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baked bean salad in a white oval bowl, beans in tomato sauce with cucumber, red onion, tomato, green chilli and coriander on a granite bench in an Australian kitchen

Baked bean salad

The cold bean salad at every South African braai. One tin of baked beans in tomato sauce, chopped onion, tomato, cucumber, green chilli and coriander, a spoon of honey and an hour in the fridge. No cooking.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Servings: 4 as a side
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 tin baked beans in tomato sauce, about 410 g Koo from a South African shop, or SPC or Heinz from the supermarket. Do not drain
  • ½ red onion, finely chopped brown onion works too
  • 1 ripe tomato, seeds removed, finely diced
  • ½ Lebanese cucumber, seeds scraped out, diced about ¼ of a long continental cucumber
  • 2 to 3 long green chillies, thinly sliced one for mild, three for a proper braai; bird's eye if you want it hotter
  • ⅓ cup fresh coriander, chopped flat-leaf parsley for the coriander haters
  • 1 tbsp honey or sweet chilli sauce or a spoon of Mrs Balls chutney
  • ½ lemon, juiced
  • ½ tsp chilli powder optional; taste after chilling before you add it
  • salt and black pepper to taste

Method
 

  1. Chop the onion, tomato, cucumber and chillies small, about the size of a bean, so every spoonful gets a bit of everything.
  2. Tip the whole tin of beans, sauce and all, into a mixing bowl.
  3. Add the onion, tomato, cucumber, chilli and coriander.
  4. Stir the honey and lemon juice together in a cup until the honey loosens, then pour it over the bowl.
  5. Fold everything together gently with a large spoon so the beans stay whole. Season with salt and plenty of black pepper.
  6. Cover and chill for at least an hour, two if you can. Taste, and only now decide whether it needs the chilli powder or more lemon.
  7. Serve cold, straight from the fridge, with a spoon in the bowl.

Notes

Quantities are our working version and the chilli is a starting point, not a rule. Chill for at least an hour before serving; two is better. Keeps about three days in the fridge, though the cucumber goes soft after the first, so add it late if you are making the salad ahead.