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Looking for a healthy and flavorful lunch option? Try this delicious tuna white bean salad! Packed with protein and nutrients, it is perfect for a quick and satisfying meal.
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Back in my college days, when the fridge was empty and I had no time to grocery shop, I often had to get creative with whatever I had in the pantry: a can of tuna, a can of white beans, olive oil, and a few random spices. One time, I made this tuna white bean salad, and to my surprise, it was simple, delicious, and filling. Over the years, I have tried different variations and the salad has evolved to include red onions, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and fresh parsley. I hope you love it as much as I do.
Healthy Tuna White Bean Salad
This low-calorie salad is made with only 5 main ingredients and tossed in a light dressing. White beans, tuna, red onion, scallions, and parsley are what you need for the salad. The bright, lemony vinaigrette is made with heart-healthy extra-virgin olive oil lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Very simple, but oh-so-flavorful! The lemon juice adds so much freshness to the salad, and the beans have a delicious and creamy taste. I love to pile it onto bread or dip and scoop it up with sourdough.
Be sure to also try my Mediterranean Tuna Salad and Tuna Pasta Salad.
Why You Will Love This Recipe!
- Flavorful: This 10-minute lunch recipe tastes amazing with vibrant fresh flavors.
- A handful of ingredients: You only need a handful of ingredients to make this recipe. Most of them you probably already have in your pantry and refrigerator.
- Quick recipe: Prep time is minimal, you can quickly meal prep the ingredients ahead of time and make lunch or dinner during the week a breeze.
Ingredients
- Canned white beans: Great Northern or Cannellini beans are great for this salad.
- Canned tuna: I prefer White Albacore Tuna In water or Chunk Light Tuna in water.
- Fresh vegetables: green onions, small red onion, lemon (can sub a tablespoon or two of cider vinegar), Optionally, you could also add chopped celery for more texture and minced clove garlic for extra flavor.
- Fresh herbs: fresh parsley. Alternatively, you can add other herbs like fresh basil or rosemary
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil: you can use light virgin olive oil for a milder flavor.
- Seasonings: salt, fresh ground black pepper
- Optional add-ins: Sometimes I also add halved cherry tomatoes, olives. You can add your favorite veggies.
How To Make Tuna White Bean Salad
- In a large bowl, combine the beans, tuna, red onion, parsley, and scallions.
- In a small bowl, combine oil, lemon juice, salt and black pepper.
- Add the dressing and add freshly chopped parsley to the salad, and toss gently until well combined.
- Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if necessary. Refrigerate for 1 hour or serve immediately.
TIPS FROM NELI’S KITCHEN
Recipe Notes and Tips
- Use fresh lemon juice rather than bottled. It has a much brighter and fresher flavor and makes all the difference!
- Canned beans work perfectly fine here, just be sure to drain and rinse them thoroughly before using.
- I think this salad tastes even better when you let it sit for a little bit or overnight as it allows all the flavors to develop.
Serving Suggestions
If you would like to make this salad for lunch, you could serve it in a gluten-free wrap, croissant, or on a slice of bread as a sandwich. It’s amazing! I think it tastes even better the next day after it has been refrigerated overnight – the longer it sits, the more the beans and tuna soak up the tasty lemony dressing.
Storing Tips
I usually store the salad in an airtight container or large jar in the refrigerator for about 1 – 2 days. After that, it may become too soggy.
White Bean Tuna Salad Recipe – Quick & Easy Meal
I love that this Tuna White Bean Salad is so easy to make. It requires no cooking time (if you use canned beans), and takes about 10-15 minutes to put together. Whether you are looking for a last-minute dish to bring to a potluck, or want to prepare a nutritious and satisfying lunch for the workweek, this salad is perfect!
If you give this recipe a try, let me know how you like it!
More Easy and Filling Salad Recipes
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Tuna and White Bean Salad
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Ingredients
Salad
- 12 oz cooked white kidney or navy beans, (you can use canned beans) drained and rinsed
- 10 oz drained canned tuna
- ½ red onion, chopped
- ½ cup thinly sliced scallions
- ⅓ cup fresh parsley
Dressing
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- juice of 1 lemon
- ½ teaspoon salt and freshly ground pepper
Instructions
Salad
- In a large bowl, combine the beans, tuna, red onion, and scallions.
Dressing
- In a small bowl, combine oil, lemon juice, salt and black pepper.
- Add the dressing and cut fresh parsley to the salad, and toss gently until well combined. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if necessary. Refrigerate for 1 hour or serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- Use fresh lemon juice rather than bottled. It has a much brighter and fresher flavor and makes all the difference!
- Canned beans work perfectly fine here, just be sure to drain and rinse them thoroughly before using.
- This salad tastes even better when you let it sit for a little bit or overnight as it allows all the flavors to develop.
If I want to use garlic next time.. at what point should I add it and how much?
You can add garlic when you add all the ingredients to the bowl.
Great salad – light and refreshing. I added the zest of the lemon to the dressing.
i did enjoy this.
Made this for lunch today; added celery, cherry tomatoes, dried cranberry over a bed of red lettuce. And I used a different dressing from Peas and Crayons which is similar to here but a few more ingredients in the lemon dressing. Very good
This was surprisingly tasty! Subbed lime cause that’s what I had, added lime zest. Left out scallions but added cucumber, capers and black olives. Delish.
Just got finished making this with a couple of changes/additions: multi-herb pesto and dried cranberries…YUM!!
Great recipe – I’ve been making for years with the addition of apple cider vinegar, very thinly sliced celery for a little crunch and some avocado slice on top 🙂
I made it and it is delicious! I’m just curious, though, it says 220 cal per serving. How much is one serving?
1 serving is probably about 1/2 cup. I usually eat about 2 on a leaf of lettuce – it’s very delicious & filling.
Nutritional info is useless without knowing the actually serving size/amount. To state there are 8 servings in this recipe is not enough!
I think that number of servings works too. If you follow the recipe and divide it into 8 equal portions, this is your serving size. Sometimes it’s hard to estimate exact serving size in oz. or grams for a lot of recipes. It’s easier to estimate the number of servings.
I agree completely-I weigh my food for logging purposes via MyFitnessPal (I’m maintaining a 60 lb weight loss- starting year 3 of maintenance) and weighing the total recipe, then dividing by the number of desired servings, is my method for all recipes. Thank you for this recipe- I look forward to trying it soon! I’ll be sure to rate it once I do so.
That’s wonderful, Paula!! Keep up the good work!! Hope you enjoy the recipe! It’s some of my readers’ favorite! Love that it’s so easy to put together and filling!
I did your tuna salad and my 2 friends love it ,me too I like your recipes they are very good and healthy
Thanks, Marcy! So glad to hear that you and your friends loved it!!