White Bean Tuna Salad

White Bean Tuna Salad is a quick and easy salad with creamy white beans, flaky tuna and crunchy veggies. It comes together with just a few pantry staples and some fresh veggies. Enjoy it as an entrée, side dish or on a sandwich!

If you’re looking for a way to change up your lunches or even dinner, you’ll love this cannellini bean salad with tuna. It has texture and flavour, and with plenty of protein and fibre, it will keep you full all afternoon! 

Why you’ll love this recipe

• Quick and easy: You really just need about 15 minutes to pull this salad together.

• Pantry staples: Canned tuna and white beans are the foundation of this salad.

• Variety: You can easily change up the salad by substituting different veggies.

• Versatile: It can be served as a main meal or a side salad for lunch or dinner, or piled in a wrap or on a sandwich.

• Mayo-free: There’s no mayonnaise in this tuna salad!

Details on the ingredients

White beans – The recipe calls for canned white beans. I normally use white kidney beans (also called cannellini beans) as their creamy texture pairs nicely with the tuna and crisp veggies. You can also use navy beans or great northern beans as a substitute.

Canned tuna – I used albacore flaked white tuna packed in water, but feel free to use another type of canned tuna that you have on hand.

Celery – Chopped celery adds a fresh crunch to this salad.

Red pepper – Adds a pop of sweet flavour to this otherwise savoury salad.

Red onion – For a little extra crunch and punch of flavour. 

Arugula – For a dose of greens, I love the addition of peppery arugula to this salad.

Salad dressing – The salad is topped with a basic dressing made with extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

How to make tuna bean salad

• Chop your celery, peppers and onion.

• Drain and rinse the white beans and drain the tuna.

• Add the beans and tuna to a large bowl along with the celery, pepper, onion and arugula.

• Mix together the salad dressing ingredients, pour over the bean mixture and toss to combine.

Frequently asked questions

What kind of tuna is best for white bean tuna salad? I like to use white flaked tuna as it mixes easily into the salad, but you can also use solid white tuna and break it apart with a fork. Solid or flaked light (as opposed to white) tuna works too. I used tuna packed in water, but you can also used tuna packed in oil for extra flavour. If you use a low sodium tuna, you will need to add more seasoning to the salad.

Can you eat white beans from the can? Absolutely. Just make sure they’re drained and rinsed well before adding them to the salad. No need to heat them first.

Can you use dried white beans in this recipe? For a quick recipe, I recommend canned white beans but if you have dried white beans and have time to cook them, you can definitely use them in this recipe. Just follow the package instructions for cooking the beans and make sure you have about 4 1/2 cups for the salad.

Can you make this bean salad in advance? This salad is best enjoyed within a few hours of making it. This gives the flavours a chance to blend, but the ingredients still remain fresh and crisp. You can prep your ingredients a day in advance, and even combine the beans and veggies (except the arugula) with salad dressing. Since canned tuna is best enjoyed fresh and the greens wilt quickly, I would wait to add them to the salad until a few hours before serving. 

How long will this salad last? While I think it tastes best the same day it is made, without the tuna and arugula, it will actually last for 3-4 days in the refrigerator. With the addition of tuna and greens, I would make sure to eat it within 1-2 days.

Notes on seasoning this tuna white bean salad

• This salad is not overly salty or seasoned so the flavour of the other ingredients can shine through. If you prefer more salt, pepper or any other seasoning, I suggest waiting to taste the salad first and then add more seasoning to suite your taste.

• I usually top the salad with an additional pinch of salt and pepper just before serving.

• While I used no salt added white beans for this recipe, you can use beans with salt added. Just note that you may wish to reduce the amount of salt you add to the salad.

• The tuna I used was not low sodium. Normally, I try to use no salt added or low sodium products where I can, but I just found the low sodium tuna wasn’t flavourful enough for this salad.

• The salad dressing makes enough just to coat the salad. If you like extra salad dressing, just double the recipe and reserve half to add to the salad before serving.

Additional recipe tips and substitutions

• Feel free to change up the salad and add other veggies such as cucumber, carrots, green pepper, green onions or baby tomatoes.

• If you don’t need this salad to be dairy-free, feel free to add cheese such as feta or parmesan.

• In place of the arugula, you can substitute chopped baby spinach or even chopped kale.

Other white bean recipes you might enjoy

• White Bean Dip with three easy recipe variations.

• Roasted Beet Hummus made with white beans instead of chickpeas.

• Chicken Fajita Soup with white beans for extra heartiness.

If you make this tuna and white bean salad, I would love to hear what you think in the comments below.

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