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This Dilly White Bean Cucumber Salad is a picnic-perfect side dish that tosses crisp cucumbers, creamy white beans, and lots of fresh dill with a refreshingly zingy vinaigrette. Vegan and Gluten-Free, Oil-Free Option.
This Cucumber and White Bean Salad will quickly become one of your favorite salad recipes! This simple and crowd-pleasing side dish combines crunchy cucumbers, creamy white beans, and a ton of fresh dill with a simple 6-ingredient lemon and garlic dressing. It’s the perfect make-ahead lunch or protein-packed side, plus a guaranteed hit for the family picnic or barbecue.
Table of Contents
A White Bean Salad with a Mediterranean Twist
I love a good pasta salad (one bowl of this Creamy Dill Pickle Pasta Salad just isn’t enough), but something about garden-fresh veggie & bean combo is equally irresistible once the weather warms up. Lucky for me, this Dilly White Bean & Cucumber Salad is what my summer side dish dreams are made of.
So much more than a Mediterranean white bean salad, this dish has no shortage of fresh herbs, crisp seasonal vegetables, protein-packed white beans, and zesty citrus in every bite. And the simple 6-ingredient lemon and garlic dressing? I recommend you make a double batch for future use 😉
Toss this zesty, refreshing, and hearty salad together in just 10 minutes and enjoy it for a sunny picnic in the park or for a ready-to-go lunch that’ll last you throughout the week.
Ingredients for Cucumber Salad with Dill
This savory and hearty bean salad calls for a few seasonal ingredients and pantry staples.
- White beans: I made this salad with soft and creamy Great Northern beans, but cannellini beans, navy beans, or lima beans (butter beans) will all work just as well. You can also use chickpeas, but they won’t be as soft.
- Persian cucumbers: These cucumbers are smaller than English cucumbers and much more crisp and crunchy. No need to peel them ahead of time; their thin dark green skin is easy to eat and adds a nice color contrast. If you can’t find Persian cucumbers, use half of an English cucumber or a peeled field cucumber instead.
- Dill: The secret weapon in this perfect picnic dish is lots of fresh dill. It adds loads of garden-fresh flavor that dried dill just can’t mimic (it’s missing that crucial punch). Make sure you buy extras to use in this Crunchy Cucumber Dill Salad!
- Radishes: Another satisfying crunch in this salad comes from radishes cut into matchsticks. Stick with classic red radishes, or use watermelon radishes for a gorgeous pop of pink.
- Lemon juice: Freshly squeezed lemon juice adds a tart flavor to the dressing. Room temperature lemons are easier to juice, so remember to take them out of the fridge about 10 minutes before preparing the dressing.
- EVOO: Rich and flavorful extra virgin olive oil completes the vinaigrette. If you’d prefer to keep the dressing oil-free, replace the oil with an equal amount of runny tahini. The dressing will have a creamier consistency but will still have wonderful Mediterranean flavors.
How to Make This White Bean Salad Recipe
- Whisk the garlic, lemon juice, oil, mustard, salt, and pepper together in a small bowl. Set aside for 5 minutes.
- Add the beans, cucumber, radishes, dill, and green onions to a large bowl. Pour the dressing over top and toss to coat. Taste the salad and adjust the flavors as needed.
- Serve the salad right away or store it in the refrigerator for later.
Caitlin’s Cooking Tips
- Marinate the raw garlic: There’s nothing like biting into a piece of raw garlic to shock your system. The key to avoiding this is to let the vinaigrette sit at room temperature for at least 5 minutes before pouring it over the salad. This gives the lemon juice time to mellow out the strong flavors of the raw garlic, giving the dressing a perfectly balanced flavor.
- Keep your dill fresh with the right storage techniques: Whether you buy the dill in advance or you end up with extras, the best way to help it last for up to 2 weeks is by wrapping it in a damp paper towel, placing it in a sealed ziplock bag, and storing in your fridge’s vegetable crisper. Check out this article from Urban Farmie for more tips on storing and freezing dill.
