Discover a refreshingly simple yet incredibly flavorful dish with our **Five Bean Ham & Rice Salad**. This vibrant recipe combines savory cubed ham with fluffy cooked rice and the distinctive taste of Paisley Farm Five Bean Salad. Enhanced with a hint of fresh dill, crisp red bell pepper, and a touch of banana pepper for an exciting zest, this salad is a true culinary delight. Perfect as a quick lunch, a satisfying main course, or a colorful side, it’s guaranteed to bring a smile to your face and your palate.
The post-holiday season often leaves us with an abundance of leftover ham, and the hunt for creative, delicious ways to utilize it begins. Simultaneously, the convenience and unique flavor of Paisley Farm Five Bean Salad make it a pantry essential. Why not combine these two fantastic elements into one spectacular dish? Our **Five Bean Ham & Rice Salad** emerges as the perfect solution – a delightful blend that’s both hearty and light, ideal for any meal. Whether you’re seeking an effortless side dish for a family gathering or a satisfying main meal that’s quick to prepare, this recipe is a versatile winner that perfectly balances rich flavors with fresh, wholesome ingredients.
This post is sponsored by Paisley Farm Foods, but my love for their exceptional products and all opinions expressed are genuinely my own!
The Magic of Paisley Farm Five Bean Salad
For years, Paisley Farm Five Bean Salad has been a cherished staple in my pantry, and for excellent reasons. Its undeniable deliciousness is just the beginning. The sheer convenience of simply popping open a jar makes it an instant, effortless side dish or a quick, healthy lunch option straight out of the fridge. But its true magic lies in its adaptability. This versatile blend of beans, with its signature sweet and tangy pickled flavor, has transitioned from a standalone side to a pivotal ingredient in countless family-favorite recipes over the years. It adds a unique depth and zest that elevates any dish it graces.
Why Choose Paisley Farm Five Bean Salad?
Beyond its delightful taste, Paisley Farm Five Bean Salad boasts an impressive nutritional profile. It’s low in calories, making it a fantastic choice for health-conscious eaters. Furthermore, it’s gluten-free and crafted from all-natural ingredients, ensuring you’re serving wholesome goodness. This quality commitment comes from a company rooted in tradition, having been pickling vegetables in Willoughby, Ohio, since 1945. The blend includes a diverse mix of green, kidney, garbanzo (chickpeas), pinto, and wax beans, beautifully accented with freshly diced onions and red peppers, all contributing to its vibrant texture and complex flavor. The garbanzo beans, in particular, provide a valuable source of plant-based protein, making this salad an excellent choice for a balanced diet.
Its unique sweet pickled taste is perfect straight from the jar, offering a refreshing contrast to heavier meals. Yet, this inherent flavor profile also makes it an extraordinary additive to a wide array of cooked dishes, from robust chilis to savory ground beef and noodle skillet meals. It’s truly a testament to Paisley Farm’s dedication to producing high-quality, versatile pickled vegetables that enhance everyday cooking.
Elevating Leftover Ham: Beyond the Usual
Holidays like Easter, Christmas, or Thanksgiving often mean one delightful thing: a magnificent ham at the center of the feast. While enjoying the glazed masterpiece is a highlight, the subsequent days bring the familiar challenge of transforming ample leftovers into exciting new meals. For many years, Easter has been “my holiday,” a time when our extended family gathers at my home, continuing cherished traditions. Our menu often includes staples like my grandma’s famous Polish sausage and sauerkraut, alongside the star of the show, a succulent glazed ham.
Inevitably, we find ourselves with a generous amount of leftover ham – a testament to my philosophy of cooking enough to feed a small army! This abundance always sparks creativity in the kitchen. While classics like Ham & Cheese Sliders or a decadent Ham & Smoked Gouda Quiche are always crowd-pleasers, as spring arrives, my culinary inclinations shift towards lighter, fresher, and healthier options. This is where our **Five Bean Ham & Rice Salad** shines, offering a delightful departure from heavier post-holiday fare. It’s the perfect way to revitalize your leftover ham into a dish that’s both nourishing and bursting with seasonal flavors.
