White Bean and Smokey Pepita Salad with Tahini Dressing

This White Bean and Smokey Pepita Salad with Tahini Dressing is flavor packed and so filling! It makes a great vegan lunch or paired with a green salad a perfect light dinner.

These days, I’m feeling particularly grateful.

While everyone is headed back to school, our family is enjoying what I lovingly refer to as “beach season.”

I am sorry to disappoint your Wedding Crashers fans out there, but beach season looks nothing like wedding season. There are no wild parties going on, and I can’t say that I’ve been dancing.

What I have been doing, is enjoying the warm weather and diminished crowds and making sure that we hit the beach every chance that we get.

It is still so hot here, and three of the five of us are fair-skinned, so right now we enjoy the beach the most in the late afternoon and early evening. Most of the time we arrive early evening and will stay until after sunset.

By the time we get back, everyone is always starving. Since I am usually relaxed and not in the mood to cook, I’ve been trying to have simple dinners in the fridge that I can prepare ahead of time.

One of my favorite dinners has become a medley of salads, which includes this White Bean and Smokey Pepita Salad with Tahini Dressing.

Guys this salad is so delicious! I could eat these pepitas on their own and never get tired of them.

Along with a green salad, this makes a great vegan meal that even the carnivores in the family will love.

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White Bean & Smokey Pepitas Salad with Tahini Dressing

Author Wendy Polisi

Ingredients

• Pepitas
• 1 cup raw pepitas pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• Tahini Dressing
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons tahini
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• Salad
• 2 cans cannelli or navy beans drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup diced celery
• 1/2 cup diced red pepper
• 2 tablespoons parsley
• 1/2 cup toasted walnuts

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl combine pepitas, olive oil, maple syrup, liquid smoke, smoked paprika, onion powder and sea salt. Toss to coat.
3. Transfer to prepared baking sheet and spread into a single layer. Bake for 5 minutes. Stir and bake for 5 minutes longer. Remove from heat and allow to cool on the baking sheet.
4. Meanwhile, whisk together olive oil, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, sea salt and pepper in a small bowl.
5. In a large bowl combine beans, carrots, celery, red pepper, parsley and walnuts. Toss with dressing. Toss in desired amount of pepitas and serve at room temperature or chilled.