Old Fashioned Kidney Bean Salad
Colorful, crunchy and fresh, this deliciously easy Old Fashioned Kidney Bean Salad makes a perfect cold side dish and takes just a few minutes to make. 
This easy bean salad has such a fond place in my memories. When I was a little girl you could be certain you’d find a bowl of this tangy, crunchy cold salad at the little country church potlucks I attended with my grandma.
Check out my other church potluck favorites:
Kidney bean salad takes just a handful of ingredients and transforms them into such a colorful and filling side dish. And it’s a great way to use up those hardboiled eggs you might have leftover from Easter. (Note my pretty shiny Easter eggs!)
To make Old Fashioned Kidney Bean Salad you’ll need:
2 (15 ounce) cans kidney beans
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup sweet pickles, chopped
3 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1/2 cup of Miracle Whip or mayo
Now let’s talk about some of these ingredients, substitutions and additions.
1) It doesn’t matter what color kidney beans you use. Dark red, light red, whatever your preference is fine! Shoot, you could even substitute in black beans or whatever canned bean you’ve got and it would probably still be tasty.
2) I like chopping up sweet pickles for my kidney bean salad because I like getting an actual bite of pickle in my salad. Feel free to substitute sweet pickle relish instead and make things even easier.
3) The dressing. You can use your preference of Miracle Whip or mayo. I know a lot of people feel very strongly about this one. Use what your taste buds like. Whatever you use, it’s going to mix in with the egg yolks and will give the salad a dressing that has a taste similar to a deviled egg. So I suggest using whatever you use to make your deviled eggs. I like both, but I think Miracle Whip tastes the best in this salad.
4) Sometimes I also add about 1/2 cup cubed cheddar cheese to this salad. It makes a great addition.
This cold salad goes great with sandwiches, burgers, like my Juicy Burger loose meat sandwiches, and leftover Easter ham! Hope you’ll enjoy this old fashioned blast from the past as much as I do.
Old Fashioned Kidney Bean Salad
Colorful, crunchy and fresh, this deliciously easy Old Fashioned Kidney Bean Salad makes a perfect cold side dish and takes just a few minutes to make.
Ingredients
- 2 (15 ounce) cans of kidney beans
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped sweet onion
- 1/4 cup chopped sweet pickle
- 3 hard boiled eggs, chopped
- 1/2 cup Miracle Whip or Mayo
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- First drain and rinse off your kidney beans.
- Add the kidney beans to a medium sized bowl along with the chopped celery, onion, sweet pickles, hard boiled eggs, and Miracle Whip.
- Stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Will stay fresh in the fridge for several days. Just cover tightly with plastic wrap.
Notes
- Use whatever color kidney beans you have on hand, light red or dark red.
- Sweet pickle relish may be substituted for the chopped sweet pickles.
- Either Miracle Whip or mayo can be used for the dressing, use your preference.
Amy, my mother used to make this when I was growing up. I always loved it. Since she has passed, I haven ‘t been able to find a recipe even close until I found yours. Sometimes my mother would add chopped up bologna to make it a one dish meal. Whenever she made kidney bean salad, I thought I was getting a real treat. Thank you so much for posting this.
this brings back memories. Growing up in the 60s, my mom made this a lot. We never made it with corn, but I’d be willing to give it a try.
My mom always made this salad but never with pickles ,love it ,reminds me of my childhood
My mom started making this in the 1950s. I loved it and begged her to make it even when there was no special occasion. I used your recipe and it was just as I remembered it. Delicious! Used pickle relish and everything else the same. Thanks for sharing!