White Bean Pesto Salad with Garlic Croutons and Balsamic Glaze!

Have you all been following The Local Moms Network Contributor Kathleen Ashmore’s Hungry Lady Salad series on Instagram & TikTok? Dish after dish is going viral, and this White Bean Pesto Salad with Garlic Croutons & Balsamic Glaze has been a fan favorite, helping her rack up almost 2 million followers on TikTok alone. “It’s great for meal prep as the ingredients store well separately, for a week in the fridge and take just two minutes to combine upon serving,” says Kathleen. Make it once and serve it for a week? That’s a salad and a time-saver.

White Bean Pesto Salad with Garlic Croutons + Balsamic Glaze

Serves 4-6

For the Beans

3 cups cooked white beans

Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste 2 tablespoons thinly sliced shallots

1-2 cups garlic croutons recipe below

2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved

For the Garlic Croutons

5 pieces of bread, a few days old

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, grated

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Serve over a bed of greens with chopped tomatoes

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Cut the bread into small cubes.
2. Transfer cubed bread to a parchment lined baking sheet.
3. Drizzle the bread with the olive oil and butter and then sprinkle with garlic, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.
4. Using your hands, gently toss the croutons and make sure they are coated with all the oil and seasonings.
5. Bake for 15 minutes until they are golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool before serving.

To assemble

1. Toss the beans with the pesto and adjust salt and pepper as needed. Toss arugula with lemon juice, olive oil and salt and pepper. Arrange the arugula on a large platter, spoon beans, tomatoes and shallots and croutons on top. Drizzle with balsamic glaze.
2. For the garlic croutons, mix 4 pieces of stale bread with 2 cloves grated garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper and bake at 400 for 15 minutes until crunchy and golden.
3. For the beans, 1⁄2 cup pesto (I grabbed some from my stash in the freezer, but store bought is cool) and mix with 2 cans of white beans
4. Plate her up! 10 oz arugula, 2 cups tomatoes, olive oil, lemon juice, and salt. Notice we are seasoning often, because we are building flavor besties!