Make this dietitian’s easy version of the trending dense bean salad to feel full all day

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Prep your lunch ahead of time with this quick-to-make dense bean salad recipe

Shot of person's hands chopping cucumbers with a chef's knife on a wooden chopping board. Other veg is in shot
(Image credit: Ivan Pantic / Getty Images)
Makes6–6
Nutrition Per PortionRDA
Calories220 Kcal11%
Fat7 g10%
Saturated Fat2 g10%
Carbohydrates30 g12%
Sugars4 g4%
Protein9 g18%

For busy professionals, a meal that can be made ahead of time and eaten on the go can be a lifesaver. For office lunches, in particular, the convenience of the gas station sandwich or hot dog stand outside can be tempting, and while there’s nothing wrong with those choices, you could be getting a lot more out of your lunches with a fiber-rich dish instead.

This recipe was developed for Fit&Well by Roxana Ehsani, MS, RD, CSSD, LDN and is great for your gut health, filling and super easy to pull together. It’s inspired by the dense bean salad recipes that started trending on TikTok six months ago, but has a couple tweaks to make it even better for gut health.

“The star of this recipe is sorghum, an ancient grain that deserves more attention, especially for its gut health benefits,” says Ehsani. “A ½ cup serving of sorghum grain packs 6.5 grams of fiber. Plus, it contains prebiotics and polyphenols, which research suggests can nourish beneficial gut bacteria and promote a balanced microbiome. Plus, sorghum maintains its textural integrity and the flavors intensify as it sits, making it taste even better on days two, three and four.”

The beans used in this salad are white beans, another powerhouse for fiber, which, alongside the fresh vegetables, fuels healthy digestion and feeds the gut microbiome.

Method

  1. Add all ingredients to a large bowl.
  2. Stir until well combined.
  3. Divide between six containers for easy grab-and-go meals.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups cooked sorghum grain
  • 2 Persian cucumbers, sliced
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 2 large celery stalks, chopped
  • 1 15oz can of white beans, rinsed and drained
  • ½ cup fresh mozzarella pearls
  • ¼ cup pesto sauce
Lou Mudge
Fitness Writer

Lou Mudge is a Health Writer at Future Plc, working across Fit&Well and Coach. She previously worked for Live Science, and regularly writes for Space.com and Pet's Radar. Based in Bath, UK, she has a passion for food, nutrition and health and is eager to demystify diet culture in order to make health and fitness accessible to everybody.

Multiple diagnoses in her early twenties sparked an interest in the gut-brain axis and the impact that diet and exercise can have on both physical and mental health. She was put on the FODMAP elimination diet during this time and learned to adapt recipes to fit these parameters, while retaining core flavors and textures, and now enjoys cooking for gut health.