Piyaz is a traditional Turkish white bean salad made with tender beans, red onion, parsley, and a zesty tahini lemon dressing. Simple to make and full of flavor. In just 15 minutes, you’ll have a perfect side dish for Turkish kofta kebabs or your favorite mains.
I first tasted this Turkish white bean salad in Rome, of all places. We had just arrived to visit friends, and they welcomed us with a beautiful meal of roast chicken and assorted salads, including this dish. It stood out to me as something special.
It turned out the recipe was from Persiana — a wonderful cookbook by Sabrina Ghayour. As soon as I got home from Italy, I made it myself. My family loved it just as much as I did. I reached out to the author for permission to share it here, and now I’m so excited to pass it along to you.
Why I Love This White Bean Salad
It's a very simple salad, but once you try it, you'll see how much flavor is packed into every bite. I loved it right away and knew it needed a place in my regular rotation. Here's why:
- Healthy and satisfying: Packed with plant-based protein and fiber
- Simple ingredients: You likely have many of them on hand
- Great for entertaining: A perfect make-ahead dish for gatherings—even better the next day
- Quick: Ready in about 15 minutes
Turkish White Bean Salad - Piyaz
Piyaz is a traditional Turkish white bean salad made with tender white beans, onions, parsley, and a bright, lemony dressing. It’s a staple of Turkish cuisine, served as a side dish, part of a meze spread (a collection of small plates), or sometimes as a main dish.
The recipe for piyaz varies from region to region. The core ingredients—white beans, onions, and parsley—stay the same, but the dressing is where you’ll find the differences.
This version comes from the Antalya region in southern Turkey, where piyaz is made with a creamy tahini-based dressing that adds depth and richness which makes it especially satisfying. In fact, it’s often topped with hard-boiled eggs and served as a main dish.
In other parts of Turkey, piyaz is dressed more simply with olive oil, lemon juice, and sumac, and fresh tomatoes are often added.
Ingredients for Piyaz
- Canned white beans: cannellini or navy beans
- Fresh Ingredients: Garlic, red onion, parsley, lemon juice
- Spices: Salt, freshly ground black pepper, and chili flakes such as Urfa, Aleppo or Maras
- Tahini - Sesame paste
- Olive oil
- Vinegar: This recipe uses red wine vinegar. Apple cider vinegar and grape vinegar are commonly used as well.
How To Make Piyaz - Step-by-step
- Make the tahini dressing: Whisk the garlic, lemon juice, tahini, olive oil and vinegar. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set the dressing aside while you prepare the salad.
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- Prep the Salad Ingredients: Slice the onions into half moons and soak them in ice water for 15 minutes, then drain them in a mesh colander. This soaking method removes some of the strong bite from the raw onions. Feel free to skip this step if you like raw onions at their full strength.
- Chop the parsley, drain and rinse the beans, then combine them with the onions, parsley, and chili flakes in a large bowl.
- Pour the tahini dressing over the salad and toss gently, to combine. Let the dressed salad sit for at least 30 minutes to allow the dressing to soak in.
Serving Suggestions and Variations
Piyaz is a perfect side dish for Turkish kofta kebabs, grilled chicken, or just about any grilled meat or fish. It’s also great alongside a simple roast chicken.
This salad makes a wonderful addition to a buffet of fresh, cold salads or to a meze spread, alongside dishes like sigara börek, baba ganoush, and Turkish hummus.
You can also serve this version of piyaz for lunch or dinner. It's hearty enough to be a satisfying vegetarian meal on its own — especially when served Antalya-style, with sliced hard-boiled eggs on top.
Storage, Make-Ahead Tips and Leftovers
This is a great make-ahead dish — in fact I find it often tastes even better the next day. Keep it tightly covered in the fridge for up to three days. Before serving, let it sit at room temperature for 20–30 minutes to loosen the tahini, and then give it a good stir just before serving, as the dressing tends to pool at the bottom of the bowl.
A big thanks to my friends, Charlotte and Gareth, for introducing me to this delicious dish.
If you try this white bean salad recipe, I hope you'll come back to leave a star rating and a comment. I'd love to know what you think!
PrintRecipe
Turkish White Bean Salad Recipe: Piyaz
- Total Time: 15 mins
- Yield: 6 side dish servings 1x
Description
Piyaz is a staple salad of Turkish cuisine — a simple but flavorful salad made with white beans, onions, parsley and tahini lemon dressing. It's an easy-to-make dish you’ll be proud to serve to company.
Adapted, minimally, from a recipe in Persiana, a cookbook by Sabrina Ghayour.
Ingredients
- 1 small red onion, halved through the stem, each half cut into thin half moons
- 1 large garlic clove, crushed in a garlic press or finely minced
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from about 1 ½ lemons)
- ¼ cup tahini
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sea salt flakes or more, to taste
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or more, to taste
- 2 15 ½ -ounce cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 tablespoons Turkish chili flakes such as Aleppo, Maras or Urfa
- The leaves from ½ a large bunch of parsley, roughly chopped (about 1 ounce or 28g parsley leaves)
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Instructions
- Soak the sliced onions in ice water for 10 minutes and then drain them in a colander. This washes away their sharp bite. Feel free to skip this step if you like raw onions at full strength.
- To make the dressing, put the garlic, lemon juice and tahini in a small bowl and mix well. Then add the olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper and whisk with a fork until smooth. If the dressing is too thick, whisk in cold water, one teaspoon at a time, until thin enough to dress a salad.
- Put the beans, onions, chili flakes and parsley into a large bowl and toss gently to combine. Pour the dressing over the salad and mix gently so as not to break up the beans. Taste again and season with more salt and pepper, if needed.
- For best flavor, serve at room temperature.
Notes
- Tips on using tahini: Tahini often separates, so you'll need to stir it well before using. Sometimes the solids in a container of tahini are very hard so even stirring doesn't emulsify the oil and solids. In this case, transfer the contents of the container into a small blender and pulse it a few times to emulsify and then pour it back in its container. Or you can emulsify it in a bowl using an immersion blender.
- Turkish Chili Flakes: Aleppo and Maras are essentially the same — both having a kick of heat but also a delightful fruity flavor. Urfa is a bit milder with a lovely rich flavor similar to sun-dried tomatoes. Any of these chili flakes will work beautifully in this dish.
- Storage: This white bean salad holds up beautifully overnight and may be even better the next day. Cover it tightly and refrigerate for up to three days. Before serving, bring it to room temperature and give it a good stir, as some of the dressing will settle at the bottom of the bowl. Although it’s delicious the next day, if you’re serving it to company and want it to look its best, serve it the same day or within 24 hours. For a fresh, vibrant presentation, top with a sprinkle of chopped parsley just before serving.
- Serving Suggestions and Variations: Serve as a side dish, as part of a meze spread, or top with sliced hard-boiled eggs and serve as a hearty vegetarian main dish.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: no cook
- Category: Salad, Side Dish
- Method: no cook
- Cuisine: Turkish
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