Key Ingredients for Your Five Bean Ham & Rice Salad
One of the beauties of this vibrant salad is that it relies heavily on accessible, everyday ingredients, many of which are likely already in your pantry. It’s a testament to how simple staples can come together to create a remarkably flavorful and visually appealing meal. Here’s a closer look at the components that make this salad a standout:
- Paisley Farm Five Bean Salad: This is the star of the show, bringing a complex blend of five different beans (green, kidney, garbanzo, pinto, and wax) with a delightful sweet pickled tang. For this recipe, we use one whole 24-ounce jar. It’s essential to drain the liquid thoroughly and give the beans a quick rinse under cold water to remove any excess pickling solution, ensuring the flavors meld perfectly with the other ingredients.
- Leftover Ham: Diced cooked ham forms the hearty base of this salad. While holiday leftovers are ideal, don’t let the absence of “leftover” ham stop you! A readily available ham steak can be quickly cooked and diced, or you can ask your deli counter to slice a thicker piece of cooked ham for cubing. Smoked ham introduces an additional layer of rich, savory flavor that truly elevates the dish, adding a smoky depth that complements the pickled beans beautifully. Aim for about two cups of finely diced ham.
- Rice: Any variety of cooked rice will work wonderfully in this salad. I often reach for Minute Rice due to its incredible convenience, allowing for rapid preparation. However, feel free to use white rice, brown rice, Jasmine, Basmati, or even wild rice – each will contribute its own unique texture and subtle flavor profile. The key is to have it cooked and ready to incorporate. Approximately 1.5 cups of uncooked rice, yielding about 3 cups cooked, is typically sufficient.
- Green Onions: These provide a mild, fresh onion flavor and a pleasant crunch without overpowering the other ingredients. We use the entire green onion, both white and green parts, thinly sliced. If green onions aren’t available, chives make an excellent, milder alternative, adding a delicate onion essence.
- Red Bell Pepper: Adding chopped sweet red bell pepper introduces a vibrant splash of color, a refreshing sweetness, and a lovely crisp texture that contrasts beautifully with the softer beans and rice. It’s a crucial element for both flavor and visual appeal.
- Pickled Peppers: For that extra “zing” and a punch of flavor, pickled peppers are indispensable. I prefer hot banana peppers for a gentle heat, but you can easily adjust the spice level to your preference. Mild pickled banana peppers offer tang without the heat, while pickled jalapeños or peperoncini can provide a different kind of spicy kick and savory depth. These peppers really awaken the palate and provide a fantastic counterpoint to the ham and beans.
- Fresh Dill: Fresh herbs are key to brightening any salad, and dill is no exception. Its distinctive fresh, slightly anisy flavor pairs exceptionally well with ham and pickled vegetables. While dried dill can be used in a pinch, fresh dill truly brings an aromatic lift and unparalleled freshness to this salad.
Crafting Your Five Bean Ham & Rice Salad: Effortless Perfection
When it comes to preparing delicious, satisfying meals, simplicity is often key, and this **Five Bean Ham & Rice Salad** perfectly embodies that principle. The process is remarkably straightforward, requiring minimal effort for maximum flavor. There’s no complicated cooking, no intricate dressings to whisk, just a harmonious assembly of delightful ingredients.
Simple Steps to a Flavorful Salad
To create this delightful salad, simply gather all your prepared ingredients – the cooked and diced ham, the fluffy rice, the drained and rinsed Paisley Farm Five Bean Salad, sliced green onions, chopped red bell pepper, pickled banana peppers, and fresh dill. Then, combine everything into a large mixing bowl. Gently toss until all the components are evenly distributed and beautifully mingled. That’s it! The beauty of this recipe lies in its elegant simplicity; the robust flavors from the Paisley Farm Bean Salad, the tang of the pickled peppers, and the fresh aromatics from the dill and green onions mean there’s absolutely no need for an additional dressing. The ingredients provide all the moisture and seasoning required.
