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Oozing Mediterranean charm, Turkish white bean salad is juicy beans, bitey peppers, tangy red onion and plenty of parsley in a creamy (no cream), lemon and garlic tahini dressing. This entirely vegan salad is a hearty side to grilled fish or meat, or mezze meal.
I am all over white bean salads right now, they’re cool, quick to throw together, and economical. I’m alternating this Turkish salad and fishy Puttanesca salad every week!
I ate this white bean salad on holiday in Türkiye recently and absolutely adored it! I had it in a restaurant alongside a whole grilled sea bream fresh from the Aegean Sea. However, a friend who lived in Istanbul some years ago told me how she had come across it in a more traditional setting.
She said fasulye piyazi, the cheap and simple dish, is typically eaten at home and comes with kofte (meatballs). Or, almost by extension, served in small, local, lunch-only restaurants specialising in ev yemekleri, homemade food. This type of restaurant is unique in that the homemade fare is served to you from an abundant buffet of mezze by the women who prepared it.
I loved hearing the nostalgic story and knowing that the dish is the Turks go-to for a quick midweek dinner. Which aligns exactly with the Vikalinka spirit, so I had to bring it to the blog!
Turkish salad
No-one does clean-eating better than the populations that line the Med, in my opinion anyway! It’s all beans, fresh vegetables, oils and protein in the form of fish, grilled meat and eggs. And this Mediterranean white bean salad is a prime example of that.
Brimming with mild and earthy white cannellini beans as its base, then studded with diced tomato and red pepper (my addition!), riddled with thinly sliced red onion and flecked with peppery parsley, this is a hearty and nutritious side dish.
Even in Türkiye there are variations, and I’ve also adapted the traditional recipe to make it my own. A Turkish version might also include pitch black and slightly sun dried olives and come topped with a halved, hardboiled egg.
You can tinker with your own version too, but the key ingredients are: white beans, tomatoes, red onion and parsley and of course, dressing…
Tahini salad dressing
Depending where you are in Türkiye, this white bean salad will come with a different dressing. If you’re closer to Europe, it will be dressed simply with olive oil and lemon juice. Closer to the Middle East, it will come with a creamy, garlicky, tahini dressing.
I love tahini salad dressing, and am making it constantly, year-round, to use on all sorts of things; roasted vegetables; as a dip for meatballs, crudités or breadsticks; as a sandwich spread; or dolloped on a sweet baked potatoeven!
To make the best tahini dressing, you need a decent tahini. I usually buy mine from my local Middle Eastern shop, choosing one from Israel, Lebanon or Palestine. This is an affiliate link.Tahini paste (not sauce!) should be 100% sesame seeds, no added salt or sugar. And don’t worry if the oil has become separated, it’s natural, just give it a really good stir each time you use it.
Recipe Tips and Notes
- Add a diced red pepper if you want to sneak in a bonus plant point. I did!
- Olives and boiled eggs are traditional additions too, but I left them both out to better suit my family’s taste.
- Simplify your salad dressing to just This is an affiliate link.olive oil and lemon juice if you prefer.
What goes with it
As my friend told me, this Turkish salad is typically part of an easy family meal with homemade meatballs. So why not start there? Try either:
- Spanish albondigas: these are paprika and parsley-spiked meatballs. Just skip the sauce and swap ground pork for lamb to make them more Turkish.
- Meatballs in pomegranate sauce: this is a quick Middle Eastern spiced meatball recipe using ground beef and pork, but feel free to mix and match for your preferred meat.
Or if you’re catering to a crowd, show off your mezze-making skills with these simple classics:
- hummus
- flatbreads
- tzatziki (or cacik in Turkish)
- fattoush– a parsley-packed, tomato and cucumber salad
- falafel and tabbouleh
Storage and leftovers
Turkish salad is an easy one to make ahead as it will keep in an This is an affiliate link.airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. During that time the flavours will intensify and meld for even bigger impact. It’s an easy one to pack up for a picnic day out, or take to the office for lunch.
More hearty salads to try
- Puttanesca White Bean Salad
- Avocado and Corn Salad
- Cowboy Caviar
- Italian Chopped Salad
White Bean Salad with Lemon Tahini Dressing (Piyaz)
Ingredients
For the dressing
- 4 tbsp This is an affiliate link.tahini
- 1 lemon, juice only
- 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic, grated
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp salt
- water
For the salad
- 2x400g cans This is an affiliate link.cannellini beans, 480g drained
- 1 tomato, diced
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 1/2 red onion, sliced thinly
- 2 tbsp parsley, chopped
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Make the tahini dressing by whisking together the tahini with grated or pressed garlic, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, cumin and salt. The mixture will thicken immediately, so to loosen it add some water 1 tablespoon at a time until desired consistency (approximately 4 tbsp).
- Prepare the vegetables by dicing the tomato, red pepper, slicing the onion and chopping the parsley. In a large bowl combine the beans and the vegetables, then add the dressing. Taste and add more salt. Allow the salad to chill in the fridge for at least one hour for the flavours to blend.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
