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Fresh Cranberry Bean & Tuna Salad

Name: Fresh Cranberry Bean & Tuna Salad
Prep time: 20

(9 votes, average: 4.44 out of 5)

20 min prep

2 servings

This Fresh Cranberry Bean & Tuna Salad is a classic antipasto salad to make in the late summer when the first cranberry beans start to show up at Farmers’ Markets. It’s very easy to...

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup cranberry beans, shelled (See Chef Tips)

3 cloves garlic, smashed, peeled, and left whole

1 tablespoon chopped parsley, plus 1 large sprig for the beans

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus 1 teaspoon

Sea salt and pepper, to taste

1 tablespoon chopped shallots

1 tablespoon chopped mint

1½ tablespoons white vinegar

1 (6 ounces) can light chunk tuna, water-packed, or whole slice tuna with no fillers

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Nutrition Facts

Calories

511 cals

Fat

31 g

Saturated Fat

5 g

Polyunsaturated Fat

4 g

Monounsaturated Fat

22 g

Carbohydrates

33 g

Sugar

1 g

Fiber

13 g

Protein

28 g

Sodium

862 mg

Directions

Put the whole cranberry beans nd garlic in a pot. Cover with water and lay the parsley sprig on top. Sprinkle with the teaspoon of olive oil, and add a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and simmer until soft and tender, but not mushy, about 20-25 minutes. Drain the beans into a bowl and set aside to cool.
While the beans are cooling, mix together the shallots, parsley, mint, and oil, and vinegar in a bowl. Season to taste.
Drain the tuna if water packed and break it up into pieces. Tip the beans and tuna into the bowl with the dressing. Gently mix together until the beans and tuna are coated, taking care not to break up the beans.
Let the salad sit for an hour in a cool place for the flavors to develop. Serve!

Chef Tips

1 1/2 cups shelled beans = about 1 pound beans in their pods.

If it’s hot and don’t want to cook, use canned beans. Drain a can of cannelini or pinto beans and rinse them well. Mix them together with the tuna and herbs in step 3.

Many beans are toxic to some degree when raw, and some, like kidney beans, are very poisonous indeed. 10 minutes of cooking makes them all safe, so don’t take the risk, cook them.

Always try to buy sustainably fished, trolled, or pole and line caught fish. Look for US caught Albacore and Tongol tunas. Wild Planet tuna is a good brand to buy.

Registered Dietitian Approved

Our recipes, articles, videos, and more content are reviewed by our Registered Dietitian Kate Ueland, MS, RD, CSO, a board-certified specialist in oncology nutrition, to ensure that each is backed with scientific evidence and follows the guidelines set by the Oncology Nutrition for Clinical Practice, 2nd Ed., published by the Oncology Nutrition Dietetic Practice Group, a professional interest group of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and the American Institute for Cancer Research and the American Cancer Society.