It’s sumertime at last! And while it’s not the “holiday season”, summer does have its holidays. These holidays involve picnics and fresh fruits and vegetables! Gotta love a good picnic with everyone bringing something to offer and those tables weighed down with watermelon and salads and chips and all sorts of yummy stuff!
Of course, the weather is also warmer and you have to be careful that what you bring won’t go bad in the space of a couple hours if it’s not refrigerated. And you really want something easy to make. And it should be tasty, without detracting from all the other flavors at the table. This salad fits the bill on all counts!
Won’t go bad
You need something that will stand up to the heat of the day and taste just as good fresh from the fridge as later when it’s reached room temperature. Veggies do that for you. You’ll see that the only bottled ingredient is mayonnaise. Contrary to common belief, store bought mayo doesn’t ever really go bad. It’s so processed that there is actually no nutritional value that will allow bacteria to grow. (When store mayo gets old it will separate, but it will never grow mold.) Since your veggies are safe at room temperature, and the mayo is safe at room temperature, this leaves just the bacon to be concerned for. And you needn’t really be concerned for the bacon, either, since the preservatives in bacon will, well, preserve it.
Okay, so if you’re using a preservative-free bacon, cook it extra well and pull the salad out of the cooler just before the feasting begins. And if you’re using your own home-made mayo? Yeah – all bets are off. Bacteria loves the protein in the eggs and will start growing as soon as the salad reaches room temp. For the picnic, use the store bought stuff!
Totally easy to make
This recipe may look imposing with its long list of ingredients, but in reality, all you have to do is walk through the store and grab whatever you want to throw in. No measuring is involved here – use the whole can of beans, chop the whole vegetable, etc. (Don’t be silly – throw away the cores of those bell peppers.) I usually just pile everything in one side of my sink and keep rinsing, chopping and adding till the pile is gone.
Maybe you want to add a can or two of sliced water chestnuts, or add some nuts of some sort. Go for it! With all those cans and veggies, this usually makes a lot more than the picnic will use and gives me plenty of leftovers. And, yeah, cooking up a whole pound of bacon sounds like a lot, but once you start filling that bowl (use that really big tupperware bowl you were given that time – the one that doesn’t fit in the fridge very well), you’ll see that a pound is a good quantity. And, seriously, there’s no such thing as too much bacon!
Once in the bowl, you want to mix these carefully so that you don’t damage the beans. I usually just reach in with my hands and fold the ingredients gently. After I add the mayo, I’ll go back to using a wide spatula and fold till everything is well incorporated.
Very tasty
I developed this recipe in culinary school as part of a larger project. The mayo/dressing actually involved cooking up the bacon with onions and leeks as well as the garlic and pepper, then letting the mayo/bacon mixture rest overnight to let the flavors meld. You can go all out, but these days I’m about making it easy.
You may be thinking that you don’t care for bacon (what a sad, sad life) and you will leave it out. The bacon adds that perfect bit of saltiness and, in my opinion, really completes the flavor profile of this salad without being overwhelming. If you decide to try this without the bacon, I would suggest you sweat the garlic and onion (use fresh onion instead of dried) – maybe even caramelize them – and add them to the mayo. Let the flavored mayo sit overnight and add it just before you leave for the picnic. You might even find yourself using flavored mayo like this on your sandwiches or anywhere else you use mayo.
I love this salad! All those beans and fresh veggies – I’m going back for seconds at the picnic!
Hope this helps make your picnics just a little easier and tastier, too!
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 2-3 dozen | 30 minutes |
| Cook Time | Passive Time |
| 15 minutes | 1-2 hours |
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This salad is easy to make, can be made in advance, and it involves bacon. Does it get any better than this? Oh yeah - it's naturally gluten free and dairy free. It just got better!
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- 1 15 oz can pinto beans drained and rinsed
- 1 15 oz can dark red kidney beans drained and rinsed
- 1 15 oz can great northern beans drained and rinsed
- 1 15 oz can black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 15 oz can sweet corn drained and rinsed
- 1 medium green bell pepper chopped
- 1 medium red bell pepper chopped
- 1 bag carrot shredded
- 1 medium red onion chopped
- 1 head broccoli florettes chopped small
- 1 bunch green onions sliced thin
- 1 30 oz jar mayonnaise
- 1 lb bacon chopped
- 3 Tbsp fresh minced garlic or to taste
- 3 Tbsp dried minced onion or to taste
- 3 Tbsp coarse pepper or to taste
- Mix the beans and vegetables in a large bowl.
- Cook the bacon with the garlic, dried onion and pepper till well done. Remove as much of the grease as possible.
- Add bacon and mayo to the veggies and mix well.
- Let sit for a couple hours or overnight.
For cooking the bacon, I suggest you chop it up raw and then cook it with the other flavors. This makes it easier to work with.