Tuscan Tuna and White Bean Salad

Don’t even think about turning on that oven!

Tuscan Tuna and White Bean Salad / Bev Cooks

That was my super nauseating announcer-y voice, could you tell? Did you just get the urge to throw your laptop in front of a semi-truck and set yourself on fire? It worked!

Speaking of fire, I just got my new glasses in yesterday and they are booooooss. However, they keep falling off my face. Why do glasses places never measure the distance between the bridge of your nose to the space behind your ear? That’s, um, ONLY HOW THEY STAY ON YOUR HEAD. Like, I’ll sit down on the couch to watch the TVs and I’ll lean my head back and the temple ends are so long the couch bangs them and they fly off and smash the TV screen and break it into a million pieces.

Tuscan Tuna and White Bean Salad / Bev Cooks  Tuscan Tuna and White Bean Salad / Bev Cooks

And the thing IS, they totally felt fine in the store. I didn’t notice that the temples were 25 feet long and karate chopping the customers in line behind me. My head must be weird and abnormally small. Like Ryan Seacrest’s.

Tuscan Tuna and White Bean Salad / Bev Cooks  Tuscan Tuna and White Bean Salad / Bev Cooks

Speaking of Ryan Seacrest, I just love olives. Briney, salty Kalamata olives. I always forget about them in my fridge because the little jar is behind an obnoxiously huge thing of sriracha sauce, and the poor babies never get any love. Not until this salad. I feel like they just give this Tuscan-y business that extra little acidic kick in the pants.

I also feel like the bigger issue at hand is calling olives BABIES.

Tuscan Tuna and White Bean Salad / Bev Cooks

Speaking of pants, did you notice what is sprinkled in this here tuna and white bean salad? See anything, oh. . . red? Shriveled up? Dehyyydr…YEP. Shoooot, y’all. I delivruh.

Tuscan Tuna and White Bean Salad / Bev Cooks

So this is the deal. We got crunch, we got creamy, we got rustic, we got tart, we got zing, we got fresh, we got zest, we got sauce. Well, it’s more like a dressing, but I’ve rediscovered my love for G. Love and Special Sauce and I’m feeling rather kittenish. You know he kissed me once. But that’s a story for another day.

Tuscan Tuna and White Bean Salad / Bev Cooks

 And you didn’t even turn on that oven!

Tuscan Tuna and White Bean Salad:

What it took for 2:

* 1 can albacore tuna (drained)
* 1 (14.5 oz) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
* 2-4 cups mixed greens (I used spinach and romaine)
* 1 stalk celery, finely diced
* 1/4 red onion, finely sliced
* 1/2 cup dehydrated tomatoes
* 1/4 cup (or more if you love olives) kalamata olives, halved
* 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 lemon (2 Tbs. lemon juice and 1 Tbs. zest)
* coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

In a large bowl, combine the tuna, beans, onions, celery, olives, tomatoes and lemon zest.

In another smaller bowl, whisk together the olive oil and lemon juice. Throw a pinch of salt and pepper in there.

Pour the dressing over the salad ingredients. Toss to combine.

Serve over a bed of mixed greens, with extra lemon on the side. That’s it! You’re gonna luuuv it.

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44 Responses to Tuscan Tuna and White Bean Salad

