Name: Mixed Bean Salad
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 375 mL (1½ cups) green beans, trimmed; 375 mL (1½ cups) yellow beans, trimmed; 250 mL (1 cup) shelled soybeans (edamame); 1 can (540 mL/19 oz) sodium-reduced chickpeas, drained and rinsed; 2 stalks celery, thinly sliced; 2 green onions, sliced; 1 red bell pepper, chopped; 60 mL (¼ cup) apple cider vinegar; 15 mL (1 tbsp) Dijon mustard; 15 mL (1 tbsp) vegetable oil; 2 mL (½ tsp) ground pepper; 60 mL (¼ cup) each chopped fresh basil and parsley or mint

Why it works: Green beans and beans share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 36 recipes. Both carry 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells green bell pepper, earthy. The science ↓

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Green beans + beanstop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together36 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).
Beans + chickpeatop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together229 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
Celery + peppertop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together16,012 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Beans + celerytop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,159 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (clove, smoky).
Celery + oniontop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together18,518 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Green and yellow beans: Provide the main crisp-tender body and fresh vegetable texture of the salad.
Soybeans (edamame): Add a firm, mild bean texture and bulk to the salad.
Chickpeas: Add firm, hearty texture and substance that holds up to the dressing.
Dijon mustard: Adds sharp flavour and helps emulsify the vinaigrette so it clings to the beans.
Apple cider vinegar: Provides acidity that brightens the beans and balances the oil.

The step that matters

Cooking the beans for 3 minutes, then chilling. Brief boiling keeps the beans bright green and crisp-tender; without rinsing in cold water they keep cooking from residual heat and turn soft and dull.

Swap the soybean

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (green beans, beans, chickpea, celery, onion, pepper, apple cider vinegar):

Sesamefits better
Lentilsfits better
Cashew nutfits better
Soybeanthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against green beans, beans, chickpea, celery, onion, pepper, apple cider vinegar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Chickpea	1/2 cup canned (120g) drained	134
Edamame	1/2 cup (78g) shelled	120
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Celery	1 stalk (40g)	6
Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Mustard	1 tsp (5g) yellow	3
Basil	5 leaves fresh (2.5g)	1
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1
Bean	not in our table	0
Soybean	not in our table	0
Peppermint	not in our table	0

Mixed Bean Salad

Mixed Bean Salad

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the beans

Assemble and dress the salad

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)