Serving Suggestions and Versatility
One of the great joys of this salad is its versatility in serving. While we often enjoy it immediately, with the rice still warm from cooking, it’s equally fantastic, if not more so, when chilled. Allowing the salad to chill for at least an hour, or even overnight, gives the flavors a chance to meld and deepen, resulting in an even richer taste experience. The warmth provides comfort, while the chill offers a refreshing crispness, making it suitable for any season or occasion.
This salad is truly a chameleon, performing admirably as both a standalone meal and a captivating side dish. Enjoy a generous portion on its own for a light yet satisfying lunch or dinner. It’s also an exceptional accompaniment to a wide variety of main courses. We particularly love serving it alongside savory dishes like BBQ Pork Sandwiches, grilled chicken, pan-seared fish, or even simple burgers. Its vibrant flavors and textures make it an ideal choice for picnics, potlucks, or any casual gathering where you want to impress without the stress. This salad is designed for ease and enjoyment, proving that delicious and nutritious meals don’t have to be complicated.
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Don’t let this fantastic **Five Bean Ham & Rice Salad** recipe get lost in the shuffle! Make sure to save it to your favorite Pinterest recipe board so you can easily find it whenever a craving for a fresh, flavorful, and easy meal strikes. Pin it now and add a new favorite to your collection!
Beyond the Jar: The Incredible Versatility of Paisley Farm Five Bean Salad
Paisley Farm Five Bean Salad is truly a powerhouse ingredient that deserves a permanent spot in your pantry. Its unique blend of flavors and textures makes it incredibly versatile, extending its use far beyond a simple side dish. This delightful salad is not only delicious but also packed with health benefits, making it an excellent choice for a wide range of dietary preferences and needs.
Nutritionally, it’s a stellar performer: low in calories, inherently healthy, dairy-free, and gluten-free. Crucially, it’s a fantastic source of plant-based protein, thanks in large part to the inclusion of chickpeas (garbanzo beans), which are renowned for their nutritional value. The blend itself is a colorful mosaic of green, kidney, garbanzo, pinto, and wax beans, each contributing its own texture and subtle flavor. These are perfectly accented by the crispness of freshly diced onions and red peppers, all swimming in that signature sweet pickled brine that makes Paisley Farm products so distinct.
While its sweet pickled taste is delicious straight from the jar, it also makes it an extraordinary component in cooked dishes. Imagine the depth it can add to a hearty chicken chili, transforming a simple recipe into something extraordinary. It’s equally fantastic when stirred into a comforting ground beef and noodle skillet meal, providing a burst of acidity and texture that cuts through the richness of the meat and pasta. Beyond these, consider incorporating it into quesadillas, grain bowls, or even as a vibrant topping for grilled fish or chicken. The possibilities are truly endless, demonstrating how one humble jar can elevate countless culinary creations.
For instance, integrating Paisley Farm Five Bean Salad into a rich taco dip introduces a complexity and fresh texture that simply cannot be achieved with traditional canned refried beans. It adds a delightful zest and a chunky texture that makes the dip far more engaging and flavorful. This ability to instantly enhance and refresh familiar dishes is what truly sets Paisley Farm Five Bean Salad apart as a kitchen essential.
Ready to experience the delicious difference? You can easily find where to purchase the delectable Paisley Farm Five Bean Salad, or explore their other fabulous pickled products, by visiting their official website. For year-round recipe inspiration and updates, be sure to follow Paisley Farm on their vibrant social media channels: FaceBook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest.
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Let’s embark on this culinary journey and create this incredibly vibrant and satisfying salad, shall we? 
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Print Recipe
Five Bean Ham & Rice Salad
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups uncooked minute rice cooked to make 3 cups
- 1 jar 24 ounce jar Paisley Farm Five Bean Salad, drained and rinsed with cold water
- 1 pound cooked ham diced (about 2 cups)
- 2 green onions sliced
- 1/3 cup sweet red bell pepper chopped
- 1 heaping Tablespoon hot pickled banana pepper
- 2 teaspoons fresh dill
Instructions
- Combine everything in a bowl.
- Enjoy warm or cold.