I came up with the recipe to this salad on a whim.  I had chicken cooking in the slow cooker but no side dish to serve with it and I did not feel like venturing out into the 90° weather to go to the store.  (Sure, I had pasta and rice in my pantry, but I was looking for something less heavy and more fresh.)

After rummaging through both my fridge and pantry, I decided to make a simple bean salad.  Thankfully, canned beans are always in my pantry.  They have a great shelf life and are so much quicker to use than dried beans that you have to rehydrate.

I decided to use pinto beans and small white beans for this salad (hence Two Bean).  You can definitely use whatever type of beans you have on hand though.  (Kidney beans would work well.)  I added some garlic, shallot, parsley, and grape tomatoes (all stuff that I had on hand) to the beans and made a quick red wine vinaigrette to pour on top.

I highly recommend letting the salad sit in the fridge for several hours before serving to let all the flavors merry together.  Make sure you take it out of the fridge about 20 minutes before you want to serve it though.  I loved this salad.  The tart vinaigrette paired great with the creamy beans.  The parsley added some freshness, while the tomatoes added tiny bursts of sweetness.  It’s a great salad for a BBQ too since there is no mayo in it.  (That’s my kind of salad!)

Start with the prep…

• Mince up 4 cloves of garlic, 2 shallots, and some parsley.
• Quarter a handful (or two) of grape tomatoes.

• Place all of the veggies into a serving bowl.

• Add 1 small can of pinto beans and 1 small can of small white beans.  (Drain and rinse both cans first!)

• Gently mix everything up.

• Measure out ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil.

• Add 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar.

• Season with ¼ teaspoon each of s&p.
• Finish with ⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flake.

• Whisk well.

• Pour the dressing over the beans.

• Give another gentle stir.

• Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour.
• Remove from the fridge about 20 minutes prior to serving.

Enjoy!

*If you like this recipe, you may also want to try: Three Bean Salad and Three Bean Salad with Dill.

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Two Bean Salad (serves 4-8)

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 shallots, minced
• 10-12 grape tomatoes, quartered
• ¼ cup fresh parsley, minced
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• ¼ teaspoon coarse kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flake
• 1 small can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 small can small white beans, drained and rinsed

DIRECTIONS:

• Place the garlic, shallot, tomatoes, and parsley in a bowl.
• Whisk the oil, vinegar, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flake together in a measuring cup.
• Add the beans to the bowl.
• Pour the dressing over the salad.
• Gently stir to combine.
• Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

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