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Cooking seasonally is a great way to celebrate the current time of year and enjoy fruits and vegetables at their peak quality. In the fall and winter, this might mean serving up warm apple pies or hearty potato and leek soups. In the spring and summer, it may mean making refreshing smoothies or chopping up vegetables for colorful salads.
Now, as we leave the cold weather behind, we’re seeing spring produce return, from herbs such as basil and mint to vegetables like radishes and peas. So when I heard about Michelle Obama’s White Bean Salad, I knew it would be perfect for this time of year.
The recipe was developed by acclaimed chef Sam Kass, who served as the White House chef during the Obama administration. It first appeared in the cookbook American Grown: Stories from the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America, published by the former First Lady in 2012. Inspired by the 1,100-square-foot vegetable garden Obama planted at the White House, the book is divided into seasons. This recipe is one of the best in the book at highlighting seasonal veggies for warm-weather potlucks and cookouts.
And it features a surprising texture for a bean salad: crunch.
How to Make Michelle Obama's White Bean Salad
What sets Obama’s white bean salad apart from other bean salads is a focus on spring produce rather than late summer classics. As Chef Kass told Yahoo! during a visit to the former White House garden, the recipe “takes advantage of the goodness of the very first of the harvest.” Thinly sliced radishes and crisp peas offer a light and crunchy sensation, providing the perfect balance for soft beans.
The salad recipe starts with a base of dried cannellini beans (or white kidney beans) that are seasoned with garlic and a bay leaf when cooked. The prepared beans are combined with chives, radishes, fresh basil, and blanched snow or sugar snap peas. These ingredients are then tossed with a mouth-watering dressing made of olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, honey, and chopped shallots.
Michelle Obama's White Bean Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried white beans (cannellini or Great Northern)*
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon honey
- 1 tablespoon chopped shallot
- 1 cup snow peas or sugar snap peas
- 1/2 bunch fresh chives, chopped
- 5 radishes, thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
*You can also substitute 1 (15-ounce) can cannellini or Great Northern beans.
Directions
Adapted from American Grown: Stories from the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America, by Michelle Obama.
Tips for Making Michelle Obama's White Bean Salad
To save time, use canned beans and raw snow or sugar snap peas. Keeping the peas raw also adds more vibrancy and that oh-so-satisfying crunch to the dish.
The recipe is designed to serve 6 to 8 people as an appetizer, but it could also be a picnic or potluck side dish if you double the batch.
This salad could also be an easy weekday lunch with croutons and an additional protein source. I know I’ll be seizing any opportunity to make it this spring!
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