Three-bean salad sandwiches have the makings of a new picnic classic

I can no more remember the first time I tasted a three-bean salad than I can remember the first time I breathed. It’s always been there, at every picnic, every cookout of my life, as unchanging as the air.

And for the longest time, I loved it. My mother, like so many of her generation, would combine three kinds of canned beans – including green – in a sweet-tart (let’s be honest: mostly sweet) dressing, along with chopped onions and celery. But as I grew up and my palate matured, I had to admit a problem with the whole concept: I loathe canned green beans. Where other beans can still maintain their taste and texture when canned – I consider them one of the best convenience products you can buy – I find the green ones mushy and relatively flavorless, especially when compared to the freshly cooked version.

I updated the dish when I wrote my 2020 cookbook, “Cool Beans.” For that, I roasted fresh wax beans along with garlic cloves, using the soft garlic in a dressing that includes a lot less sugar than my mother’s did. I added a fistful of parsley and topped the salad with feta, and have made it that way for years.

Recently, though, when I started craving three-bean salad, I wanted it in sandwich form. After all, if a picnic classic is good eaten with a fork, wouldn’t it be even better between slices of bread? One of the charms of three-bean salad is that its flavors improve over time, a quality that would serve a picnic sandwich well, too – at least for a day.

There was still that matter of the green beans. Even after roasting them, I just didn’t want them in a sandwich, where their texture was neither soft and creamy like the other beans, nor crunchy like the onions in the mix. Distracting. I thought of chopping them finer and finer, until I realized that the dish has an escape clause built right into the name. Who’s to say exactly which three beans? I tried it with chickpeas, cannellinis and kidneys, and it was spot-on.

Pick whatever beans you want, naturally, combining a half cup from three different cans to make four sandwiches, but to make it easier, look for cans of already-mixed beans. They go by many names – “bean trio,” “bean medley,” “three-bean blend” – but avoid those that are already tossed in a dressing or that, ugh, already include canned green beans.

To take my sandwiches to the next level, I leave onions out of the salad and layer on slices of sweet Vidalias. And for a little richness, I turn to a favorite product, Boursin spreadable cheese (the kind that stars in “The Bear” omelet), which now comes in an excellent plant-based version. I also like to include big, crunchy sprouts like those from sunflowers, if you can find them, but you can use whatever sprouts you like.

I’m not saying these sandwiches should replace every three-bean salad at every picnic you attend for the rest of your life. But I do think they have the makings of a new classic.

Three-Bean Salad Sandwiches

INGREDIENTS2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon maple syrup

1 garlic clove, finely grated or pressed

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 (15-ounce) can three-bean combination, drained and rinsed (1 1/2 cups)

¼ cup lightly packed flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped

8 slices low-sodium multigrain sandwich bread, such as Ezekiel Food for Life 4:9 brand, lightly toasted

½ cup Boursin or other spreadable cheese

½ cup large sprouts, such as sunflower sprouts or microgreens, for serving

Thinly sliced yellow onion, preferably Vidalia, for serving

STEPS

In a medium bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, mustard, maple syrup, garlic and pepper until emulsified.

Add the beans and parsley, and stir to combine. Use a potato masher or wooden spoon to lightly mash the beans, keeping many of them whole but mashing enough that they stick together.

Spread one side of each bread slice with 1 tablespoon of the cheese. Build the sandwiches with sprouts on the bottom, beans in the middle and onions on top, then serve.

Yield: 4 servings

Storage: Wrap any leftover completed sandwiches in parchment or wax paper, and refrigerate for up to 1 day. Refrigerate leftover salad (minus the bread) for up to 4 days.