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Italian White Bean Salad (Sleeping Bean Salad)

Written by Danielle Oteri

My brother always had a Dickensian knack for naming things. One of his childhood best was christening our family’s Italian white bean salad “sleeping beans” because they required a good overnight soaking.

“Good night, little beans,” my mother joked as she covered the bowl with a dishcloth.

In the morning, the beans had doubled in size and would be ready to be boiled, then dressed with garlic and extra virgin olive oil.

bowl of Italian white bean salad with a spoon scooping beans
Photo: Casey Barber

A huge Tupperware full of them would be devoured throughout the week, particularly in the summer months when it was nice to eat something both cold and savory all at once.

A batch of sleeping beans makes a wonderful side dish, a unique contribution to a BBQ or picnic, or the perfect topping for a salad of dark greens.

This Italian white bean salad can also be simply enjoyed with an extra swirl of olive oil, a piece of crusty bread, and a hunk of hard cheese.

bowl of Italian white bean salad with a spoon scooping beans
Photo: Casey Barber

White beans are a staple of any table in Tuscany and Tuscans are jokingly referred to as mangiafagioli (pronounced “mon-juh-fuh-joe-lee”), or “bean eaters.”

On menus, they appear as a contorni served late in the meal during the vegetable course. In a region known for producing absolutely exquisite olive oils, Tuscans drown their beans in the golden liquid.

I do the same and believe that Americans need to be far more liberal with their use of olive oil. Those leftover fears from the 1980s about butter and olive oil really need to go.

bowl of Italian white bean salad
Photo: Casey Barber

Sleeping beans didn’t appear in Italy until the New World explorations of the sixteenth century. (Once again, much of Italian cuisine might rightly be called Mexican food.)

In Tuscany, they are most traditionally prepared with sage and garlic. In Sicily, hot peppers are added, and the beans are mixed into pasta.

Naples is famous for a pasta and white bean soup you may know with a Neapolitan accent called “pasta fazool.”

sicilian oregano bunch
Photo: Casey Barber

I’ve been tinkering with different herbs and olive oils for this recipe my entire adult life and my definitive sleeping bean salad features wild oregano from Calabria or Sicily.

It can be found online in Italian specialty stores and it’s absolutely worth the effort.

But if that’s impossible, inspect the jars at your grocery store for Turkish oregano, which also grows wild and has its flavor intensified by the hot Mediterranean winds.

The oregano in your standard McCormick tin is Mexican, and is better suited for chili and salsa. If regular oregano is Debbie Reynolds, then wild oregano is Sophia Loren.

bowl of Italian white bean salad with a spoon scooping beans
Photo: Casey Barber

Editor’s Note: Instant Pot Sleeping Beans!

While you can certainly make this Italian white bean salad the traditional way, on the stovetop, you can also cook your beans in the Instant Pot.

I like to soak my beans—excuse me, let my beans sleep—for 4-6 hours in a bowl of cold water.

Then I drain the beans, transfer to the bowl of the Instant Pot, and cover with fresh water by 1 inch.

bowl of Italian white bean salad with a spoon scooping beans

For small, tender beans like these white beans, I set my Instant Pot to HIGH for 20 minutes.

This leaves the beans just a little toothsome, but still cooked through and ready to marinate with oil, garlic, and oregano.

In the photos here, I’ve used Rancho Gordo’s flageolet beans, but you could also use cannellini, alubia blanca, or other small white beans.

bowl of Italian white bean salad with a spoon scooping beans

Italian White Bean Salad (Sleeping Bean Salad)

Yield: 6 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Additional Time: 9 hours
Total Time: 10 hours 40 minutes

"Sleeping bean salad," an Italian white bean salad that marinates for a few days, is a simple cold and savory salad that's worth the wait.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound dried great white northern beans or other tender white bean
  • 1 whole garlic head
  • 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons wild oregano
  • 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions

To cook the beans on the stovetop:

  1. Put your beans to sleep overnight in a large bowl with enough cool water to cover by at least an inch.
  2. The next day, rinse the beans and pour into a large stockpot. Again, cover the beans with enough water and bring to a boil.
  3. Simmer for 1 hour or until al dente. Set aside to cool.

To cook the beans in an Instant Pot:

  1. Soak for 4-6 hours, then drain.
  2. Add the beans to the bowl of the Instant Pot and cover with water by 1 inch.
  3. Seal the Instant Pot lid and cook on HIGH pressure for 20 minutes.
  4. Turn off and release pressure naturally (15-20 minutes), then open the lid and drain the beans.

Finish the salad:

  1. While the beans are simmering, heat an oven or toaster oven to 350 degrees F and roast the garlic cloves as directed for 45 minutes.
  2. Squeeze the roasted garlic from the papery skins.
  3. Drain the cooled beans and mix with the olive oil, wild oregano, red pepper flakes, salt, and roasted garlic.
  4. Though you can eat sleeping bean salad immediately, the flavors will meld as it sits in your refrigerator, tasting its very best 2-3 days after prep.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 398Total Fat: 29gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 24gCholesterol: 3mgSodium: 264mgCarbohydrates: 27gFiber: 8gSugar: 0gProtein: 11g

The nutritional information above is computer-generated and only an estimate.

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