Roasted Broccolini and White Bean Salad

This vibrant roasted broccolini and white bean salad with feta is a simple healthy salad recipe filled with refreshing flavors. It comes with a maple mustard vinaigrette, and a subtle touch of tahini drizzled all over. 

White beans have been part of my diet for as far as I can remember. My mom can cook them like no one, with a subtle seasoning of herbs that is so incredibly flavorful. I also love that white beans are so healthy and satisfying, and a great addition to a vegetarian-oriented diet.

In today’s recipe, I used canned white beans rather than cooking them from scratch. I’m not gonna lie here, the flavors are less pronounced than they would be with freshly cooked beans, but canned beans have the advantage of being handy, especially when you’re about to make a quick salad recipe for lunch.

Roasted Broccolini and White Bean Salad

This white bean salad features some roasted broccoli (upgrade to broccolini if you can, it’s even better) tossed together with baby spinach, feta cheese, red onions, and of course some white beans – I used cannellini beans.

The recipe is incredibly simple, and comes with a double seasoning: the maple mustard vinaigrette to toss the ingredients together until the bay spinach leaves are slightly wilted, and the lemon tahini sauce to bring up some subtle nutty flavors. The result is simple, elegant, with a perfect balance of flavors.

The ingredients you need

• Broccoli (or broccolini). I used broccolini in this salad recipe (a hybrid of broccoli and Chinese broccoli), but you could use broccoli instead. Both look very similar both in texture and flavors but broccolini tends to be more delicate and slightly sweeter than broccoli.
• White beans. I use them canned, drained and rinsed. If you plan the recipe in advance, you can also cook white beans from scratch (don’t forget the soaking time before).
• Feta cheese. I use it diced, not crumbled, for additional texture to the salad. You could also use some fresh goat cheese instead of feta.
• Red onions. Slice them very finely, preferably. You could also replace with shallots for more subtle and delicate flavors.
• Baby Spinach. Choose baby spinach (not regular spinach) and toss them well with the vinaigrette to make them softer.
• Tahini (+ lemon). It adds a subtle nutty flavor to the broccoli white bean salad. Drizzle just a little bit over and it’s done.

How to make roasted broccolini and white bean salad?

1. Start with roasting the broccoli or broccolini in the oven, and let cool slightly.
2. Meanwhile, prepare the vinaigrette.
3. Then assemble the salad. Add broccoli, spinach, feta, white beans and red onions to a bowl. Pour the vinaigrette over and toss well (do not add all the vinaigrette at once, and add more if needed).
4. Drizzle with the lemon tahini dressing, and enjoy!

Recipe variations

This broccoli and white bean salad is delicious as is, but it’s also possible to create variations around the recipe. Find below a few suggestions:

• Replace broccolini with broccoli.
• Keep or skip the baby spinach, it’s up to you.
• Instead of white beans, you can use chickpeas. And why not serving with homemade hummus?
• You can add a few walnuts (or pine nuts) for a subtle crunchy texture.

What to serve with broccoli and white bean salad?

This salad makes a healthy and satisfying lunch, served on its own or with a side of bread. You can also add quinoa, barley or bulgur to the ingredients. If you were to serve it as a side, this salad is perfect with a slice of quiche or even a slice of pizza.

Other salad recipes you may like:

• Lentil Salad with Beets, Baby Spinach and Feta
• Roasted Squash, Fig and Spinach Salad
• Lentil Salad with Zucchini, Feta and Mint
• Spiced Chickpea Sweet Potato Buddha Bowl
• Cumin-Roasted Cauliflower Tabbouleh Salad

Use broccoli to make…

• Asian Tofu Broccoli Stir-Fry
• Broccoli Feta and Red Onion Pizza
• Lemony Roasted Broccolini and Potatoes

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