Greek Salad With Sardines and Beans

By Ali Slagle

Updated June 25, 2026

  • Armando Rafael for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Rebecca Jurkevich.
Media 1 of 1
Ready In
35 min
Rating
5(595)
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Steer Greek salad to main-dish waters by including two Mediterranean pantry staples, sardines and white beans. They add fiber and protein, sure, but they also slip into the mix naturally, the sardines’ brininess echoed by the olives and feta and the creaminess of the beans by the feta.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

  • 1 (15-ounce) can white beans, such as cannellini 

  • 1 pint cherry or other small tomatoes, halved

  • 4 Persian or mini seedless cucumbers, cut into bite-size pieces

  • Kosher salt

  • 1 shallot, halved and thinly sliced

  • 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

  • ⅓ cup pitted Kalamata olives, halved

  • 1½ teaspoons dried oregano, plus more for serving

  • ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil 

  • 2 ounces feta (or ½ cup crumbled)

  • 1 (4-ounce) tin sardines (packed in water or oil)

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

42 grams carbs; 53 milligrams cholesterol; 424 calories; 13 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 22 grams fat; 8 grams fiber; 830 milligrams sodium; 19 grams protein; 13 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Drain and rinse the white beans in a colander. Add the tomatoes, cucumbers and 1½ teaspoons salt to the colander of beans. Toss to combine, then drain for 10 to 15 minutes. 

  2. Step 2

    Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the shallot, vinegar, olives and dried oregano. Shake the tomato mixture of any liquid, then transfer to the bowl. Add the oil and stir to combine. Break up the feta into large chunks and scatter on top of the salad, then lay the sardines on top, leaving any liquid in the tin behind. Season to taste with salt, then garnish with a bit more oregano.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
595 user ratings
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Comments

yush

This was delicious with smoked trout and warmed pita bread. Eating it tomorrow over leftover farro, which will soak up all the juice.

elli

in line with what other suggested, I added the olive oil from the sardines once. I advise against doing this. the resulting taste was just way too fishy, overcrowding everything else. it was much better when I used "clean" olive oil.

Bruce Alter

Don’t discard the olive oil from the sardine tin. That’d be a waste. Use it as the olive oil in the dressing. If there isn’t enough, supplement with EVOO.

LK

I just made this salad with ingredients as stated in the recipe. I loved it just as it was and wouldn’t change anything.

Charles Harmon

Made this for dinner last night exactly as described except I doubled the sardines as several people suggested. Delicious!

Elena

Delicious! Only changes I made: Used a spritz of Trader Joe's Olive Oil spray instead of 4T; used manouri cheese instead of feta as it was what I had on hand; added shredded Little Gem Lettuce to bulk up the vegs and toasted a piece of rye bread, cut it into small pieces and mixed them in. As I said up front: Delicious. And also very adaptable!

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