You can’t talk about Turkish Cuisine and not mention Piyaz, our version of White Bean Salad recipe. Growing up, this was a staple in our house. My mom would serve this as a side dish with her kofte (aka Turkish meatballs) or karniyarik (aka stuffed eggplants).
Whenever we had this on the menu, she would call it the “Kofte Piyaz” dinner. It was her version of a weeknight meal because it comes together so quickly with minimal effort. If you are a fan of one of the most popular Turkish recipe kisir, aka tabbouleh, you will love this recipe.
Why I love this recipe:
If you have ever traveled around the Middle Eastern and Mediterranean regions or visited one of the Turkish restaurants around the world, chances are you are familiar with this cold white bean salad recipe. Several cuisines like Greek, Turkish, Persian, and even Armenian offer a version of this salad.
Here are a few reasons why I think this recipe is so popular and stood the test of time:
- Made with simple everyday ingredients in 10 minutes: You probably already have everything in your pantry.
- Easy to customize: Any type of white beans (Navy Bean, Cannellini, Butter Beans, etc.) would work here. Plus, there are a number of popular variations which I cover below.
- Special diet friendly: The traditional version is vegan and gluten free. Though some people also serve it with a few boiled eggs on top. Either way, it is a vegetarian, gluten free and low-carb recipe making it ideal for most special diets.
Ingredients:
As it is with most salad recipes, this Turkish white bean recipe has three sets of ingredients; a zesty salad dressing, fresh salad ingredients, and optional toppings.
- The dressing: This happens to be my favorite Turkish salad dressing and it takes just a few minutes to make. You will need olive oil, apple cider vinegar, fresh garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper and optional red chili pepper flakes, such as Aleppo pepper.
- Key Ingredients for the salad: For the rest, you will need home cooked or canned white navy beans, tomatoes, red onion, and Italian parsley.
- Optional Toppings: If you want to take it up a notch, you can garnish your Turkish beans salad with sumac, black olives, and even a few boiled eggs on top.
Substitutions:
- White beans: You can cook your own white beans from dry beans or use canned beans. I personally like to make this salad with Navy beans, but Cannellini beans or even butter beans would also work. Here is a handy guide to show you how to cook beans for salad.
- Vinegar: The traditional piyaz salad recipe is made with grape vinegar, which is slightly sweeter than your usual white wine vinegar. To me, apple cider vinegar offers the closest fruity tones, but you can also use white or red wine vinegar.
- Tomatoes: I used two-medium-sized heirloom tomatoes but you can use cherry or roma tomatoes as well.
- Sumac: If you are not familiar, sumac is a tangy spice with a sour acidic flavor similar to lemon juice. It is made from the dried and ground berries of the wild sumac flower. You can find it in any Middle Eastern market, but you can also buy it on Amazon. This sumac brand (affiliate link) is my favorite one.
How To Make This Turkish Salad?:
- Make the salad dressing: Place all ingredients in a bowl and whisk until fully combined.
- Prep the salad ingredients: Drain canned beans and rinse them under cold water. Slice the tomatoes in ½ inch and red onions in ¼ inch half moon shape. Place red onions in a bowl with water and let them soak for a few minutes. Doing so helps with removing the harsh flavors of raw onion and makes it easier to digest.
- Assemble: Add the beans, sliced tomatoes and red onion in a large salad bowl. Stir in the roughly chopped Italian parsley and drizzle it with the dressing.
- Cover & let it rest: While it is optional, I recommend letting it rest in the fridge for 30 minutes before serving. Doing so allows the white beans to soak in all the flavors and make it extra delicious.
- Serve: Sprinkle with sumac and if using, garnish with boiled eggs and olives.
Serving Suggestions:
- By itself as a light main meal: During the summer months, when it is so hot outside, I serve it by itself with a crusty bread on the side. It is the perfect light yet full meal when you need a no cook recipe.
- As a side dish with traditional Turkish recipes: Serve as a side salad with Turkish Stuffed Eggplant, Turkish Meatballs, or with Turkish Eggplant with yogurt and Bulgur Wheat Pilaf for vegetarian options.
- Make it a part of your meze spread: Place small portions of it in small bowls and serve it with main meze dishes like tzatziki (aka cacik), hummus and bread dipping oil.
Make Ahead and Storage Instructions:
- Make Ahead: Most people include this navy bean salad recipe as a part of their meal prep because it gets better as it sits. You can make the whole recipe a day in advance and serve it on the next day.
- Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container up to 3 days in the fridge. You might have to taste the seasoning and add it if necessary.
