Recipe: Quick & Easy Summer Bean Salad ( It's Vegan Too!)

I had a barbecue to go to recently and wanted to bring something home made but didn't have a lot of time or money and it had to be vegan-friendly. On hand I had infinite canned goods, tomatoes from the garden, and some frozen peas. I had also seen a tip somewhere online that said if you have a small mustard jar with only a couple tablespoons left you can fill the jar up with vinegar and olive oil, add some spices, and shake it up to make a good mustard vinaigrette. So my game plan was to make a bean salad with mustard vinaigrette, but it turned out so delicious I had to share the recipe! Here you go:

Easy Summer Bean Salad

*It's very important that you empty your canned goods into a strainer and rinse them thoroughly!*

1 can of each of the following, or feel free to mix it up with what you have on hand, fresh or canned:

Corn

Garbanzo Beans (Chickpeas)

Kidney Beans

1/2 can of Black Olives, Sliced

2-3 Roma Tomatoes

1/2 a Small Package of Frozen Peas

1. Place the frozen peas in a small pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and remove from heat, then run under cold water and add to a large salad bowl.

2. After rinsing all of your canned goods thoroughly add each to the bowl with the peas.

3. Seed and chop your tomatoes and add to the bowl. Now it's time to make the dressing:

Easy Mustard Vinaigrette

*It's great to make this right in the mustard jar when you're almost out!*

Approx. 2 Tbsp Mustard (I used Puka Dog Guava Mustard, which is nice and sweet.)

Approx. 1/8 Cup Plus 1 Tbsp.Vinegar (Or to taste.)

Approx. 1/4 Cup Olive Oil

1 Tbsp Dried Tarragon

1 1/2 Tsp Herbes De Provence

1/2 Tsp Salt and Black Pepper (Or to taste.)

1 Tsp Dry Sherry

Splash of Water (Helps emulsify everything!)

Add all the ingredients to the jar and shake vigorously until everything is emulsified together. Super simple and you get a whole jar of dressing! I used about 4 tablespoons to lightly dress the bean salad, but feel free to dress it to your preference. It's best to dress it early and put it in the fridge to let it marinate a little. Everyone at the barbecue agreed it was totally delicious!