- Canned beans are best! You technically can cook dried beans for this salad, but I find that canned beans are much softer and creamier. Dried beans are better off in soups and stews, like this White Bean Stew. If you do want to cook the beans yourself, find the simple instructions in the FAQs below.
Serving Suggestions
This vegan bean salad will fit right in at your next vegan cookout. Start the meal with this Grilled Romaine and Charred Corn Salad, followed by this cucumber salad alongside this Roasted Broccoli Quinoa Salad. Enjoy these Grilled Pesto Tofu Sliders for the main dish, then finish the meal with this Grilled Peach Cobbler for dessert.
The salad is also a fantastic side dish for lunches or light dinners. Pair it with these Rainbow Veggie Sandwiches with Hummus or this Vegan Eggplant Reuben for a hearty and filling meal.
If you’re looking for more veggie bean salad recipes, you’ll also love this Easy Tex Mex Black Bean Salad and this Mediterranean Chickpea Salad!
How to Store White Bean and Cucumber Salad
Store the leftover dill cucumber salad in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. It will stay fresh and flavorful when kept in an airtight container or in individual glass jars. Freezing is not recommended.
Serve the chilled salad straight from the fridge or set it on the kitchen counter for 5 to 10 minutes so it can come down to room temperature first. Either way, the leftovers are delicious!
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can make this salad 1 or 2 days in advance and keep it in the fridge until it’s time to eat. The flavors will develop as the salad sits, giving you even tastier results!
I prefer the softness and convenience of canned white beans, but cooking dried white beans from scratch also works. Soak the dried beans overnight in water, then boil them in fresh water the next day until they’re tender (keep in mind that they’ll be slightly more firm than canned beans).
Enjoy! If you make this recipe and decide to share it on Facebook or Instagram, don’t forget to tag me @FromMyBowl + #FromMyBowl! I would also love it if you could leave a comment below with a recipe rating! Thank you for the support 😊
Dilly White Bean Cucumber Salad
Ingredients
- 1 garlic clove minced
- Juice of 1 small lemon; about 2 tablespoons
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Black pepper to taste
- 2 15-ounce can of white beans* rinsed and drained
- 2 Persian cucumbers thinly sliced (or 1/2 a large cucumber)
- 5-7 radishes cut into matchsticks
- .75 Oz fresh dill stems removed and finely chopped
- 2 green onions green and white parts thinly sliced
Instructions
- Make the Vinaigrette: Add the garlic, lemon juice, oil, mustard, salt, and pepper to a small bowl. Whisk well and set aside for 5 minutes while you prep the remaining ingredients; the lemon juice will mellow out the flavor of the raw garlic.
- Make the Salad: Add the beans, cucumber, radishes, dill, and green onions to a large bowl. Add the dressing to the bowl and then mix well until evenly incorporated. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste, if necessary.
- Serve: Serve immediately, or store in the fridge for 15 to 30 minutes before serving, to allow the flavors to combine. more. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Recipe Notes
- White Beans: I made this salad with Great Northern Beans, which have a soft and creamy texture. Cannelini or Navy Beans will also give you a similar result. This salad can also be made with chickpeas, but will not be as creamy.
- Oil-Free: Replace the oil with 2 tablespoons of a runny tahini for a different (but still delicious!) flavor. You may need to add 1-2 tablespoons of water to your dressing in order to thin it out, depending on the consistency of your tahini
Quick and delicious! I needed to use up some dill and radishes and this was the perfect recipe for that. I accidentally opened a can of chickpeas along with a can of white beans but that combo worked out great as well!
Glad it turned out great, Cheryl!
I wonder if sliced rounds of baby dill pickles
could replace the cucumbers and be just as yummy? I don’t care for cucumbers, but do love dill pickles. Thoughts?
While it’s possible to substitute sliced rounds of baby dill pickles for the cucumbers in the recipe, it’s important to note that it will significantly alter the taste and texture of the dish. Dill pickles are more tangy and briny than cucumbers and may overpower the other flavors in the salad. Additionally, cucumbers have a refreshing and crunchy texture that may be missed if they are replaced entirely by pickles.
