I love turning to seasonal produce in recipes like this delicious, colorful Mediterranean White Bean Salad with Persimmons, which is 100% plant-based (vegan) and gluten-free. The earthy flavors of white beans, kale, and walnuts with sweet, crunchy persimmons shine in this Mediterranean-inspired white bean salad. This easy kale salad is filling enough to be a meal paired with a flavorful soup, like my Vegetable Stone Soup. Plus, this salad is robust enough for meal prep, making it perfect for on-the-go meals during the week.
Paired with a simple Mediterranean salad dressing, this cool weather salad will brighten up your toughest days! It is also a great addition to your holiday table, parties or catering. I actually brought this salad to my Thanksgiving potluck this year and it was a big hit. You can easily substitute a different bean for the white beans, such as chickpeas or black beans, and a different nut for the nuts, such as hazelnuts, peanuts, or almonds. Follow along with me recipe video below to learn how to make this easy, delicious salad in minutes with only 7 ingredients (minus the pantry staples).
How to eat persimmons
Persimmons—in season from late summer to early winter—offer such a unique flavor, color and texture to cool-weather recipes. This bright pink-orange color is a card to the nourishing power of lotuses, compliments of phytochemicals. Here’s a note about persimmons—there are two main types of persimmon—hachiya (pictured above at the farmers market) and fuyu (pictured with my salad). Fuyu are squat and round, a bit like an orange tomato. These can be eaten crisp before they soften and ripen. These are the types of persimmons that work best in recipes like this one. Hachiya persimmons should be eaten soft and ripe, so they are not so good in fresh salads. Learn more about using persimmons in the kitchen here.
Nutrition Notes
This salad is off the charts with nutrients for a moderate amount of calories! Persimmons offer a good range of vitamins A and C, lutein and fiber. Beans offer a nice dose of B vitamins, protein, fiber, iron, copper, potassium, zinc and magnesium. Kale is packed with essential nutrients like vitamins A, C, and K, potassium, and calcium—plus phytochemicals. And walnuts pack a punch of heart-healthy fats. What’s not to love about this nutrition combo!
Watch my video on how to make it Mediterranean salad with white beans in The Plant-Powered Dietitian.
Description
This healthy Mediterranean white bean salad with persimmons is packed with seasonal produce, making it a diet superstar and the perfect gluten-free vegan salad choice this fall and winter.
Persimmon salad:
- 1 (15-ounce) cans of white beans, (i.e. cannellini the navy beans) is washed, drained
- 1 big bunch cabbagechopped (approx 4 cups)
- 2 stable fuyu persimmonspeeled, thinly sliced
- 1/3 fl walnutscoarsely chopped
Mediterranean Salad Dressing:
- To make salad: Toss the beans, cabbage, persimmons and walnuts in a large mixing bowl.
- To make the vinaigrette: Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, balsamic or pomegranate molasses, garlic, whole grain mustard and black pepper and sea salt (optional).
- Toss salad with vinaigrette. Chill until serving time.
- Preparation time: 10 minutes
- Category: Salad
- Kitchen: American, Mediterranean
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 portion
- Calories: 112
- Sugar: 1 gr
- Sodium: 12 mg
- Fat: 4 gr
- Carbohydrates: 16 gr
- Protein: 6 gr
Keywords: how to eat persimmons, white bean salad, mediterranean salad dressing, vegan salad dressing
For other hearty fall and winter salads, try these:
Quinoa Apple Waldorf Salad
Butternut Squash Salad with Cabbage and Barley
Avocado quinoa salad with pomegranate
Jewel Winter Salad with Orange Vinaigrette
Blood orange salad with kale and hazelnuts
Sonoma Kale Salad with Red Grapes and Mushroom-Red Wine Vinaigrette
Bowl of Quinoa and Mandarin Kale
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