada with Brett’s mum. This is a totally recreatable healthy salad you can make anytime, no membership card required.
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This Copycat Costco Bean and Barley Salad is:
- Bright
- Herby
- Crunchy
- Tangy
- Healthy
- Protein-packed
- Vegan and Vegetarian
- Gluten Free
I really love using barley in recipes because dried barley is so inexpensive at the store. And its super easy to prepare when you make it in the rice cooker – and as you can see from my Perfect Quinoa in the Rice Cooker, I really love the hands-off nature of making grains in the rice cooker.
This would also be great to make ahead for a party or a BBQ. Or a good way to use leftover pesto in a dressing. The great thing about this recipe is that you can add/substitute any bean or extra salad veggie to the recipe. Its a bit of a free-form salad, but all comes together with the dressing!
What’s In This Costco Tuscan Bean Salad Recipe?
- Pearled Barley: a fantastic grain for soups or salads, this pearled barley is a hearty and satisfying addition to any dish! I always keep a few bags of this barley in our pantry when I need to bulk up a recipe.
- No Salt Added Chickpeas: my favorite pantry staple protein! You can use canned chickpeas (I’d highly recommend a low sodium or no salt version), or you can make your own chickpeas from scratch in the Instant Pot.
- Low Sodium White Beans: you can use these low sodium canned beans or make them yourself from dried beans. I usually always cook my beans from scratch as they have lower sodium and is really easy to do in the Instant Pot. If you do use canned beans, I would highly recommend using low or no sodium canned beans like these, which won’t alter the taste of this recipe.
- Parsley
- Tomato
- Bell Pepper: If you don’t have fresh peppers, these sweet roasted red peppers are a great substitute! I love adding them to breakfast bakes, sandwiches or wraps, and soups.
- Green Onion
For the Pesto Dressing
- Vinegar
- Olive Oil: I like to use this fruity Zoe olive oil which has a fantastic flavor and deep color- it’s really inexpensive online here, so I keep a few liters stocked up in my pantry. For the quality of oil you get, it’s an excellent value, I would highly recommend!
- Basil
- Garlic: I use fresh garlic when I have it, and this great jarred organic garlic when I don’t have fresh. It’s actually super convenient to have pre-chopped garlic on hand for quick and easy meal prep.
- Lemon Juice: Use fresh lemons if you have it, or this really great bottled lemon that you can keep in your pantry if you don’t have fresh lemons. This lemon is great for dressings, dips, and even cocktails.
- Pink Himalayan Sea Salt: I like to use a pink Himalayan Sea Salt in my kitchen, which has more natural minerals than plain processed table salt. It’s fairly inexpensive, so I’d recommend this salt if you’re looking for an easy way to level up your spice pantry.
- Tellicherry Peppercorns: Like the salt, it’s amazing the flavor difference you can get with really good tellicherry black pepper. Amazon has a generic brand tellicherry peppercorn which is the same price is buying pre-ground, and has a million times more flavor… so I use these really great tellicherry peppercorns, which I would definitely recommend.
How to Make Copycat Costco Tuscan Bean & Barley Salad:
- Rinse the dried barley, and add it and the water to the rice cooker. Cook on ‘Grain’ Mode or ‘High’ for about 45 minutes to an hour, or until the rice cooker auto stops.
- In a large bowl, combine the chickpeas, navy beans, parsley, tomato, bell peppers, and chopped onion. Add the barley to the bowl.
- For the dressing, add all dressing ingredients to a blender, and blend on high until smooth. Taste and add additional salt or pepper if needed.
- Pour dressing over salad, and stir to combine.
- Store in an airtight container, and eat within 5 days.
Get the Same Ingredients I Use for My Costco Tuscan Bean and Barley Salad
As always, if you make this vegan and gluten free sheet pan hash browns recipe be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe, and tag me @theherbeevore on Instagram so I can feature you. I love seeing all your photos of my recipe recreations!
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Costco Tuscan Bean and Barley Salad
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 1 cup dried pearled barley
- 2 cups water
- 1 14 ounce can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 14 ounce can of navy beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 cup parsley finely chopped
- 1 medium tomato diced
- 1/2 green bell pepper chopped
- 1/2 red bell pepper. chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped green onion or scallion
For the Pesto Dressing
- 1/4 cup white vinegar
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup fresh basil
- 3 cloves garlic pressed
- 1/2 lemon juiced (about 2 tablespoons)
- 1 tablespoon Himalayan sea salt
- Fresh ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- Rinse the dried barley, and add it and the water to the rice cooker. Cook on ‘Grain’ Mode or ‘High’ for about 45 minutes to an hour, or until the rice cooker auto stops.
- In a large bowl, combine the chickpeas, navy beans, parsley, tomato, bell peppers, and chopped onion. Add the barley to the bowl.
- For the dressing, add all dressing ingredients to a blender, and blend on high until smooth. Taste and add additional salt or pepper if needed.
- Pour dressing over salad, and stir to combine.
- Store in an airtight container, and eat within 5 days.
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I may earn from qualifying purchases, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting the brands that support us!
