Stop making pasta salads that taste like yesterday's leftovers. This Mediterranean orzo pasta salad with beans is fresh, healthy, and so satisfying, you'll forget it's technically a salad. Honestly, I love it so much I often make it my lunch.
I like to serve this white bean salad with orzo as a main dish, especially during the summer, when everyone craves something light, healthy and fresh! Cannellini beans are my favorite option for this recipe, but you can use whatever suits you best. It's perfect for meal prep and quick weeknight dinners, and loaded with plant-based protein thanks to the white beans.
Growing up in Crete, beans were a staple in out kitchen, and many times the star ingredient! I've adapted this Mediterranean bean salad from the flavors I grew up with, pairing silky cannellini beans with pasta, so the textures play beautifully together. The result? An easy, nourishing, filling bean and pasta salad that's bursting with flavor!
Don't miss my other delicious Mediterranean recipes and especially this creamy Greek pasta salad with feta and a healthy yogurt dressing, this Greek chickpea salad with rice, and this Mediterranean orzo pasta salad with feta and a lemon vinaigrette.
📋 Ingredient notes
To make this cannellini bean salad with pasta you'll need the following simple ingredients:
White cannellini beans: In Greece we love to use dried beans (you have to soak them from the previous day) but you can also use canned white beans if it's more convenient for you.
Pasta: Use your favorite type and make sure you cook it al dente. Orzo is my favorite, but you can also use orecchiette, penne, fusilli, farfalle or elbow macaroni. For an even healthier dish whole wheat pasta is suggested. For a gluten-free dish, use gluten-free pasta.
Tomatoes: Grape or cherry tomatoes are more pleasing to the eye for this recipe, but regular tomatoes are also good.
Onion: Yellow or white onion will give you a milder taste, while red onion will be more pungent. I use whatever I have at the time.
Fresh parsley.
Capers or olives.
Dried thyme.
Extra virgin olive oil.
Salt and black pepper.
Lemon juice or vinegar.
For the list of ingredients with quantities, please see the recipe card ⬇️ at the end of this post.
👨🍳 Expert Tips
For the perfect orzo salad with white beans, make sure to follow these expert tips:
✅ Dried beans usually taste better than canned ones. Soak them in salted water for 8-12 hours, as this helps them cook and soften faster.
✅ When cooking the white beans, don't add any salt to the pot, because it will make them hard and will increase cooking time. Also, if the water in your area is hard, use bottled water.
👉 In some villages in Greece, people used rain water to boil beans, because it was softer and the beans cooked much faster.
✅ If you have an instant pot, you can cook the beans without having to soak them first. Add the water, salt, and optional flavorings to the instant pot and cook for about 30 minutes, letting the pressure release naturally on its own.
✏️ On simplyrecipes.com you can find this useful article for How To Make Fast, No-Soak Beans in the Instant Pot.
✅ To save time for future recipes, make a larger batch of beans and freeze them in their liquid in ziplock bags.
📖 Recipe
Mediterranean Pasta Salad with Beans
Ingredients
- 10.6 oz (300 g) dried white cannellini beans (see note#1 for canned beans)
- 8.5 oz (240 g) orzo (see note#2)
- 2 cups grape tomatoes (sliced)
- ½ cup onion (finely chopped)
- ½ bunch (30 g) fresh parsley (chopped)
- 3 tablespoons capers (or sliced and pitted olives)
- 4 teaspoons dried thyme (or oregano)
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Salt (to taste)
- Black pepper (to taste)
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice (or wine vinegar or to taste)
Optional:
- 8 oz (220 g) feta cheese (cubed)
Instructions
- Fill a large bowl with water and add enough salt until it tastes like seawater. Add the beans and soak for at least 8 hours or overnight.Rinse well, transfer to a pot, fill with fresh water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook for 35-40 minutes or until tender. Rinse with cold water and drain.
- While beans are cooking, cook the pasta in a separate pot according to the package instructions.Rinse with cold water and drain.
- Transfer the beans, pasta, tomatoes, onion, parsley, capers, thyme, olive oil, salt, pepper and lemon juice to a large bowl. Toss well, taste and adjust the salt, lemon juice and thyme if needed. Serve.
Notes
More salad recipes to try:
Nutrition
🍳 More Salads and Beans Recipes
If you tried this Mediterranean bean pasta salad recipe, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you!
Pam says
Amazing! Thanks for this delicious recipe!
Makos says
Hi Pam, I’m so happy you liked it! 😊