Have you all been following The Local Moms Network Contributor Kathleen Ashmore’s Hungry Lady Salad series on Instagram & TikTok? Dish after dish is going viral, and this White Bean Pesto Salad with Garlic Croutons & Balsamic Glaze has been a fan favorite, helping her rack up almost 2 million followers on TikTok alone. “It’s great for meal prep as the ingredients store well separately, for a week in the fridge and take just two minutes to combine upon serving,” says Kathleen. Make it once and serve it for a week? That’s a salad and a time-saver.
White Bean Pesto Salad with Garlic Croutons + Balsamic Glaze
Serves 4-6
For the Beans
3 cups cooked white beans
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste 2 tablespoons thinly sliced shallots
1-2 cups garlic croutons recipe below
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
For the Garlic Croutons
5 pieces of bread, a few days old
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, grated
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Serve over a bed of greens with chopped tomatoes
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Cut the bread into small cubes.
- Transfer cubed bread to a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Drizzle the bread with the olive oil and butter and then sprinkle with garlic, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.
- Using your hands, gently toss the croutons and make sure they are coated with all the oil and seasonings.
- Bake for 15 minutes until they are golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool before serving.
To assemble
- Toss the beans with the pesto and adjust salt and pepper as needed. Toss arugula with lemon juice, olive oil and salt and pepper. Arrange the arugula on a large platter, spoon beans, tomatoes and shallots and croutons on top. Drizzle with balsamic glaze.
- For the garlic croutons, mix 4 pieces of stale bread with 2 cloves grated garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper and bake at 400 for 15 minutes until crunchy and golden.
- For the beans, 1⁄2 cup pesto (I grabbed some from my stash in the freezer, but store bought is cool) and mix with 2 cans of white beans
- Plate her up! 10 oz arugula, 2 cups tomatoes, olive oil, lemon juice, and salt. Notice we are seasoning often, because we are building flavor besties!
This post originally appeared on The Local Moms Network