However, if you love dill pickles and don’t care for cucumbers, it’s worth a try to see if you enjoy the new flavor profile. You may want to adjust the amount of pickles used and perhaps add a bit more of the other ingredients in the recipe to balance out the flavors. Just keep in mind that the final result may not be exactly the same as the original recipe, but that’s the beauty of experimenting in the kitchen!
Really great salad! Another recipe to add to the rotation! Thank you.
You’re so welcome, Amy!
Made this for a potluck and it was a hit! I multiplied the recipe by 1.5. Couldn’t find radishes at my grocery store, so I used one large carrot instead to get that crunch and a pop of color.
This salad is sublime. Love the flavor & texture mixtures. Consuming gave me a burst of energy.
Glad you liked it, Steve!
New favorite salad/side dish! Made this four times already 🙂
So glad you liked it! Thank you, Diana!
I just made this for what must be the 300th time since you posted the recipe in April. It’s foolproof, easy to halve for just the two of us, easy to double for a crowd. None of the carnivores realize that it’s vegan, but all of the vegans/vegetarians/gluten-frees/nut-frees seek it out. Other than cooking my own beans, I never change a thing.
Wow! That’s a lot of times you’ve made it! 😊 Thank you so much, Eileen!
I love this recipe! It’s been my go-to lunch all summer. I put it on top of avocado toast and top with tomatoes. I also leave the sliced cucumber and radishes out and add them right before I eat lunch so they stay super crisp. Delicious!
Glad you love it, Tess! This is also one of my go-tos. 😊
This salad it’s just perfect thank you so much !!
This recipe is everything it promises to be! I definitely see it becoming a summer meal prep favorite for a long time to come! Thank you for continuously sharing some of the most approachable, flavorful and feel-good content 🙂
Thanks, Maria! I agree, this one is the perfect fuss-free summer meal 🙂
Oops forgot to rate it !
Yum! An easy and delicious “no-cook” recipe. I have been feeling really lazy with cooking lately and this fit the bill. My grocery store was out of fresh dill, so I used dried dill and some cilantro and parsley from my garden. Also went ahead and threw in an entire cucumber, the whole bunch of green onions, and a few extra radishes that came in the bunch at the grocery store. Delicious!
I totally feel you on the no-cook recipes! And I love the added herbs you used too 🙂
I made this recipe for meal prep on Sunday night and it was delicious!! Served with some warm pita and homemade hummus to round out the meal. Will definitely make again! Perfect for a work lunch or picnic.
SO good! Love the simple ingredients—colorful, fresh and delicious. This is going to be a regular salad in the fridge! THANK YOU 🙂
Amazing! This will be my go to for picnics from now on! I only had 1 can of white beans so used a can of pinto with it and kept everything else the same, turned out perfect! This is also great for lunch meal prep! Thanks for sharing 🙂
LOVED THIS. So fresh, so simple. I served it all week for lunch alongside some avocado toast. This recipe will be a summer go to for sure 🙂
This was a great prep-ahead recipe for my WFH lunches this week! It was delicious on top of greens as a salad and as a sandwich filling.
When I saw this recipe, I was like…lemon, garlic, AND DILL? No way! It’s just as delicious as I’d imagined. I did the tahini swap for the oil to keep it whole foods and it seriously took on a ceasar/ranch sort of flavor. Not to mention it took like 10 min to prep. I added about 1 more lemon’s worth of juice to balance out the nutty tahini. So yummy and so fresh. This might be one of my new favorite recipes! Thanks Caitlin!!
This recipe is everything! Caitlin, is also, everything! Her recipes are always so delicious. I love this salad, because it tastes delicious and took no time to make ! 🙂
This recipe is phenomenal! I just made a big batch for lunches this week and had to slap my hand to stop eating it. I used tahini instead of oil (as per your suggestion for oi-free) and also cooked my own beans in the instant pot ahead of time. I had a package of black-eyed peas that I needed to use up but not nearly enough to double the recipe, so I used about 1/3 black-eyed peas and 2/3 baby lima beans (super creamy!). Really, really good. Thank you!