We’re all cooking waaaaaaay more than usual these days.
And cooking 3 meals a day is exhausting, no matter how many people you’re cooking for right now.
Even though I love to cook (well, that pretty much goes without saying, right?), I also really love a night off.
So, keeping with the current theme of pantry cooking, I thought it would be helpful to give you some no cook meals you can make right from your pantry for those nights you just need a break.
And to make it even easier, I’m using one salad that you can turn into 10 delicious, easy, and uncomplicated no cook meals.
To save time on your next shopping trip, don’t forget to grab my free downloadable PDF – Pantry Checklist (it has all the staples you should have on hand to make super easy, uncomplicated delicious meals).
If you want to see behind the scenes, get more pantry cooking tips and watch me cook recipes, follow me on Facebook and Instagram.
10 No Cook Meals using Smashed White Bean Salad
Once you make this smashed white bean salad, you will literally make it every single week.
The ingredients are easily substituted based on what you have on hand. Any white bean would work: garbanzo beans or chickpeas (which are the exact same bean, so whichever one you have will work), or cannellini beans.
What makes this salad extra great is you don’t need to measure any ingredients. Use the ones below as a guide, but feel free to alter based on what you have and what tastes good to you, and to everyone else sitting around your table.
- One 15 ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- Mayonnaise
- Whole grain mustard (you could also use Dijon)
- Pickles (dill pickles and bread and butter would be my top picks)
- Fresh herbs — parsley, dill, chives or any combination (or use dry herbs but only 1/4 teaspoon because dry herbs are much more potent than fresh)
- Diced shallot (you can also use minced garlic or diced red onion)
- Lemon juice (lime would also work, unless you’ve used all your limes for margaritas)
- Turmeric (a sprinkle of za’atar would also be delicious)
- Salt and Pepper
In a bowl combine the beans with a generous spoonful of mayonnaise, half a spoonful of mustard, 5-6 pickles finely chopped, about 1 tablespoon of fresh herbs, 1 teaspoon shallots, a good squeeze of lemon juice, a sprinkling of turmeric and pinch of salt and pepper.
Using the back of a fork, or potato masher, smash the beans until they are a chunky consistency. Taste and adjust seasoning. I usually end up adding more lemon juice, but add more of an ingredient based on what tastes good to you. That’s the beauty of this dish. It’s completely up to you, so make it your own!
Here are some other ideas:
If you like it spicy, you can also add some red pepper flakes, or aleppo pepper. If you don’t have either, you can use harissa or sriracha.
If you don’t like mayonnaise, leave it out, or add some greek yogurt instead.
Use a vegetable peeler to add carrot or dice up cucumber.
Ok, now that you have your salad all set to go, here are 10 recipes to turn it into super tasty no cook meals.
- Avocado + Smashed White Beans = easy and quick lunch
- Pita Bread + Smashed White Beans + Avocado + Tomato + Lettuce = a sandwich that mixes things up a bit by using pita bread
- Whole grain bread + Smashed White Beans + Avocado = an amazing avocado sandwich
- Butter lettuce + Radicchio + Smashed White Beans = a simple salad
- Shredded chicken (leftover from last night or use a precooked rotisserie chicken) + Smashed White Beans + Lettuce = the best chicken salad
- Whole Grain Bread + Shredded chicken + Smashed White Beans = a yummy chicken sandwich
- Tuna + Smashed White Beans + Lettuce = tuna salad that is next level delicious
- Grilled Bread + olive oil + Tuna + Smashed White Beans = a carb lovers tuna sandwich dream
- Shrimp (defrost a bag of cooked, shelled and deveined shrimp) + Smashed White Beans + Kale + Caesar Dressing (you won’t need to use too much, just a little drizzle)= a delicious twist on a Caesar salad
- Smashed White Beans + fork + glass of wine = perfect way to end a day in quarantine.
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