Four Bean Salad

And here you thought you can’t can salad! This bean salad is a time-honoured crowd pleaser.

When you serve it, drain, then toss with a tablespoon of oil.

Easily doubled and tripled. This really is great to have on hand as a salad to take to parties, etc, at the last minute.

The recipe

Jar size: Half-litre (1 US pint / 500 ml/ 16 oz)

Processing method: Water bath or steam canning

Yield: 5 x half-litre (US pint) jars

Headspace: 2 cm (1/2 inch)

Processing time: 15 minutes (all jar sizes)

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Four Bean Salad

Yield: 5 x half-litre (US pint) jars

Prep Time 1 hour

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Yield 5 x half-litre (US pint) jars

Calories 226 kcal

Ingredients

• 750 ml white vinegar (5% acidity or higher. (3 cups / 24 oz)
• 550 g sugar (white. 2 1/2 cups / 20 oz)
• 1 tablespoon mustard seed
• 1 teaspoon celery seed
• 4 teaspoons pickling salt
• 300 ml water ( 1 1/4 cups / 10 oz)
• 700 g green beans (4 1/2 cups / 1 1/2 lbs. Cut into 4 cm / 1 1/2 inch slices. Measurements after prep.)
• 700 g yellow beans (4 1/2 cups / 1 1/2 lbs. Cut into 4 cm / 1 1/2 inch slices. Measurements after prep.)
• 200 g celery (About 2 cups, 7 oz in weight. About 3 stalks. Cut into 2 cm / 3/4 inch pieces. Measurements after prep.)
• 250 g onion (sliced thinly. 1 2/3 cups, 1/2 lb, 1 large. Measurements after prep.)
• 150 g red bell pepper (diced. 1 medium / 1 cup / 5 oz. Measured after seeding, coring.)
• 250 g kidney beans (cooked, drained. 1 1/2 cups / 1/2 lb)
• 250 g chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans. Cooked, drained. 1 1/2 cups / 1/2 lb)
• Pickle Crisp (optional)
• bay leaves (optional)

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

1. Make the picking solution by combining in a large pot everything from the vinegar down to and including the water. Set aside.
2. Prep the green beans, yellow beans, celery, onion and bell pepper. You can combine all in a large pot. Set aside.
3. Put a large kettle or pot of water on to boil.
4. Put the brine on a low burner to start simmering.
5. Pour the water that you boiled over the veggies in their pot. Bring the veggie pot to a boil over medium high heat, then add the kidney and garbanzo beans and reduce to a gentler boil for 5 minutes.
6. Drain the veggies.
7. Divvy the drained veg mixture out among the jars.
8. Leave 2 cm (1/2 inch) headspace.
9. In each jar, also tuck a bay leaf (optional) and put 1/8th teaspoon Pickle Crisp (optional).
10. Bring pickling mixture to a full boil, then turn off heat.

11. Divvy the pickling solution out amongst the jars, leaving 2 cm (1/2 inch) headspace. If you are short of pickling solution, add a bit of heated white vinegar (not water) directly to the jars that need it. (Quick zap in microwave for the heated vinegar; mind the surge as you remove it.)

12. Debubble, adjust headspace.
13. Wipe jar rims.
14. Put lids on.
15. Process in a water bath or steam canner.
16. Process jars for 15 minutes; increase time as needed for your altitude.
17. Best after at least a month of jar time.

Reference information

How to water bath process.

How to steam can.

When water-bath canning or steam canning, you must adjust the processing time for your altitude.

Australia and New Zealand vinegar strength special notes.

Recipe notes

• Instead of the salt, you can use a non-bitter, non-clouding salt sub. We have found Herbamare Sodium-Free performs well in that regard.
• You can reduce the sugar, or use the same volume amount of granulated Splenda®, or use 3 teaspoons of liquid stevia. For stevia, we’d recommend Better Stevia liquid stevia.
• Instead of the kidney beans and chickpeas, you could use fresh shelled Lima beans.

Recipe source

Pickled Three Bean Salad. In: Ball Blue Book. Muncie, Indiana: Healthmark LLC / Jarden Home Brands. Edition 37. 2014. Page 136.

Kingry, Judi and Lauren Devine. Ball / Bernardin Complete Book of Home Preserving. Toronto: Robert Rose. 2015. Page 310.

Modifications made:

• Swapped out 500 g (1 lb) lima beans and swapped in 250 g (1/2 lb) each of kidney and garbanzo beans

See also Pickled Three Bean Salad from the USDA at the National Center, which uses kidney and garbanzo beans, and adds oil.

Nutrition information

Serving size: 250 g / 1 cup

Sugar and salt-free version

Per 250 g / 1 cup: 226 calories, 220 mg sodium

Weight Watchers PointsPlus®: 1 cup (250 g), 5 points; 2 cups (500 g), 11 points.

* Nutrition info provided by https://caloriecount.about.com

* PointsPlus™ calculated by healthycanning.com. Not endorsed by Weight Watchers® International, Inc, which is the owner of the PointsPlus® registered trademark.

* Better Stevia ® is a registered trademark of the NOW Foods Company.

* Herbamare ® is a registered trademark of the A. Vogel Corporation.

* Pickle Crisp ® is a registered trademark of the Jarden Corporation.