Butter Bean Salad w/Asparagus & Pickled Red Onions

Published: Jun 16, 2024 by Stacey

Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe·Leave a Review

front view of butter bean salad with asparagus and pickled red onions on a table outside

It's summer here in New England and I haven't posted a salad on my site for a long, long time. I enjoy salads, but also have a love/hate relationship with them too. Anyone else? There are times when I want all the nourishment a well-balanced salad can bring and other times when I just want to eat cheesy potatoes every day. I guess that's why I decided on a healthy-to-indulgent balance for my website! That being said, I have genuinely been craving butter beans and I think I found a great combo in this salad. So I give you this very tasty butter bean salad w/asparagus & pickled red onions... It's highly customizable so the sky is the limit here!

What Are Butter Beans?

Butter beans are lima beans. Lima beans are butter beans. They can be creamy white like the ones I used for this recipe, or light green. They are soft with a mild buttery flavor and perfect for salads.

You can absolutely buy them in a bag and cook them on your own. But I also realize this takes time and we don't always have the time to soak beans and then cook them. I decided to go with canned butter beans for this recipe. When I use canned foods like tomatoes, or broth or beans, I do try to find an unsalted option. If I am taking the time to make a healthier meal, added salts in canned food weighs on my brain. I was able to find a brand called Eden and they offered an unsalted version.

Butter Bean Salad w/Asparagus & Pickled Red Onions is Very Customizable (yay!)

There's a lot you can do with this salad and I love that! I'm a sucker for arugula and whenever I can make a salad where that works out I am in my happy place. One of the great things about salads is they are often highly customizable.

This Salad Has Some Awesome Flavors:

Butter beans
Arugula
Asparagus
Cherry tomatoes
My favorite balsamic vinaigrette
Bobby Flay's pickled red onions
Feta Cheese
Chopped fresh dill

close up look at butter bean salad with asparagus and pickled red onions

Ways You Can Customize Your Own Butter Bean Salad:

Can't find butter beans? Cannellini beans work well here too
Chopped, dark green romaine lettuce or Mesclun greens
Steamed broccoli or zucchini or cubed roasted eggplant (cooked and cooled)
Goat cheese (would need to place dollops on top at end)
Salad dressing (most kinds will work here - use your favorite!)
Herbs are optional, but cilantro and basil can work here too.

One important chef tip I can provide about butter beans is they are very delicate. They're easily smushed, for lack of a better description, and you must handle with care from the beginning.

very close look at butter bean salad with asparagus and pickled red onions with tomato, feta and dill

Open the can and transfer the beans to a colandar. Run cold water over the beans. Not full force water flow. A light flow of water, and gently toss beans with a silicone spatula if you want. When it's time to toss the salad with the other ingredients later, it must be done gently or you'll squish the beans.

Would you like to save this?

We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!

You'll also be the first to hear about new recipes in my weekly-ish newsletter! 🙂

Obviously, whole butter beans are going to look better than squished butter beans so be careful.

Another tip I would like to pass along is don't overdress the salad. I enjoy salad dressing, but I like it as a light coating for my greens. I don't want my salad saturated and drowning in dressing. This will take away from all the great flavors you've brought together. It will also make your salad go soggy much faster. For the dressing, if you'd like a great balsamic vinaigrette you can check mine out here:

Easy Steps to Making Butter Bean Salad w/Asparagus & Pickled Red Onions

cooking the chopped asparagus — *Chop and sauté asparagus*

slicing cherry tomatoes in half for butter bean salad with asparagus and pickled red onions — *Chop and sauté asparagus*

chopping fresh dill for butter bean salad — *Chop fresh dill*

add butter beans, asparagus, tomatoes to a mixing bowl — *Add asparagus & tomatoes to bowl with butter beans*

adding a couple of handfuls of arugula lettuce to the bowl — *Add asparagus & tomatoes to bowl with butter beans*

spoon some balsamic vinaigrette into the bowl of butter bean salad — *Spoon balsamic vinaigrette over salad*

gently tossing the salad ingredients to cost with dressing — *Spoon balsamic vinaigrette over salad*

transfer butter bean salad to a serving plate — *Transfer salad to serving plate*

topping butter bean salad with feta cheese and bobby flay's pickled red onions — *Transfer salad to serving plate*

Do you Want More Salad and Dressing Ideas?

Butter Bean Salad w/Asparagus & Pickled Red Onions

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

No reviews

Author: Stacey
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 6 minutes
Total Time: 21 minutes
Yield: 4 servings 1x

Print Recipe

Description

Light and healthy, this butter bean salad w/asparagus & pickled red onions is a delicious and highly customizable salad option.

Instructions

Chop ends from the asparagus. This is usually the lighter green and slightly purple parts of the asparagus. Chop the asparagus into small bite-sized pieces (my video shows this well).
Transfer chopped asparagus to a pan and add a small drizzle of olive oil and a light sprinkling of salt and pepper. With the salt probably only ⅛ of a teaspoon and same with pepper. Cook on medium-to-high for 5-6 minutes stirring along the way. I like to get it a little charred too. At the end, put in a bowl and stick in the freezer for a few minutes to stop the cooking process and let it cool a bit. Don’t forget it’s in the freezer!!
While the asparagus is cooking, slice all the cherry tomatoes in half and set aside.
Chop some fresh dill. It can be rough chopped or finely chopped – that’s up to you.
Open the can of butter beans and pour into a colander. Rinse with cold water on a low flow. Butter beans are delicate and you must handle with care. Once rinsed off, add to a large bowl. Add ⅛ teaspoon of salt and toss the beans gently.
Add the cooled down asparagus and the sliced cherry tomatoes to the bowl, along with a couple of handfuls of baby arugula lettuce. Pour two tablespoons of balsamic vinaigrette (or your favorite dressing) onto the salad and toss gently (again, the butter beans are delicate and will get smushed easily if you are not careful.
Once your salad is coasted in dressing, transfer to a serving plate and top with some feta cheese, Bobby Flay’s picked red onions (make a day or two ahead) and the fresh dill. You can serve the extra dressing, feta, dill, and pickled red onions on the side if people want more.