A lot of times we tend to think of beans as something to add into soups, but they can make for some mighty tasty stand-alone dishes, too. If you’re not a huge fan of baked beans then this is a great one to replace those sweet recipes with something a bit fresher and lighter. The flavors of lemon and garlic come together in perfect harmony in this lemon white bean salad. Plus, just a few bucks gets you a huge side dish that’s ideal for large gatherings. You gotta love a dish that’s both tasty and economical.

This recipe comes together in a flash thanks to a combination of canned beans and lentils. Mix these together along with some chopped green onion and a generous amount of parsley. Then add some salt and pepper to taste. I like to to start with some of the low sodium canned beans because you can always add more salt, but you can’t take it out.

This thing that makes this salad so tasty, however, is the dressing. In this mixture is lemon zest, lemon juice, and fresh garlic for a lively addition to the beans. Considering how easy it is to pop a few cans open, the effort it takes to zest and juice some lemons isn’t much.

After making the dressing, pour the dressing over the beans. Then toss together for a really quick, healthy, and flavorful salad. There’s no dairy, gluten, or sugar in this dish which makes it a healthy option, too.

I heated up some garlic naan to go with the beans for a perfect light lunch. But, this salad goes with just about anything and is a wonderfully quick way to serve up some tasty legumes.