Warm Butter Bean Salad with Buffalo Sauce

Overhead photo of butterbean salad with buffalo sauce topped with blue cheese and pita croutons

Warm Butter Bean Salad with Buffalo Sauce

This Spicy Butter Bean Salad combines warm butterbeans with buffalo sauce, crunchy lettuce, cool ranch dressing, crispy pita croutons, and crumbles of salty blue cheese (optional but highly recommended!). It's the most delicious combination of things, and packed with good nutrition, too!

Course Main Course, Salad

Cuisine American

Diet Vegetarian

Keyword Buffalo, Butter Bean Salad

Prep Time 30

Total Time 30

Servings

Calories 559kcal

Author Katie Trant

Ingredients

Pita Croutons

2 small rounds of pita bread
1 Tablespoon olive oil for brushing
salt and pepper
za'atar or another seasoning—optional

Buffalo Butter Beans

1 Tablespoon butter
3 Tablespoons hot sauce I use Franks
14 ounce can butter beans or other large white beans, drained

Buffalo Butter Bean Salad

6-8 leaves Tuscan kale de-stemmed and sliced into ribbons
2 cups crunchy lettuce I like gem lettuce or romaine torn into bite-sized pieces
½ cup diced cucumber
12 baby plum tomatoes sliced in half
1 rib celery ½ to 1 rib per salad, diced small
2 Tablespoons Ranch dressing use more or less as you like
2-3 Tablespoons blue cheese crumbled
½ cup pita croutons or crushed up pita chips
generous scoop of buffalo butter beans

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

To make pita croutons

Pre-heat your oven to 180°C/350°F.
Brush the pita with olive oil on both sides, then season with salt, pepper, and optional za'atar.
2 small rounds of pita bread, 1 Tablespoon olive oil, salt and pepper, za'atar
Slice the pita bread into very small pieces.
Arrange the pita pieces onto a baking sheet, and give the pan a shake to spread them out.
Place in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.
Remove from the oven and cool completely.

To make buffalo butter beans

Place a small skillet over medium heat.
Add the butter to the pan to melt.
1 Tablespoon butter
Once the butter is melted, add the hot sauce and then the beans.
3 Tablespoons hot sauce, 14 ounce can butter beans
Toss to combine everything well.
Let this mixture simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Remove from the heat and set aside to cool slighly.

To make Buffalo Butter Bean Salads

Place the ribboned kale in a large salad bowl. Add a tiny bit of the ranch dressing or a tiny splash of olive oil to the kale, and rub it between your fingers to soften the kale.
6-8 leaves Tuscan kale
Add the lettuce to the bowl, and toss to combine with the kale.
2 cups crunchy lettuce
Scatter the cucumber, tomatoes, and celery over top, followed by a drizzle of ranch dressing over the whole thing.
½ cup diced cucumber, 12 baby plum tomatoes, 1 rib celery, 2 Tablespoons Ranch dressing
Add the blue cheese crumbles and croutons, and lastly, add a generous scoop of buffalo butter beans to the top.
2-3 Tablespoons blue cheese, ½ cup pita croutons or crushed up pita chips, generous scoop of buffalo butter beans
Enjoy!

Notes

Nutrition values are an estimate only and will vary depend on the ingredients you use
A batch of buffalo butter beans will be enough for 2-3 salads, depending on how much bean you like in your salad.
I make pita croutons for this recipe, but crushed-up pita chips are perfectly fine if you can find those easily. You can also use whatever croutons you have on hand, but we want them to be small. Not the big croutons you'd use for a Caesar salad, but somewhere between panko bread crumbs and a crouton.

Nutrition