  1. Katie June 21, 2012 at 8:24 am #
    Olives are my life. How did you know I wasn't even going to THINK about turning on the oven today and you just solved my dinner (maybe breakfast) solution.
  2. Georgia @ The Comfort of Cooking June 21, 2012 at 8:26 am #
    Wow, this looks so delicious and summery Bev! I can just imagine having a fancy little al fresco dinner with this on a weeknight... Great recipe!
  3. IdaBaker June 21, 2012 at 8:56 am #
    Perfect!! I can hardly wait to try this. I love the idea of combining beans with tuna in a cold salad, especially on a hot day.
  4. Megan @ Country Cleaver June 21, 2012 at 9:07 am #
    I wish I could find the happy medium so that my glasses would stay on my face if I bend down versus leaning back so they don't go projectile status off my face and onto the floor for me to step on them - it requires a ridiculous balance of wrapping the ends around my ears so I look like a pencil head pocket protector wearing dweeb or a poindexter who can't stop pushing their glasses up onto their nose. Ear-itatting!! PS - this salad looks amazing - as per usual.
  5. Heather June 21, 2012 at 9:08 am #
    honey, i can categorically say that your head is significantly better/prettier than ryan seacrest's. oh, and this salad? i want it in my face!
  6. Villy @ For the love of Feeding June 21, 2012 at 9:12 am #
    Perfect hearty meal!
  7. Ali @ Gimme Some Oven June 21, 2012 at 9:32 am #
    Delish! And I want to see a pic of you and your new specs!!! :-)
  8. Emilie @ Emilie's Enjoyables June 21, 2012 at 9:40 am #
    ummm nothing worse than too-long glasses temple ends. duh.
  9. Anna @ Crunchy Creamy Sweet June 21, 2012 at 9:58 am #
    Good to know the glasses thing doesn't only happen to me.. Your salad is ahh-mazing! My Hubby has issues with the old fashioned tuna salad but he will love this one. Thanks, Bev!
  10. Cassie June 21, 2012 at 10:04 am #
    Love, love, love these flavors.
  11. Vita @ Juicer Depot June 21, 2012 at 10:42 am #
    I switched to contacts. Let me tell you that was life changing. I couldn't stand the weight of the glasses on my face. Now I am a happy camper. But it took me like 6 months to finally get used to putting them in my eyes. Anyways, I am buying the ingredients today for this salad. Looks delish!
  12. Stephie @ Eat Your Heart Out June 21, 2012 at 11:19 am #
    I do a cheaty-quick version of this for lunch on a regular basis. So good!
  13. Averie @ Averie Cooks June 21, 2012 at 11:41 am #
    I love the mid-action whisking picture. And the flavors of this one!
  14. Deanna B. June 21, 2012 at 12:40 pm #
    Here I was trying to figure out what's for lunch and you show up and provide me with the answer. Yum!
  15. Lori June 21, 2012 at 1:50 pm #
    This looks like a fancy version of a salad I've fallen in love with that is in one of my Mark Bittman cookbooks: tuna (drained), cannellini beans, chopped fresh parsley, minced garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, salt & pepper to taste. Toss it all together and devour! I can't wait to try your recipe!! BTW - I only discovered your site a few months ago, and just wanted you to know how much I love it! You have a great voice and I love your sense of humor. And the food is awesome, too!
    • Bev Weidner June 21, 2012 at 4:40 pm #
      Lori, you have seriously made my day! Thank you so much for coming back and reading. Thank you thank you!
  16. Rachel @ Baked by Rachel June 21, 2012 at 2:13 pm #
    Don't shoot me but I totally turned on the oven for lunch. I don't know whats wrong with me. It's HOT out. A salad would have been a better choice.
  17. Stephaie @ Eat. Drink. Love. June 21, 2012 at 2:56 pm #
    I hate that back part of the glasses that rest on your ear. Sometimes I feel like they are too tight and they hurt, like my head swelled up or something and they don't fit right anymore. It's crazy. And I live in Florida, so any excuse to not turn on the oven is a good one for me! :)
  18. Tracey E. June 21, 2012 at 3:48 pm #
    YUM! LOVE loveeeee bean salads! :)
  19. Julie @ Table for Two June 21, 2012 at 5:10 pm #
    I love how rustic and healthy this looks. Love! Every time the back part of my sunglasses rest on the back temples of my ears in the wrong way..I literally want to throw my sunglasses out the car window.
  20. Laurie {Simply Scratch} June 21, 2012 at 5:32 pm #
    Me... you... this salad... SOON! (Please?) Ps... Your posts always make my day Bev! :)
  21. Riley June 22, 2012 at 1:31 pm #
    I am in love with cannelloni beans! Thanks for sharing.
  22. Katie @ Blonde Ambition June 22, 2012 at 3:01 pm #
    "Speaking of Ryan Seacrest, I just love olives." I laughed for about 10 minutes (10 seconds) when I read this. I just love olives too.
  23. elin June 22, 2012 at 9:38 pm #
    I really like the first pic, looks so easy to make. Gotta try it now! :)
  24. Natalie @ Cooking for My Kids June 23, 2012 at 8:01 am #
    Oh, Bev. I love spending a Saturday morning with you through your blog posts. Oh, how I have missed my daily dose. The good news is that I think that I am all caught up. Or, is that bad news since I am going to miss your humor for a few days? I guess that I could always re-read old posts. :) This pasta salad looks incredibly, incredibly amazing!
  25. Aggie June 24, 2012 at 7:28 am #
    This is exactly what I need to be eating all week. Love it!!!!
  26. lynn @ the actor's diet June 25, 2012 at 2:04 pm #
    gorgeous! i always forge how good tuna and beans are.
  27. Deborah June 25, 2012 at 2:35 pm #
    I always have some sort of olives in my fridge - love them! And I love this!
  28. Leslie June 30, 2012 at 9:13 am #
    Just had this last night, It was absolutely fantastic. I really cant believe I have gone my whole life without a salad like this.
  29. Valerie July 1, 2012 at 11:12 am #
    I'm making this for a surprise birthday party for my besty today! I'm going to make it with pasta, though. :)
  30. the curb July 4, 2014 at 9:45 am #
    very nice summer salad!
  31. domain October 16, 2014 at 9:05 am #
    This blog was... how do you say it? Relevant!! Finally I have found something that helped me. Thank you!
  32. Ashley Severance August 29, 2015 at 1:57 pm #
    This was pretty good! Thanks!
  33. Judith August 4, 2023 at 4:39 pm #
    I love this recipe! I like to buy a piece of fresh tuna and grill it on the bbq. It makes wonderful tuna salad. Bet it will be good in this recipe as well.

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