This epic Butter Bean Salad only takes 10 minutes to make and is inspired by Vietnamese flavours. We've got a Nước chấm (delicious spicy fish sauce) dressing with mint, cilantro, green onions, crushed peanuts, and fried shallots for extra flavour. This salad blew my mind so I'm super excited for you to try it!
When I traveled to Vietnam, I became obsessed with their powerful yet subtle use of ingredients and flavours. I then worked at a Vietnamese restaurant where I learnt so much about their cooking methods, ingredient pairings, and authentic recipes. This salad with butter beans is far from authentic, but it borrows some of my most favourite elements of Vietnamese salads.
For more Vietnamese-inspired recipes, check out my Vietnamese-inspired cabbage rolls, my Banh Mi recipe (a gorgeous Vietnamese sandwich), or for another summer salad, my Vietnamese summer salad recipe with vermicelli noodles!
If you're obsessed with butter beans like me, then you'll love my butter bean soup recipe, butter bean and spinach curry, or Korean-style butter bean recipe!
For more tasty salad recipes, check out my Dill Pickle Egg Salad or my apple fennel salad, perfect for a sunny day!
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About Emily's Recipe
If you're new here, hi! I'm Emily - a recipe developer, food content creator, and cookbook author! Thanks for stopping by to check out my Butter Bean Salad recipe. I really hope you enjoy it and please do let me know in the comments if you give it a go!
If you'd like to join a community of food lovers, just subscribe to my newsletter for recipes, cooking tips, and foodie chats. Now, let me tell you a bit more about this recipe...
Texture: the butter beans are soft and meaty, you've then got the crunch from all the fresh vegetables and leafy texture from the herbs!
Taste: it's sweet from dressing, spicy from the dressing, fresh from the herbs, and earthy from the beans!
Ease: this recipe is just a lot of chopping and assembling. Get some music on and enjoy!
Top Tips: 1. use good quality butter beans for the best tasting salad! 2. The dressing will be really spicy if you try it, but remember that it will be spread out amongst all the other veg so won't end up being very hot. 2. If you want to spoon the salad (instead of using a fork), slice up everything really small. Otherwise, just follow my instructions.
Would I make this again? yes, for sure, it's great for a spring or summer's day meal!!
Ingredients and Substitutions
Butter beans: for the best result, I urge you to buy the best quality butter beans you can find. You want them to be chunky, juicy, and full of flavour. If you're not a fan of butter beans, you could use cannellini beans or chickpeas.
Cucumber: for freshness, we're using cucumber. If you don't have cucumber, you could use celery or avocado.
Carrot: for colour and crunch. If you don't have carrot, red bell pepper would be a great substitute.
Spring onion: or scallions. This adds a lovely tang and freshness to the dish. If you don't have spring onions, you could use chives!
Radishes: for crunch and colour! If you don't have these, then just omit them.
Herbs: we're using cilantro (coriander) and mint! If you don't have either of these or want something different, then you could add in Thai basil (or regular basil).
The sauce: for our nuoc Cham-inspired sauce, we need sugar, fish sauce, lime juice, red chilli, and garlic.
Garnishes: we're adding roasted peanuts (crushed) and fried onions (I just bought a packet from the supermarket). I've also topped the whole salad with chilli oil for extra spice! But that's optional!
The full list of ingredients and measurements is at the bottom of this blog, just scroll down to find the recipe card!
Step by step instructions with photos
Step 1: First up, you want to make the spicy fish dressing. In a small bowl, combine the sugar, hot water, fish sauce, lime juice, sliced red chillies, and minced garlic. Mix thoroughly so that the sugar dissolves and combines. Season with a pinch of salt, mix again. Taste a tiny spoonful of the sauce (try and avoid the chili and garlic). It will be spicy, but season according to your taste!
Step 2: Next up, prepare all of your vegetables and ingredients.
Step 3: Once your ingredients are sliced and the beans are rinsed. To a large bowl, add in the butter beans, top with sliced carrots, sliced cucumbers, spring onions, radishes, mint leaves, fresh cilantro (coriander), crushed peanuts, fried shallots and drizzle over the sauce. Toss the salad until everything is well coated.
Step 4: Transfer the butter bean salad onto a serving dish. Top with more herbs, crushed peanuts, fried shallots and optionally some chili oil! Enjoy, my friends!
What to do with leftovers
Storage: this butter bean salad actually stores very well. Place into an airtight container and into the fridge and store for up to 3 days.
Preparation post-storage: to soup up the salad once it's been stored in the fridge, I recommend adding a few more fresh herbs, nuts, and fried onions for additional crunch!
FAQs
For sure, get some cooked shredded chicken and add that into the salad! Sliced steak would also go really well with this!
You can serve it on its own, but it goes really well with fried meat, crispy tofu, baked sweet potatoes, in a sandwich with extra mayonnaise, or with fries.
For sure! Replace with cooked cannellini beans, pinto beans, or chickpeas!
More recipes you might enjoy!
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Butter Bean Salad (10 Minutes)
Ingredients
- 800g butter beans 400g drained weight
- ½ large cucumber sliced into matchsticks
- 1 large carrot sliced into matchsticks
- 2 spring onion finely sliced
- 120 g radishes sliced in half, then finely sliced
- 15 g cilantro roughly chopped (plus more for garnish)
- 15 g mint leaves (plus more for garnish)
- 2 tablespoon roasted peanuts crushed (plus more for garnish)
- 2 tablespoon fried shallots (plus more for garnish)
- 1 tablespoon chilli oil optional
for the sauce
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 3 tablespoon hot water
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 red chilli finely sliced
- 1 garlic clove minced
Instructions
- First up, you want to make the spicy fish dressing. In a small bowl, combine the sugar, hot water, fish sauce, lime juice, sliced red chillies, and minced garlic. Mix thoroughly so that the sugar dissolves and combines. Season with a pinch of salt, mix again. Taste a tiny spoonful of the sauce (try and avoid the chili and garlic). It will be spicy, but season according to your taste!
- Next up, prepare all of your vegetables and ingredients.
- Once your ingredients are sliced and the beans are rinsed. To a large bowl, add in the butter beans, top with sliced carrots, sliced cucumbers, spring onions, radishes, mint leaves, fresh cilantro (coriander), crushed peanuts, fried shallots and drizzle over the sauce. Toss the salad until everything is well coated.
- Transfer the butter bean salad onto a serving dish. Top with more herbs, crushed peanuts, fried shallots and optionally some chili oil! Enjoy, my friends!
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