This Tuna and White Bean Salad is fresh, flavorful, and gets a nice boost of protein from albacore tuna and cannellini beans. With fresh vegetables, feta cheese, and an easy homemade vinaigrette, it’s perfect for lunch or a light dinner.
Recipe Highlights
- Nutritious: A satisfying combination of protein, fiber, healthy fats, and fresh vegetables.
- Simple Ingredients: Made with pantry staples including canned tuna, cannellini beans, and a simple homemade vinaigrette.
- Meal Prep: Easy to make ahead for lunches throughout the week.
- Quick: Ready in about 20 minutes for a satisfying lunch or light dinner.
- Flavor: Mediterranean-inspired flavors from capers, feta cheese, and a homemade red wine vinaigrette.
Ingredients
- Albacore tuna is the star of this salad, so choose a good-quality canned tuna. I like Wild Planet and Kirkland Signature solid white albacore tuna, both of which are available at Costco. The firm texture and clean flavor hold up beautifully in salads like this. I don’t recommend substituting chunk light tuna, which tends to be softer and flakier.
- Canned cannellini beans add fiber, protein, and a creamy texture that pairs perfectly with the crisp celery and fresh greens. They also make this salad more satisfying and substantial.
- Cherry tomatoes, red onion, and capers add color and bright Mediterranean-inspired flavor. If you’d like, finish the salad with a sprinkle of crumbled feta cheese for an extra layer of tangy, salty flavor.
- Mixed salad greens create a fresh, crisp base for this salad. Use your favorite lettuce blend or mixed baby greens.
- The simple red wine vinaigrette is made with pantry staples including extra-virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, Italian seasoning, garlic, and a touch of sugar.
How to Make Tuna White Bean Salad
- Break up the tuna. Drain the tuna, add it to a large bowl, and use a fork to break it into bite-sized pieces.
- Add the remaining salad ingredients. Add the cannellini beans, tomatoes, celery, red onion, capers, and parsley.
- Toss with the vinaigrette. Drizzle the salad with half of the vinaigrette and toss gently to combine.
- Serve over greens. Arrange the greens on a platter or in a salad bowl, top with the tuna and white bean mixture, and drizzle with the remaining vinaigrette before serving.
Meal Prep Tips
This Tuna and White Bean Salad is a great meal prep option for easy lunches throughout the week. Prepare the tuna and white bean mixture as directed and toss it with half of the vinaigrette. Store the mixture and remaining vinaigrette in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator.
When ready to serve, add the tuna and white bean mixture to a bed of mixed greens and drizzle with the remaining vinaigrette. Sprinkle with feta cheese, if desired. For the best quality, enjoy within 3 to 4 days.
Looking for more canned tuna recipes? Try my Tuna Salad with Capers and Dill and Tuna Lettuce Wraps.
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Tuna and White Bean Salad
Ingredients
For the Vinaigrette
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup red-wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon minced garlic
- ¼ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For the Tuna White Bean Salad
- 5 ounce can solid albacore tuna, like Wild Planet
- 15 ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
- 6 ounces cherry or grape tomatoes, halved, (about 1 cup)
- 1 rib celery, chopped
- ¼ cup diced red onion
- 2 tablespoons capers
- 2 tablespoons parsley
- 8 ounces mixed salad greens, like spring mix or your favorite lettuce blend
- ¼ cup crumbled feta cheese, omit for dairy-free
Instructions
- Add the vinaigrette ingredients to a mason jar or other airtight container and shake vigorously for a minute to combine. Set aside.
- Drain the tuna, place it in a bowl and break it up with a spoon. Add the beans, cherry tomatoes, celery, red onion, capers and parsley. Drizzle with half of the vinaigrette and toss lightly to combine.
- Place the greens in salad bowl or on a platter. Top with the tuna and white bean mixture. Drizzle with remaining vinaigrette and season with a little freshly ground black pepper. Sprinkle crumbled feta over the top and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home. All information provided regarding nutrition on this website is intended to be used for informational purposes only. Content related to nutrition is not medical advice nor is it intended to replace medical advice. The website is not intended to diagnose, prescribe, or treat any disease, condition, illness, or injury. Before beginning any diet program, modifying your diet, or making changes to the diet of a child in your care, including following the nutrition information available on the website, you should seek advice from a licensed professional.
This is such a delightful recipe, and healthy. Personally the hubby and I can’t stand the sweet taste of albacore from any brand. So we just used our favorite yellowfin Genova tuna in olive oil. It’s actually quite firm and doesn’t get mushy and worked perfectly in this wonderful recipe, thank you! Just signed up for your emails because I see so much delicious recipes here.
Hi Catherine! I’m so glad you loved the salad. Thanks so much for signing up 🙂