During the warmer months, there’s nothing better than prepping an amazing salad for lunch. This time of year is when many veggies are in their prime, making the whole dish taste so much more delicious.
I feel like people are now learning that salads are no longer the boring, leafy concoctions they once were. The more flavour, colour and textures in a salad, the better — and there’s one viral recipe that has been catching my eye on TikTok recently. This ‘dense bean salad’, made up of so many healthy and delicious ingredients, is far from boring — and it’ll become your new favourite lunch.
One TikTok chef, Violet Witchel, has been posting her dense bean salad recipes for a couple of years now. She’s had millions of views on her videos, and each one of her salads is different — but they all have that delicious, filling quality that’s just what you need in the middle of the day.
Recently I’ve been seeing more and more people sing the praises of these salads. And as a long-time lunch hater who is always looking for the quickest and easiest recipes, I thought that a salad would hit the spot.
I was correct, and this particular version I made genuinely kept me full for hours. Packed with fibre and protein from the beans, the crunch of fresh veggies and the zing of a sundried tomato-based dressing, this was truly everything I could want from a fast WFH lunch. Here’s how I made it.
Method
First off, when it comes to the salad, there really are no rules around how much of each ingredient you use — it’s entirely up to you. However, you do want to chop them up really small, so that you can eat the salad with a spoon.
I wanted mine to last a few days, so I ditched lettuce in favour of options I knew would remain crunchy, like cucumbers and peppers.
The cheese you use is also optional. I’ve seen recipes with mozzarella balls and parmesan, but feta in a salad is just delicious.
And of course, the main event, the beans. I used chickpeas and edamame in my salad, but kidney beans, black beans, cannellini beans, and butterbeans would all work great, too.
Simply put all of the veggies, beans and feta in a bowl, then whisk together all of the dressing ingredients before pouring it over the salad and giving everything a really good mix. This particular recipe made two servings, so you can double up the ingredients if you want it to last longer.
This is the perfect lunch in my opinion. It’s super healthy and filling, it’s easy to meal prep, and it tastes even better the next day. Also, it’s great for using up any leftover scraps of veg you have in the fridge, and with the other ingredients mainly being cupboard staples, it’s an affordable option too.
