In this beans and arugula pesto salad, warmed cannellini beans are tossed with a zesty pesto sauce made with arugula and almonds. They are layered on dressed baby arugula greens, and served with croutons and grated cheese.
You guys. I made this recipe three times in the past two weeks. For someone who LOVES switching things up on the lunch and dinner front, that is a big and bold statement of how amazing this salad is.
Beans and greens are a classic combination. I have this duo often as a soup, and of course it works great in salads too. For veg-heads like myself, they are the ultimate secret weapon for making any meal hearty enough. Minestrone looking too thin? Add a can of beans. Need a dip for those roasted veggies? Puree a can of beans. Salad needs a little more staying power? Rinse, drain and add some beans. You get the picture.
In this recipe, I used cannellini beans, which I love because of their buttery, creamy flesh. They have a mild flavour which is the perfect canvas for the bold flavours of the pesto.
I am linking my favourite brand of store-bought beans, which I buy from this Canadian-owned company. Neither of these mentions is sponsored, and I have no affiliation with either brand, I’m just trying to be helpful. I’ve linked the large cans (of which you need only 1 to make this warm bean salad). You can, of course, cook your own beans too, you’ll need 2 ½ cups of drained beans.
Why I love pesto
I plan on devoting a full post to the amazingness that is pesto, to show you all the myriad ways it can be:
switched up into fresh variations on the same theme
used to doctor up pretty much anything else you cook in your kitchen.
For now, I wanted to mention this: you do NOT need to make your own, from-scratch pesto to make this beans and arugula pesto salad. If you find a good quality pesto that you enjoy, use that. Hint: the good ones will be in the refrigerated section of your grocery store, not in jars in the pasta isle.
In this pesto, I use arugula as the “herb,” as it has an assertive flavour that plays up well against the mild, creamy beans. You can endlessly adapt your pesto to what you have in your pantry, fridge or garden. I’ve so far made different pesto versions with basil (obvi), parsley, kale, and spinach. They’ve all been great. Genovese basil is traditional, and you can certainly use that here if you dislike arugula.
The nuts can be varied too: sliced almonds (whole ones take longer to break down, but not impossible), cashews, pistachios (OMG so good) can be used in place of the traditional pine nuts. I apologize to my Italian friends for bastardizing pesto; I could not help myself. But I have no regrets, this beans and arugula pesto salad is a real winner.
How to customize this recipe to your tastes
if making pesto from scratch is a no-go for your busy schedule, buy a good quality pesto and use that. You will need ⅓ cup to ½ cup of ready-made pesto, depending on your taste
I prefer cannellini beans, but any white beans, such as Great Northern or even Navy beans will work
if you don’t like arugula, or cannot find it in your area, use a basil pesto, and for the salad itself, substitute with baby kale or even super mild greens like spring mix, romaine or Boston lettuce
you can make a traditional basil pesto and use that instead of the arugula pesto, but increase the Pecorino to ⅓ cup as it takes more to stand up to the highly aromatic basil
you can absolutely make this vegan by omitting the cheese, or substituting it with an assertive vegan cheese. Sadly, I can’t offer any recommendations, as I haven’t been able to find a vegan store-bought cheese I reeeeaallly liked. I’d rather just omit the cheese altogether, in which case increase the salt slightly to compensate for it
to make it gluten free and grain free, omit the croutons and substitute with ⅓ cup pine nuts, briefly toasted in a pan until golden
2cans (14 fl oz each, or 450 drained weight, 2 ½ cups drained beans) cannellini beans,warmed up
4cupsarugulaor other greens like spring mix, or romaine lettuce, baby kale etc.
1tspextra virgin olive oil
½tsplemon juice
¼tspsalt
1cupcroutonsstore bought or homemade, or ¼ to ⅓ cup toasted pine nuts
Instructions
For the pesto, add the arugula, almonds, cheese, garlic and salt to the bowl of a food processor and process until everything is finely chopped. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally. With the motor running, drizzle in the olive oil and lemon juice, and process a couple minutes more, until well pureed but not completely smooth.
For the salad, add the warmed drained beans to a large bowl, and add about ⅓ cup of pesto. Toss the beans and pesto together gently with a spoon, so the beans are well coated in the sauce. Again, be gentle so as not to crush and puree the beans. Taste and adjust for salt, if needed. Set aside.
In another large bowl, toss the arugula or greens of your choice with the small amount of olive oil, lemon juice and the salt, until the greens are well dressed.
To serve, on each plate layer: some dressed greens as a base, then some beans, and finally some croutons. Add a grating of cheese on each plate, if desired.
I don’t recommend mixing all the beans into the arugula, only as much as you’ll eat in one sitting. Leftover pesto’d beans can be kept in the refrigerator for 2-3 more days, and only add greens right before you plan to serve them.
Keyword arugula pesto, bean salad, beans and arugula pesto salad, beans with pesto, cannellini beans
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