Italian-Style Bruschetta Bean Salad Recipe

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This tasty Italian bruschetta bean salad recipe is a light, refreshing, and flavorful summer side dish! Made with four different types of legumes, fresh herbs, and a delicious 5-minute bruschetta-style dressing.

It’s a tasty and sophisticated side dish that’s perfect for summertime entertaining. Make this bright and zesty bean salad along with us today and see our step-by-step photos and video below!

Want more plant-based bean salad recipes? Try our old-fashioned four bean salad, creamy kidney bean salad, and our favorite white bean and olive salad recipe.

creamy italian style bean salad with bruschetta and feta cheese dressing

Table of Contents

If you are looking for a simple and delicious Italian-style bean salad, this fantastic recipe is perfect for summer! It uses fresh green beans from the garden or farmers market, lentils, chickpeas, and white beans all tossed together in our delicious tomato basil bruschetta dressing.

This recipe is a wonderful combination of flavors and textures. Each bite is hearty, tangy, and delicious! Serve as a dinnertime side dish or as a summer lunch idea.

Notes from the Kitchen

This Italian bruschetta bean salad recipe is bright, refreshing, and loaded with garlicky, tangy dressing.
It’s ready in under 30 minutes, making it a great side dish you can get to the table quick.
It also makes a wonderful meal prep lunch to cook a batch on the weekends and enjoy on-the-go meals during the week.
It’s versatile – you can add in your favorite beans or see our serving suggestions below.
Cooks of any skill level can successfully make this bean salad by following along with our step-by-step photos or watching our video in the post below.

Ingredients You’ll Need

See our recipe card below for the full ingredient amounts and instructions.

The beans in this recipe are made with some of our favorite Italian style beans. We love serving this bean salad with fresh steamed green beans, canned chickpeas, green lentils, and navy beans. These four beans add a really nice flavor and texture contrast in each bite!

The bruschetta-style dressing is made with chopped tomatoes, garlic, white wine vinegar, sugar, olive oil, and fresh italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.

We also finished this dish with fresh herbs like chopped parsley and basil. Both of those give this salad a really nice flavor profile. We also add a little feta cheese for a briny finish.

Additions and Substitutions

Omit the cheese for a vegan version. Or use a plant-based cheese instead. As a replacement for feta, you could also add some freshly shaved Parmesan Romano cheese.

Instead of a homemade bruschetta, you could stir in a store-bought bruschetta if you prefer. Just be sure to add a little extra olive oil or vinegar after tasting if the bean salad needs it.

You could try making this bean salad with other varieties of beans. A more classic three bean style salad with chickpeas, green beans and kidney beans would also work well. Or try adding in black beans pinto beans, or cannellini beans instead of navy beans.

Step-By-Step Photos and Directions

a bowl of italian style beans: chickpeas, lentils, and navy beans

Step 1: In a large mixing bowl, add the chickpeas, lentils, and navy beans.

chopped bruschetta being added to the beans

Step 2: In a separate bowl, mix the chopped tomatoes, garlic, white wine vinegar, sugar, olive oil, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Pour this bruschetta mixture over the beans.

steamed green beans in a collander being drained for bean salad

Step 3: In a small pot with a steamer basket, steam the trimmed green beans until tender and drain them well.

green beans with chopped tomatoes and italian 4 bean salad

Step 4: Add the drained green beans to the bowl with the other beans and bruschetta. Add in the fresh basil.

fresh crumbled feta cheese on bean salad tossed with a dressing

Step 5: Crumble the feta cheese over the bean salad, then toss well to combine.

a big bowl of bean salad with feta cheese and bruschetta and italian beans

Step 6: Serve at room temperature and enjoy!

Recipe FAQs

What ingredients are in this bruschetta bean salad?

We use fresh green beans chickpeas, navy beans, and lentils to give a nice variety of textures and flavor in the bean salad. The dressing is made with a 5-minute bruschetta sauce made with fresh chopped tomatoes, olive oil, white wine, vinegar, garlic and fresh herbs like basil and parsley.

Can you make this bean salad ahead of time?

Yes, this is a fantastic salad to make ahead as it doesn’t have many fresh greens that will wilt when stored in the refrigerator. You can make this recipe up to 2 days in advance. Just be sure to give it a good stir before serving.

How to store leftovers

Store any leftover bean salad in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Can you make this Italian bean salad vegan?

Yes, just skip the cheese or replace it with a plant-based version to make this recipe vegan.

Serving Suggestions

This recipe is fantastic to enjoy on its own as a side dish or a light lunch.

If serving this with dinner, it would go great with your favorite plant-based protein or Italian style pasta. Try. Our fresh angel hair pomodoro, our rigatoni arabiata sauce, or our oat milk Alfredo for great plant-based Italian favorites.

Expert Tips

This bean salad makes an excellent meal prep lunch! It’s vegetarian and high in plant-based protein.
Steaming fresh green beans gives this bean salad a wonderful color and texture. However, feel free to use canned green beans if you prefer.
Similarly, if you have time to make the fresh bruschetta dressing, it adds a really nice taste to the salad, but store-bought bruschetta can also be used in a pinch.

a bowl of bean salad with bruschetta dressing easy italian bean salad recipes

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