Lemony White Bean Salad with Prosciutto

Making this white bean salad with prosciutto and arugula at home could not be any easier. This Mediterranean inspired bean salad has creamy white beans, salty prosciutto, parmesan cheese, peppery arugula, and a punchy lemon dressing.

White Bean Salad Recipe with Prosciutto and Arugula

Adam and I eat quite a lot of beans so we are always on the lookout for new and exciting ways to serve them. This quick and easy white bean salad has to be one of our favorites.

You can use canned beans or beans that you’ve cooked yourself. In our photos, we’ve used small white beans, but other beans like cannellini, great northern, white kidney or even garbanzo beans will work beautifully. I’ve even made the salad without beans and spooned it on top of some warmed homemade refried beans.

What You’ll Need to Make Our Bean Salad

The ingredients for this salad are simple. Here’s a quick rundown of what we add. You can get the full recipe by scrolling down.

  • Beans — try small white beans, cannellini, great northern, white kidney or garbanzo beans
  • Arugula or another favorite salad green
  • Prosciutto or other dry cured ham like serrano ham or Ibérico ham
  • Crusty bread or croutons add crunch. You can leave this out if you prefer. Click here to see how we make homemade croutons.
  • Punchy lemon dressing made from Dijon mustard, fresh lemon juice, olive oil, parlsey, salt and pepper.

How to Make the Salad

If you have 15 minutes to spare, you can make this easy bean salad. Here’s how we do it.

Step 1, Make the dressing. As I mentioned above the dressing is simple with a combination of Dijon mustard, fresh lemon juice, olive oil, parlsey, salt, and pepper. I just whisk everything together in the bottom of a large bowl. This way, I can toss the rest of the salad ingredients right in.

Step 2, Add the beans, parmesan cheese, and parsley. I like tossing the beans around in the dressing before adding the salad greens (in our photos, we’ve used arugula). You can actually follow the salad recipe through this step and then set the bowl aside until you are ready to eat.

How to make our White Bean Salad -- mixing the ingredients

Step 3, Add the greens. Just before serving, I gently toss the greens into the beans. This way the greens are perfectly dressed and since we are doing it just before eating, they won’t turn soggy.

Step 4, Serve with prosciutto and croutons. I like to divide the salad between salad plates/bowls, and then nestle the prosciutto and croutons in. This makes the salad beautiful to look at and anyone you are serving has an idea of what’s in there. When I’m making this for others, I also love adding a few lemon slices for color (you don’t need to eat them, they are just there for presentation and a little extra lemon juice).

White Bean Salad Recipe with Prosciutto and Arugula

Make Ahead Tips

When making this white bean salad in advance, follow our recipe below through the step where we toss the beans, parmesan, and parsley with the dressing. Cover the bowl, and then store in the fridge until you plan to serve the salad. You can store this in the fridge up to 3 days (maybe a day more), but keep in mind that the olive oil might thicken. If this happens, take the salad out of the fridge 30 minutes to an hour before serving so that the oil returns to a liquid state.

More Easy Salad Recipes

  • Herby Cauliflower Salad with Chickpeas — Thanks to a light lemony dressing and lots of fresh herbs, this simple cauliflower salad tastes surprisingly delicious and lasts in the fridge for days.
  • Very Best Avocado Salad — I could eat this avocado salad with crunchy cucumbers every day. The salad could not be simpler to make and can be enjoyed all by itself, as a side, as a chunky salsa or spooned on top of larger salads.
  • Seriously Good Quinoa Salad — Our ultra-flavorful and satisfying quinoa salad recipe is packed with superfoods. It’s vegan, easy to make, and tastes incredible.
  • Kale and Bean Salad Recipe with Tahini Dressing and Walnuts — This easy kale and bean salad is packed with good for you ingredients, is crave-worthy and can be made in advance.

Lemony White Bean Salad with Prosciutto

  • PREP
  • TOTAL

This lemony bean salad has creamy white beans, salty prosciutto, parmesan cheese, peppery arugula, and a punchy lemon dressing. Both canned beans and home cooked beans work beautifully in this salad.

Makes 4 salads

You Will Need

Bean Salad

1 (15-ounce) can white beans, drained and rinsed or use 1 1/2 cups cooked beans

1/4 cup parlsey leaves, chopped

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

6 heaping cups arugula

8 thin slices prosciutto or other dry cured ham, torn into smaller pieces

Handful of croutons, optional, try our homemade garlic croutons

Lemon Dressing

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Juice from 1 large lemon (about 1/4 cup)

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon honey, optional

Directions

    1Make the dressing. Whisk the mustard, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, and honey in the bottom of a large bowl until creamy.

    2Add the beans, parsley, and parmesan to the bowl with dressing. Gently toss until well coated. If making ahead, cover and refrigerate up to 3 days.

    3Add arugula and gently toss until dressed. Divide the salad between four salad plates, and then tuck the prosciutto and croutons into the salad. Serve.

Adam and Joanne's Tips

  • Make ahead tip: Follow the recipe through adding the beans, cheese, and parsley. Cover, and then store in the fridge up to 3 days (maybe a day more), but keep in mind that the olive oil might thicken. If this happens, take the salad out of the fridge 30 minutes to an hour before serving so that the oil returns to a liquid state.
  • Nutrition Facts: The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We have used the USDA database to calculate approximate values.

If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #inspiredtaste — We love to see your creations on Instagram and Facebook! Find us: @inspiredtaste

Nutrition Per Serving Serving Size 1 salad (1/4 of the recipe) / Calories 297 / Total Fat 17.7g / Saturated Fat 3.3g / Cholesterol 9.3mg / Sodium 466.3mg / Carbohydrate 24.6g / Dietary Fiber 5.4g / Total Sugars 2g / Protein 12.6g
AUTHOR:  Adam and Joanne Gallagher
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10 comments… Leave a Review
  • Jordan S January 28, 2024, 1:38 pm

    We LOVE this salad. My husband requests it like every week. It’s super easy to make and has a lot of great flavor. I like to broil the prosciutto so that it’s crispy but it’s great either way. Making it again tonight!

    Reply
  • Sarah June 6, 2023, 10:35 pm

    This was really good! The only addition I made was a clove of grated garlic in the dressing. Homemade croutons are definitely a must!

    Reply
  • Leslie September 21, 2022, 8:08 am

    This was so good! Very light & fresh. Easy to make & beans were even better after sitting for a day. Will definitely be making again.

    Reply
  • Martha August 1, 2021, 9:05 pm

    This salad is a recent find and an instant favorite for us! It’s quick to prepare, and absolutely delicious. We’ve made it every week for the past month! Perfect for the summer too

    Reply
  • Sharon K March 28, 2021, 1:19 pm

    This is fantastic! I used a mesclun/arugula mix and cut the oil down by half.

    Reply
  • cathy October 26, 2020, 5:44 pm

    This was excellent. can’t wait to make again.

    Reply
  • Shelby Clark September 30, 2020, 8:22 pm

    Love this salad! Have made it multiple times!

    Reply
  • Summer September 28, 2020, 8:48 am

    SO GOOD! This salad will be in rotation from now on.

    Reply
  • Corey August 30, 2020, 2:47 pm

    So yummy! The dressing is fantastic. Definitely don’t add the dressing too early to the salad – it will wilt those leaves. We made the dressing ahead of time and the beans absorbed so much flavor! Deeeeelish!

    Reply
  • Sue R September 12, 2019, 8:05 pm

    I’m drooling and salads don’t usually make me drool so I’m pinning it to my favourites to make ASAP. Thanks guys!

    Reply

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