A Few Variations:
- Antalya Piyazi made with tahini: If you are not familiar, Antalya province is located in the South of Turkey and this Turkish bean salad is one of their local dishes. However, their version is slightly different because they add a quarter cup of tahini into the dressing. Some recipes suggest that they use sesame oil instead of olive oil but I usually make it with olive oil. The rest of the recipe is the same. It is a truly delicious version of serving it, especially if you want to try something different.
- Play with the amount of tomatoes you use: During the summer months, when summer tomatoes are in abundance I usually use more than what I would use during the winter months. With that being said, an easy piyaz salad recipe can also be made without tomatoes. Simply omit them if you wish to do so.
FAQs:
Piyaz is a Turkish salad recipe that is made with cooked white beans, red onions, and a zesty grape vinegar and lemon juice salad dressing. It is also a popular dish served as a side dish, meze (small tapas like dishes), or a main meal in most Middle East and Mediterranean countries.
The word piyaz, pronounced as peeh-has, in Turkish means bean salad. However, piyaz means onion in Farsi.
Piyaz offers refreshingly zesty and creamy flavors with every bite. The soft white beans mixed with red onions and zesty vinaigrette delivers a bit of savory, sweet, creamy, and tangy all at the same time.
Other Bean Salad Recipes You Might Also Like:
If you liked this piyaz recipe, it is likely that you are a fan of bean salads like we do. Here are a few more recipes you might also like:
Piyaz – Turkish White Bean Salad Recipe
Ingredients
For The Dressing:
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
For Piyaz Salad:
- 1/2 small red onion, sliced thinly in half moon shape (1/2 cup)
- 2 cans white bean, Cannelini or Navy Beans would work – drained and rinsed
- 2 medium sized tomatoes, sliced ½ inch in half moon shape
- ½ cup Italian Parsley, roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon sumac
Optional:
- 3 tablespoons Black pitted olives
- 2 hard boiled eggs, sliced
Instructions
- To make the dressing: Place olive oil, apple cider vinegar, garlic clove, lemon juice, kosher salt, and black pepper in a bowl and whisk until fully incorporated. Set aside.
- Place sliced red onion in a bowl of water and let soak for 5 minutes, drain.*
- Assemble the salad: Place white beans, drained red onions, sliced tomatoes, and chopped parsley in a large bowl. Drizzle it with the dressing and sumac. Give it a gentle toss.
- Cover it with plastic wrap and let it sit in the fridge for 30 minutes before serving. This is an optional step but allows flavors to mingle and deliver a next level delicious salad.
- If preferred, garnish with black pitted olives and hard boiled eggs. Serve.
Video
Notes
- Soaking red onions is an optional step. If you don’t have time, simply use sliced onions. I find that soaking them for a few minutes helps with digestion and tames their strong flavor.
- Antalya Piyaz made with tahini: If you have ever been to the Antalya province of Turkey, you may have had their version of this piyaz recipe made with tahini. If you want to give that version a try, add in a quarter cup of tahini (sesame paste) into the dressing and follow the rest of the recipe exactly written.
- Make Ahead: Most people include this navy bean salad recipe as a part of their meal prep because it gets better as it sits. You can make the whole recipe a day in advance and serve it on the next day.
- Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container upto 3 days in the fridge. You might have to taste the seasoning and add it if necessary.
- The calorie values listed here do not include the optional toppings.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Found this recipe a few months ago in the winter and we loved it. I have been making it almost every week now that summer is on its way!
That makes me so happy. Thanks for coming by and taking the time to leave a review.
The bean salad was fabulous
I am happy to hear that you enjoyed it Charlotte. Thanks for coming by and taking the time to leave a review.
Wonderful recipe. Made as a side for chicken souvlaki and it was a perfect pairing. Will definitely become a regular in our family’s kitchen!
Oh that sounds like a great combo Nick! Thanks for coming by and taking the time to leave a review.
Fabulous salad! Since I made it for the first time I have been making it twice weekly. In fact, I cooked a whole bag of beans, portioned it and frozen it to be ready whenever I want to have it. Thank you for a great recipe👌❤️
YAY! This makes me so happy Alex.
Have you tried the version with tahini yet?
WOW! What an amazing tomato and white bean salad. I listened to your advise and made it with tahini and let it sit in the fridge. White beans soaked some of the salad dressing making every bite delectable.
This is such a great salad that I will be making often.
Next I will try your kofte. I hope it tastes as good as the street food I had in Istanbul.
Love your blog. Thank you.
This is truly music to my ears Sierra. I love that you tried the version with tahini. That version is truly delicious.
Thanks for coming by and taking the time to leave a review.
will be making this soon i never had salad and turkish food before perfect for my after office meals sorry i took a break from commenting on your recipes as busy with work will tag you on twitter if i make this and let you know how it goes Thanks Ramya
Thanks Ramya.