Grilled Veggie Bean Salad with Maple Dijon Dressing

This Grilled Veggie Bean Salad is tossed with a creamy maple Dijon dressing and can be served in a delicious warm pita. Easy to make and packed with gut supporting fiber.

I’ve been making a lot of bean salads lately. Typically I’ll pick and choose the veggies I want, decide on a dressing then choose a day to assemble a large batch. I’ll then change up the way I enjoy them whether that means enjoying it in a wrap, snacking on them with chips or serving them as a side with a favorite meal. All of this in the effort to help diversify the plants on my plate.

But why diversify? It’s better for your gut. Exposing your gut to a variety of different plant-based foods like beans, vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds can help improve the quality of your microbiota over time, which can benefit the quality of your digestion, improve bowel movements and even help reduce disease risk. So if you want an easy and tasty way to get in some of those different veggies you need, this bean salad may do the trick.

Why You’ll Love This Grilled Veggie Bean Salad

• Packed with veggies and fiber. One of the best things you can do to support your gut is to slowly add in more fiber. This is one recipe that can help with getting more of that fiber goodness in.
• Great to meal prep in advance. This salad keeps well and can be a great item to pack ahead of the week that can then be included with sides, used for snacking or even stuffed into wraps for the ultimate lunch.
• Easy to customize. Change up the beans or veggies, adjust the seasonings, and play around with the level of sweetness to best meet your needs.

Key Ingredients and Substitutions

• Beans: I used both white beans and chickpeas, but use any 2 cans of beans you like best!
• Grilling Veggies: I grilled some zucchini and red onions for this salad, but feel free to use other grilling veggies based on your preference. Try this with grilled sweet corn, eggplant or summer squash!
• Bell Pepper: Any color will do!
• Jalapeno: Feel free to omit if you don’t like spice. For a milder spice, just remove the seeds before dicing.
• Herbs: I used a combination of parsley and mint, but this also works really well with cilantro or chives.
• Mustard: I used Dijon mustard. I do not recommend changing it as different mustards have different flavor profiles that may not blend very well into this particular dressing.
• White Wine Vinegar: If you don’t have this on hand, just add a little more lemon juice to taste.
• Lemon: I used fresh so I could use the zest and juice.
• Maple Syrup: This was my liquid sweetener of choice, but if you need another vegan alternative agave works well too!

How to Make a Grilled Veggie Bean Salad with Maple Dijon Dressing

Place a large grill pan or skillet over medium heat. Brush the pan with the oil then place the zucchini slabs in the pan and cook undisturbed for about 4-5 minutes or until grill marks start to appear. With tongs, flip the slab then cook undisturbed for another 4-5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack and sprinkle the zucchini with a generous pinch of salt and pepper.

To the same pan add the sliced onions. Allow to grill undisturbed for 4 minutes on both sides. Salt the onions with salt then transfer to the cooling rack with the zucchini. Once the vegetables are cool enough to handle, transfer to a cutting board and roughly chop them into bite sized pieces.

In a large mixing bowl add the beans, grilled vegetables, bell pepper, jalapeno, parsley, mint, and a pinch of salt and pepper.

To a blender cup add the yogurt, garlic, mustard, vinegar, lemon, oil, maple syrup and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Blend until smooth and adjust with more sweetener or salt based on your preference. Alternatively, you can grate the garlic in a bowl with the other ingredients and whisk until smooth.

Pour the dressing over the salad and mix until evenly coated. Cover the salad and place in the fridge to chill for at least 1 hour. Stir well and taste and adjust seasonings as desired.

Warm a pita or wrap then smear it with your favorite spread and top with a serving of the beans before enjoying.

Expert Tips

• If you don’t have a grill pan use a cast iron pan. Instead of the grill marks, look to make sure your zucchini is browning on the bottom similar in look to this.
• Pat your zucchini dry after cutting. When zucchini is cut, you may see droplets of moisture appear on the surface. Just blot it dry before adding to your grill pan.
• Change up the beans. I used white beans and chickpeas. Feel free to use all white beans or wall chickpeas. You can even swap 1 of these beans for a different bean like red kidney beans. Just base it off of your preference.
• Adjust the sweetener to your liking. I personally like the contrast of the tang, so I tend to use around 2 or 3 tbsp of maple syrup to sweeten. You may find that you need more sweetener or less, so start with 2 tbsp and mix in more to taste.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to Serve

Use this bean salad in any of the following ways:

• As is to snack on
• With tortilla or pita chips
• Served in a warmed wrap
• Used as a side with any meal
• Topped over quinoa or couscous to make a nourish bowl

More Plant-Based Summer Recipes to Try

• Spinach Artichoke White Bean Salad
• Marinated Tomato Toast with Garlic Dill Edamame Spread
• Mango Chickpea Salad
• Charred Corn and Peach Salsa Bowls
• Garlic Soy Glazed Tofu Skewers

If you tried this recipe or any other recipe on the blog, then let me know what you thought in the comments below! And if you loved it, don’t forget to rate it too. Feel free to follow on Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok for the latest nutrition tips and recipe videos.

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