A hearty flavor-packed scarlet runner bean salad.
Easy to prepare and for all those who love gourmet food!
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📕 What are scarlet runner beans?
Scarlet runner beans are some of the largest beans out there. The average length of a bean is 1 ½ inches or 4 centimeters.
If the size doesn't impress you, the color will. They come in various colors. Some are bright pink, others dark red, and almost look as if they have been painted by a master artist.
The beans taste like kidney beans, a bit nutty and hearty. They are not all too dry but neither wet, in fact, they are just right.
Scarlet runner beans were kind of forgotten at some point but most recently they have been part of a food renaissance in central Europe.
They are widely known to be native to Styria, a wine region in Austria bordering Slovenia. The region is also coincidently known for dark green pumpkin seed oil.
Scarlet runner beans are better known as Käferbohnen in German. (if ya ever wondered, haha)
Hence why this runner bean salad recipe is a specialty from this particular region, as it includes flavor-intensive pumpkin seed oil and horseradish.
🫘 Ingredients
Here is an overview of what you will need to make this. The full US and metric measurements are located further below in the printable recipe card.
- scarlet runner beans - I like to use canned ones because dried ones take a day of soaking to soften. You can use fresh scarlet beans from your garden too! If you use soaked dried or fresh beans, you will need to boil them in plain water first until cooked through.
- apple cider vinegar - you get natural organic cloudy ones or clear processed ones.
- pumpkin seed oil - only cold-pressed ones from Styria, Austria. It's dark green, and it's also called the black gold. It's expensive, even in Austria, but it's worth every penny!
- salt and black pepper
- sugar - to balance the flavors
🔪 How to make it?
This is a super simple salad recipe. Here is how it comes together in a nutshell.
The recipe with all the details is located further below in the recipe card.
Note that you need to have your scarlet beans ready. Either you use canned soft ones or you boil soaked or fresh beans.
Step 1
Combine the vinegar, oil, salt, black pepper, and sugar in a bowl. This is your dressing.
Step 2
Add your soft beans to the dressing and combine so that the beans are coated with the dressing.
Serve up.
🍴 Serving
I love this salad served up a bit cooled.
I leave the beans to sit in the dressing for 2-3 hours because the salad tends to turn out more flavorful.
As a topping, you can add ground horseradish and freshly chopped chives. Crushed pumpkin seeds make a great topping too.
I sometimes just love the salad by itself as a lunch meal. It's quite hearty and makes a great vegan plant-based dish on its own.
The salad is actually a fall/autumn-themed salad, so you might enjoy it with mushroom and meat meals. For example:
🍱 Storing
This bean salad keeps really well for 7-10 days at most.
Just place the bean salad in fridge containers, which you can close with a lid.
You can happily add this recipe to your meal prepping menu!
💭 FAQs
You can use red beans, kidney beans, or pinto beans instead of scarlet runner beans if you can't get scarlet runner beans.
Well, technically pumpkin seed oil can't be substituted but if you still want to make this salad, then just use your favorite salad oil. But know that the taste will be very different!
Please feel free to share your thoughts and ideas with us in the comment section further below!
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📖 Recipe
Scarlet Runner Bean Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
- 2 Tablespoon Pumpkin Seed Oil dark green, *see notes
- ¼ Teaspoon Salt
- ⅛ Teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1 Teaspoon Sugar use powdered sugar to mix in easily
- 8.8 ounces Scarlet Runner Beans cooked or canned *see Notes
As a topping
- Ground Horseradish
- Chives chopped fresh
Instructions
- Prepare the dressing. Add apple cider vinegar, pumpkin seed oil, sugar, salt, and black pepper to a large mixing bowl.1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar, 2 Tablespoon Pumpkin Seed Oil, ¼ Teaspoon Salt, ⅛ Teaspoon Black Pepper, 1 Teaspoon Sugar
- Mix the dressing ingredients together. Make sure that the sugar has dissolved. The dressing should be thick and dark green.
- Add the cooked or canned scartlet runner beans to the dressing ingredients.8.8 ounces Scarlet Runner Beans
- Coat the beans with the dressing by mixing it all together.
- Serve up with a topping, ground horseradish, and/or chopped fresh chives.Ground Horseradish, Chives
Notes
- 8.8 ounces = 250 grams scarlet beans. Just the weight of the beans, without the liquids (1 normal-sized can). The weight is for soaked or fresh beans that have been cooked, or it also applies to canned beans.
- Use dark green pumpkin seed oil. It should be labeled with Styrian or Austrian cold-pressed pumpkin seed oil. It's an expensive ingredient, but it goes a long way. Pumpkin seed oil tastes nutty and it's stuffed with health benefitting nutrients.
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