This cannellini bean salad is so easy to make (rustic/forgiving) it takes me under 10 minutes to get it from the cabinet to my mouth. The fact that I love it as much as I love many more elaborately-prepared dishes, goes to show how diverse our love of food is!
Here’s the recipe, which really is hardly a recipe.
Ingredients:
-1-2 cans (3-4 cups) cooked cannellini beans of your choice. (Whole Foods brand are $1.49 each and Aldi’s has them for $.89. But the ones from Aldi’s — at least in this summer of 2026 — are mushy, so either get a brand you know and like or start from dried beans.)
-3-4 tomatoes, rough chopped
-Fresh basil, chopped
-1-2 gloves of garlic, minced or pressed
-Salt and pepper
-Red onion rough chopped
-Olive oil
-Sweet balsamic vinegar
Instructions:
- Chop tomatoes, place them in a bowl, and salt immediately so they produce juice.
- Add all the other ingredients in any order and amounts you like.
- Mix well and adjust ingredients to taste.
- Toast some bread, rip it in pieces, and throw it in. Hopefully, it’ll get saturated with the juice at the bottom of the bowl. Mangia!