Tuna White Bean Salad with Basil and Lemon
Updated Oct 26, 2023, Published Jan 30, 2019
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This Cannellini White Bean Salad is incredibly delicious, made with tuna, fresh basil, and zingy lemon. It’s light, fresh and ready in under 10 minutes, perfect for lunch or as a healthy side dish.
Salads don’t get much easier than this and even although it’s made with super simple ingredients (and few of them) it’s FULL of flavour and I love it for 3 main reasons:
- It’s fast – the only bit of effort you need to make is finely chopping an onion so this salad is ready in under 10 minutes, yup now you definitely can’t beat that!
- It’s fresh and healthy – the lemon juice, zest, fresh basil, and onion all give this salad the most delicious freshness, flavour and it’s packed with protein and is extremely good for you.
- It can be prepped ahead of time – you can whip it up in advance and enjoy it for lunch on the go or serve it up at barbecues or picnics plus the flavours get a chance to develop!
The Best Beans To Use
Cannellini beans are my bean of choice, I just love the texture, creaminess and flavour especially if you buy high-quality ones. Whilst living in Italy I came across these white beans sold in jars and not just canned.
Once I tried them I could not believe the difference in flavour and texture (so much more creamy and so much more delicious). If you can’t find jarred ones, use higher quality canned ones and don’t go for the cheapest ones.
Tip: If you want to switch things up you could also use butter beans but the texture will be slightly different.
How to Make White Bean Salad – Step By Step
Drain and rinse the cannellini bean and add to a large mixing bowl (photo 1).
Drain the tuna and add that to the bowl alongside finely chopped onion, lemon zest, and juice (photos 2-4).
Drizzle over some olive oil and season with salt and pepper, finally add some chopped basil and toss to combine (photos 5 & 6).
Super easy, right? There’s no dressing to make, it all just mixes together and tastes incredible. You can also prep this salad in advance and just keep it in the fridge until you need it.
Top Tips for Making White Bean Salad
- Use good quality tuna and make sure it’s from a sustainable source.
- Quality also goes for the cannellini beans, don’t go for the cheapest as they tend to be harder and not as tasty.
- Make sure to rinse the cannellini beans before adding to the salad.
- You can use tuna canned in water or oil.
More Healthy and Fresh Salads You Might Like:
- Classic Caprese Salad
- Warm White Bean Salad – Tomato, Prosciutto & Baby Mozzarella
- Green bean Salad with Mustard and Garlic Dressing
- Fennel Courgette Salad with Smoked Scamorza & Chilli
- Summer Easy Bean Salad
If you’ve tried these Tuna White Bean Salad or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more delicious food and what I’m getting up to.
Step By Step Photos Above
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Tuna White Bean Salad
Ingredients
- 5.6 oz (160g) tuna, , in oil
- 1.5 lbs (720g) cannellini beans, (2 cans)
- 1 red onion
- a large handful of basil
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1/2 lemon juice, , freshly squeezed
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper, to season
Instructions
- Drain and rinse the cannellini beans and place in a large bowl then drain the tuna and add to the bowl.
- Finely chop the red onion and add to the bowl with the cannellini beans and tuna. Grate the zest of 1 lemon over the tuna and beans then squeeze over the juice of half the lemon. Season with salt and pepper.
- Finely chop the basil and add to the bowl along with 2-3 tbsp olive oil (add more if desired). Stir everything until combined. Enjoy.
Video
Notes
Top Tips for Making White Bean Salad
- Use good quality tuna and make sure it's from a sustainable source.
- Quality also goes for the cannellini beans, don't go for the cheapest as they tend to be harder and not as tasty.
- Make sure to rinse the cannellini beans before adding to the salad.
- You can use tuna canned in water or oil.
- Serves 4 as a main or 6 as a side.
Helpful Info for All Recipes
- I always use extra virgin olive oil in all of my recipes unless stated otherwise
- When I use canned or jarred tomatoes of any kind I always use Cirio or Mutti brands for the best results and flavour.
- All vegetables are medium sized unless stated otherwise
- All recipes are tested and developed using a fan (convection) oven
- Find out more about how nutrition is calculated.
- Check out our must have Italian Pantry Staples.
- You can also find all our Essential Kitchen Tools for Italian Cooking.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
So amazing loved this. I used cilantro because that’s what I had.
I LOVE this salad. I didn’t have basil so I used cilantro and it turned out so good. I piled it on top of whole grain toast. Delicious
I like beans and I like tuna and now, I love this salad! 😊🌷
So happy you enjoyed it!
I just love this! So simple but super duper tasty!!
It’s so quick and easy too, thanks so much!
This recipe is a keeper! I used dill instead of basil but followed exactly otherwise. I tasted it so much (just checking the flavors) there was probably only two thirds left by the time I was finished. Really yummy. Thanks for sharing.