This kale arugula butter bean salad is our current go-to salad! It’s creamy from the tahini dressing and soft butter beans, punchy and peppery from the arugula and radicchio, sharp from the grainy mustard and lemon, has a chopped kale salad vibe, and those crunchy bread crumbs finish it off just right. We’ve made a version of this at least 4 times in the last week alone. Big fans!

This is also the first time that I’ve posted a butter bean recipe here, which is shocking to me. I love how big they are and that super soft “buttery” texture. Perfect in salads like this one, vegan soup recipes, or for topping bowls. I always have a couple cans on hand.

Some tips for this Kale Arugula Butter Bean Salad:

• Normally I recommend massaging kale ahead of time to soften it up, but I don’t do that here! I like the salad dressed simply all at once. If you’re particular about your kale texture though, you can massage it ahead of time with a drizzle of olive oil, some lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
• If you’re allergic to sesame seeds, I recommend replacing the tahini with either raw cashew butter or sunflower seed butter.
• Plenty of gluten free bread options work great for the fresh bread crumbs here!
• Chickpeas are delicious here in place of the butter beans.
• A local shop sells amazing pickled red onions that I pick up often! They are super easy to make though. Great recipe here.
• I used red kale from my garden for these photos, but Lacinato kale is ideal in this salad.
• Soom tahini is my favourite.

You really do have to love the bitter flavour of radicchio and the peppery quality of arugula to get on board with this salad. I know that using fresh basil in this salad seems a bit random, but I think the subtle anise/peppery flavour is quite complimentary here.

What to serve with this salad:

• Crispy Baked Sweet Potato Fries
• Sweet Potato Cake Patties (omit slaw)
• Salt Baked Potatoes with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
• Smashed Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Potatoes

Hope that you give this hearty 30 minute salad a go! I’ve been turning to it when I’m in a hurry but still want something that feels healthy-ish and nourishing. To make it easier, you can mix up the dressing and keep it in the fridge for up to a week. It may need a little loosening with water straight out of the fridge though.

Kale Arugula Butter Bean Salad with Mustard Tahini & Garlicky Bread Crumbs

This kale arugula butter bean salad is nourishing, hearty, flavourful, and ready in about 30 minutes. Grainy mustard tahini is creamy and delicious with peppery greens, and garlicky bread crumbs add crunch.

5 from 13 votes

Print Recipe

Prep Time: 25 minutes mins

Cook Time: 7 minutes mins

Total Time: 32 minutes mins

Servings 4 -6

Ingredients

Garlicky Bread Crumbs

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 ½ cups fresh bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Grainy Mustard Tahini

• ¼ cup tahini
• sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 clove garlic finely grated with a Microplane
• 1 tablespoon grainy mustard
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon maple syrup
• ¼ cup ice water, plus extra if needed

Kale Arugula Butter Bean Salad

• 4 cups baby arugula, lightly packed and chopped
• 4 cups kale, lightly packed and chopped
• 1 small head radicchio, chopped
• ½ cup basil leaves, finely sliced
• ⅓ cup pickled red onions, chopped
• 13.5 oz (398 ml) can butter beans, drained and rinsed
• sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Notes

• Normally I recommend massaging kale ahead of time to soften it up, but I don’t do that here! I like the salad dressed simply all at once. If you’re particular about your kale texture though, you can massage it ahead of time with a drizzle of olive oil, some lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
• If you’re allergic to sesame seeds, I recommend replacing the tahini with either raw cashew butter or sunflower seed butter.
• Plenty of gluten free bread options work great for the fresh bread crumbs here!
• Chickpeas are delicious here in place of the butter beans.
• A local shop sells amazing pickled red onions that I pick up often! They are super easy to make though. Great recipe here.
• I used red kale from my garden for these photos, but Lacinato kale is ideal in this salad.

Instructions

• Make the garlicky bread crumbs. Set a medium sauté pan over medium heat. Once hot, pour in the olive oil and swirl it around. Add the bread crumbs, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Stir often, until bread crumbs are golden brown and crisp, about 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Make the grainy mustard tahini. In a medium bowl, whisk together the tahini, salt, pepper, garlic, grainy mustard, lemon juice, olive oil, and maple syrup. Then, while whisking, slowly pour in the ice water. Once you have a homogenous, creamy, and fluid/pourable texture, you're good! You may have to add a bit more water to get it to this point. Once the dressing is to your liking, set aside.
• Assemble the salad! In a large bowl, combine the arugula, kale, radicchio, basil, pickled red onions, butter beans, salt, and pepper. Pour all of the grainy mustard tahini dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Top the salad with the garlicky bread crumbs.

Author: Laura Wright

Course: Main Course, Salad, Side Dish

Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian

Keyword: arugula, basil, bread, bread crumbs, butter beans, fall, garlic, garlic powder, grainy mustard, holiday entertaining, holidays, kale, lemon, lemon juice, maple syrup, nutritional yeast, olive oil, pickled red onions, radicchio, spring, summer, tahini, winter