This kale arugula butter bean salad is our current go-to salad! Itโs creamy from the tahini dressing and soft butter beans, punchy and peppery from the arugula and radicchio, sharp from the grainy mustard and lemon, has a chopped kale salad vibe, and those crunchy bread crumbs finish it off just right. Weโve made a version of this at least 4 times in the last week alone. Big fans!
This is also the first time that Iโve posted a butter bean recipe here, which is shocking to me. I love how big they are and that super soft โbutteryโ texture. Perfect in salads like this one, vegan soup recipes, or for topping bowls. I always have a couple cans on hand.
You really do have to love the bitter flavor of radicchio and the peppery quality of arugula to get on board with this salad. I know that using fresh basil in this salad seems a bit random, but I think the subtle anise/peppery flavor is quite complimentary here.
Hope that you give this hearty 30 minute salad a go! Iโve been turning to it when Iโm in a hurry but still want something that feels nourishing.
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Kale Arugula Butter Bean Salad with Mustard Tahini & Garlicky Bread Crumbs
Ingredients
Garlicky Bread Crumbs
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 ยฝ cups fresh bread crumbs
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- ยฝ teaspoon garlic powder
- sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Grainy Mustard Tahini
- ยผ cup tahini
- sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 clove garlic finely grated with a Microplane
- 1 tablespoon grainy mustard
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- ยผ cup ice water, plus extra if needed
Kale Arugula Butter Bean Salad
- 4 cups baby arugula, lightly packed and chopped
- 4 cups kale, lightly packed and chopped
- 1 small head radicchio, chopped
- ยฝ cup basil leaves, finely sliced
- โ cup pickled red onions, chopped
- 13.5 oz (398 ml) can butter beans, drained and rinsed
- sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Notes
- Plenty of gluten free bread options work great for the fresh bread crumbs here!
- I used red kale from my garden for these photos, but Lacinato kale is ideal in this salad.
- To make prep easier, you can mix up the dressing and keep it in the fridge for up to a week. It may need a little loosening with water straight out of the fridge though.
Instructions
- Make the garlicky bread crumbs. Set a medium sautรฉ pan over medium heat. Once hot, pour in the olive oil and swirl it around. Add the bread crumbs, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Stir often, until bread crumbs are golden brown and crisp, about 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Make the grainy mustard tahini. In a medium bowl, whisk together the tahini, salt, pepper, garlic, grainy mustard, lemon juice, olive oil, and maple syrup. Then, while whisking, slowly pour in the ice water. Once you have a homogenous, creamy, and fluid/pourable texture, you're good! You may have to add a bit more water to get it to this point. Once the dressing is to your liking, set aside.
- Assemble the salad! In a large bowl, combine the arugula, kale, radicchio, basil, pickled red onions, butter beans, salt, and pepper. Pour all of the grainy mustard tahini dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Top the salad with the garlicky bread crumbs.
This recipe is absolutely fantastic! Love that food so good for us can be so delicious! The lemon tahini dressing is so good that I have to force my Self to occasionally make something different. Sometimes I use soy curls rather than the butter beans and bread crumbs, sometimes play with the greens if I donโt have whatโs called for. So good no matter what I do with it, we love it. Blessings for sharing this great recipe. (Love your cookbook, too.)
This was quite tasty, even to my somewhat bitter-averse palate! And itโs held up well in the fridge after 4 or 5 days (I store the breadcrumbs separately and add those when serving). I added extra beans. Iโm always looking to add a bit of sweetness to dishes, so I settled on adding a few chopped-up sesame-coated almonds to each bowl.
a great salad, love these ingredients, even if only for the different textures, but flavors too, and different from any of my regular salad recipes so thank you!
Absolutely delish & oh so easy to pull this salad together. My daughter and S-i-L had this for dinner last night and asked if this would be included in my regular recipe rotation since Iโm their weekday personal vegan chef. I donโt know what I would do without you, Laura, and your never fail deliciously delightful vegan recipes.
Laura, happy that the print function now works on your new website. The older print format always included your name so I would know the recipe was yours. The format has no indication of Laura Wright or The First Mess.
Beyond yummy. Substituted pickled onions with pickled cauli and fennel, added a handful of goji berry and pecans, super delicious! I will pickle some red onions and try with them as well. As always, thanks so much Laura!
Pickled cauliflower and fennel sounds absolutely perfect for this salad! Love your additions and am glad that you enjoyed :)
-L
Wow, what a beautiful salad. Iโve actually never had butter beans before! Iโll have to see if I can find them near me and give this recipe a try.