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This Dense White Bean Salad is loaded with cannellini & garbanzo beans, roasted chicken, fresh herbs, and classic Moroccan flavors. Inspired by Violet Witchel’s Tiktok series, this recipe makes a wonderful meal prep option, with leftovers that keep great in the fridge for days. 

A bowl of Moroccan dense bean salad.

If you’re anything like me, your social media feed is full of fun and creative food.

Whether it’s trendy food hacks or classic recipes, I’m always overwhelmed by how many talented creators there are out there. And when I found Violet Witchel’s Tiktok, I was totally hooked.

She recently shared a series coined ‘Dense Bean Salads’ or ‘DBS’, a concept that combines canned beans with fresh herbs and some form of protein. The result is the heartiest, most satisfying salad I think I’ve ever had.

While the recipe that inspired mine was built around chimmichurri steak flavors, I decided to lean into my love of Moroccan cuisine for my take on the DBS trend.

What You’ll Need

Feel free to use rotisserie chicken or your favorite roasted chicken thigh recipe, or follow my go-to ras el hanout chicken thigh recipe.

Bowls of beans, feta, chicken and more.
Find the full ingredient list with exact quantities in the recipe card below.

How to Make This White Bean Salad

seasoned chicken thighs on a pan
Roast the chicken. Follow the steps in this recipe to roast your chicken. Continue to prep the salad while the chicken cooks. If using rotisserie chicken, dice into cubes.
Bowls of minced herbs & vegetables.
Mince all of veggies & herbs. Mince the cilantro, parsley, dice the shallot & roasted red peppers. Dice the chicken into cubes when it’s ready too.
A Moroccan salad dressing in a bowl.
Whisk together the dressing ingredients. In a large bowl, combine harissa, garlic, lemon juice, and oil. Whisk together until evenly combined.
A bowl with feta, beans, shallots, and more.
Add everything to the bowl. To the large bowl with the dressing add the chicken, cilantro, parsley, shallot, roasted red peppers, garbanzo, cannellini beans, and feta (if using). Toss together with the dressing and enjoy! 

Tip: Make sure to use a sharp knife when prepping the salad as there’s lots of chopping and mincing involved!

A bowl with feta, garbanzos, shallots, and more.

Mix Up Your DBS

The beauty of Violet’s dense bean salad concept is how versatile it is. You can take the base of canned beans, some other form of protein and fresh herbs, and go in any direction of flavors you’d like.

Here are some ideas:

  • Make it vegetarian/vegan: Feel free to skip the chicken and feta entirely to make this a vegan/vegetarian friendly salad.
  • Switch up the meat/beans: If you don’t like garbanzo beans or prefer great northern beans to cannellini beans, feel free to switch them up. You can also use steak or rotisserie chicken instead of the ras el hanout chicken I call for in this recipe.
  • Play with the spices: I’m leaning heavily on my favorite Moroccan flavors here, but you can easily take the ingredients here in another direction. Try using a different spice blend on the chicken and use your favorite fresh herbs!
A bowl of Moroccan dense bean salad.

Quick Substitutes

I also want to note that some of the Moroccan ingredients listed (harissa, ras el hanout seasoning) in my recipe may not be accessible to you, so feel free to substitute as needed!

Here are my go-to substitutes for these staple ingredients:

A bowl of Moroccan dense bean salad.

More Hearty Salads

Classic Moroccan Lentil Salad

30-Minute Warm Couscous Salad

15-Minute Moroccan-Spiced Chickpea Salad

Ensalada de Pollo (Mexican-Style Chicken Salad)

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A bowl of Moroccan dense bean salad.

Dense Bean Salad with Roasted Chicken

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 2 reviews
  • Author: Salima Benkhalti
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 45 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: 6 servings
  • Category: Main Dish, Entree
  • Method: Tossed, Roasted
  • Cuisine: Moroccan, American
  • Diet: Gluten Free
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Description

This dense white bean salad is loaded with cannellini & garbanzo beans, roasted chicken, fresh herbs, and classic Moroccan flavors. Inspired by Violet Witchel’s Tiktok series, this recipe makes a wonderful meal prep option, with leftovers that keep great in the fridge for days. 

Ingredients

Units Scale

For the Salad:

  • 4 ras el hanout roasted chicken thighs, cubed (can substitute with rotisserie chicken or your favorite roasted chicken)
  • 1 shallot, diced
  • 1/2 cup cilantro, minced
  • 1/2 cup parsley, minced
  • 1 cup roasted red peppers, drained & diced
  • 1 can garbanzo beans, drained & rinsed
  • 1 can of cannellini beans, drained & rinsed
  • Optional: 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled

For the Dressing:

  • 1/4 cup harissa
  • 1 garlic clove, grated
  • 1/2 cup lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup olive oil

Instructions

  1. Roast the chicken. Follow the steps in this recipe to roast your chicken. Continue to prep the salad while the chicken cooks. If using rotisserie chicken, dice into cubes.
  2. Mince all of veggies & herbs. Mince the cilantro, parsley, dice the shallot & roasted red peppers. Dice the chicken into cubes when it’s ready too.
  3. Whisk together the dressing ingredients. In a large bowl, combine harissa, garlic, lemon juice, and oil. Whisk together until evenly combined.
  4. Add everything to the bowl. To the large bowl with the dressing add the chicken, cilantro, parsley, shallot, roasted red peppers, garbanzo, cannellini beans, and feta (if using). Toss together with the dressing and enjoy!

Notes

  • Feel free to skip the chicken and feta entirely to make this a vegan/vegetarian friendly salad.
  • Because of the dense nature of the recipe, it keeps exceptionally well when stored in the fridge for several days.

Enjoy this recipe?

If you tried this recipe, please consider leaving a review in the comment section. I love hearing feedback and your review helps to keep Salima’s Kitchen going!