This dense bean salad is your new favourite meal staple

We share 3 cult-fave dense bean salad recipes taking the internet by storm. 

When Violet Witchel (aka. @violet.cooks) posted her new bean salad series to TikTok, the entire internet dubbed it as their new staple meal. With 2.5 million followers and 8 million views on her 12-part series, many flocked to her super simple recipe to try out the latest trendy food hack. It is comprised of three main steps, combining canned beans, fresh herbs, and some form of meat or substitute of your choosing. With such versatile bean salad stylings, Witchel is also gluten-free, meaning you can customise your dense bean salad – DBS for short –  to exactly how you want it.  

DBS is now a lifestyle, and the self-professed ‘Dense Bean Salad Girl’ has now infiltrated our everyday diet and social feed admittedly, with most videos inspired by her healthy recipes being some formation of a bean dish.  

1.6 million videos under the hashtag DBS later, we are sharing Witchel’s 3 cult-fave recipes with her captioned recipes for you to try at home. Quick, easy, satisfying, hearty, and packed full of balanced bean salad goodness. In the words of the Dense Bean Salad girl herself… “Toss everything together and enjoy!” 

1: Steak Chimichurri DBS 

Ingredients  

1 lb of flank steak 

A salty steak seasoning 

1 shallot  

1 bunch of parsley  

1 bunch of cilantro 

1/2 cup chopped roasted red peppers 

1 can of garbanzo beans  

1 can of white beans  

1 container of mini mozzarella balls  

1/4 cup red wine vinegar  

1/2 cup olive oil  

Pinch of red pepper flakes  

Big pinch of sea salt 

The juice of 1 lemon  

Instructions  

1. Generously season your flank steak and let the seasoning sit for at least 10 minutes.  

2. Heat a grill to high and add your flank steak, let it cook for 3-4 min on each side to get it to a medium rare.  

3. Let the steak rest while you make the rest of the salad  

4. Finely mince the shallot.  

5. Chop the parsley and cilantro.  

6. Drain the liquid off of the red peppers and thinly slice them.  

7. Add the shallots, parsley, cilantro, and peppers to a bowl.  

8. Rinse and drain the chickpeas and white beans.  

9. Drain the mozzarella balls.  

10. Add the beans and mozzarella to the bowl.  

11. Cube the steak into small pieces and add it.  

12. Add in the olive oil, red wine vinegar, red pepper flakes, sea salt, and lemon juice.  

13. Toss everything together and enjoy! 

2: The Balsamic Mediterranean salad  

Ingredients 

- 1 bag of Persian cucumbers 

- 1 red onion 

- 3 multicolor bell peppers 

- 1 head of parsley 

- 2 avocado 

- 2 cans of rinsed and drained chickpeas 

- 1/2 a cup olive oil 

- Juice of two lemons 

- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar 

- 1 tbs oregano 

- Big pinch of red pepper flakes 

- 1 tbs cumin 

- 1 tbs sea salt 

Instructions 

1. Dice your cucumbers and add them to a big salad bowl. 

2. Mince your red onion and add it to the bowl. 

3. Cut the ends off, core, and chop your bell peppers, and add them. 

4. Finely mince your parsley and add it. 

5. Cube your avocado and add them (optional) 

6. Add your chickpeas, olive oil, lemon juice, oregano, red pepper flakes, cumin, and salt. 

7. Toss everything together and enjoy! 

3: Grinder Bean Salad  

Ingredients

1 red onion  

2 bell peppers  

1 bunch of flat-leaf parsley  

1 can garbanzo beans  

1 can of white beans  

1/2 cup chopped banana peppers  

1/2lb peppered Genoa salami  

1/4 cup red wine vinegar  

1/2 cup good olive oil  

2 tsp oregano  

Juice of 1 lemon  

Instructions  

1. Dice the red onion, thinly slice the bell peppers and mince the parsley. Chop your banana peppers and thinly slice your salami.  

2. Rinse and drain your beans.  

3. Add your beans, onion, peppers, parsley, and salami to a bowl.  

4. Add the vinegar, olive oil, oregano, and lemon juice.  

5. Toss and enjoy! If you eat dairy this is also delicious with some mini mozzarella balls.