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You've just hit the Turkish white bean salad jackpot- creamy, crunchy, citrusy, and gets serious flavor from sumac and smoky Aleppo pepper. No cooking, barely any cleanup to deal with, no woman, no cry, just 15 minutes and a chopping board between you and a supremely-flavorful salad. This piyaz recipe is bustin' like all get out, and you're here for it.
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Piyaz (pronounced "pea-yaz") is a common Turkish salad with countless regional styles, but it always comes back to the beans. Traditionally made with white beans like cannellini or navy, piyaz often includes onion, tomato, parsley, and a punchy lemon-olive oil dressing. Some versions, especially in Antalya, get a tahini drizzle, while others throw in a hard-boiled egg or vinegar. This one's easy to make, clean tasting, and entirely plant-based.
If you love piyaz, you'll wanna get acquainted with other Turkish and Middle Eastern bean bangers like barbunya pilaki, loubia, and zeytinyağlı taze fasulye tarifi.
Whether you're loading it into a mezze platter or shoveling it straight from the bowl with warm kuboos bread, this piyaz delivers every time. Let's get you nailing it on the first try.
This is another wonder! Complex flavor yet sooooo simple! I used cannellini beans and I did let it sit for about 15-20 mins and it was a hit! My husbands comment while with a full mouth sums it up..."Tomatoes never tasted so good!"
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🥰Why you'll adore this piyaz recipe
✊Vegan AF & GF: Like all my vegan Turkish recipes, this piyaz has no eggs, no yogurt, no cheese-just the good stuff. If you absolutely hate gluten with every ounce of your being, this is one of the vegan gluten-free recipes you can put on rotation.
⏱️Quick enough for lunch breaks: You'll go from pantry to plate in 15 minutes without breaking a sweat.
🛒No specialty shopping required: If your spice rack has sumac and Aleppo pepper (or even just chili flakes), you're golden.
✅Tested and Approved Worldwide: After several rounds of tweaks, this version has been cooked and crushed by a massive team of recipe testers, like all my vegan recipes.
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🥗 Turkish white bean salad Ingredients
Canned White Beans
My personal preference for this one is cannellini, though navy beans (which I usually prefer for making vegan Alfredo sauce and escarole and bean soup) can work out just fine here, too, if you like a smaller bean.
You can 100% use cooked-from-dry beans if you have the time. Just soak them overnight in plenty of cold water, then simmer until tender but still intact, usually 45-60 minutes over medium heat, depending on the variety.
The Veggies
Tomatoes, parsley, and onion are the trifecta that makes piyaz so friggin' good. You can find them as the cornerstone to a ton of other Middle Eastern salads like shirazi salad, proving this combo is no sidekick.
You can swap in yellow onion or shallots if needed, and cherry tomatoes are a solid sub when the big ones aren't on hand. Go with flat-leaf parsley only (curly parsley is just great for one thing: accidentally choking on a garnish and spending the next 20 mins with tears in your eyes).
Aleppo pepper flakes
These mildly spicy, fruity pepper flakes (pul biber) bring color and a very pleasantly peppery warmth. They're also key players in other Turkish recipes like kisir, soslu patlican, and ezme salad (and cranberry ezme, which I rock all winter when tomatoes suck where I live). Gochugaru is the best replacement. You can sub in crushed red pepper, but use slightly less because they are a heck of a lot hotter.
Sumac
A signature in Turkish cuisine, sumac adds a tart, citrusy flavor that defines the dressing. There's no real substitute, so don't skip it. You'll spot this red powder doing some magic in dishes like lahana sarma, Moroccan carrot salad, and makdous too.
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
🤯Variations
Antalya piyaz
Whisk 2 tablespoons of tahini (we mean tahini paste, like what you'd use to make Israeli hummus, not the thinned-out tahini sauce known as tarator) into the dressing to make it creamier and nutty. We got turned onto this variation from southern Turkey when we visited back in 2006, when we visited as a family to experience the magic of a total solar eclipse that was happening there. Life changing, for real.
Spicy Piyaz
Stir a spoonful of harissa, acı biber salçası, or shatta sauce into the salad if you want a little more firepower, you heat freak. Each one brings its own kind of fire, so feel free to pick your fighter.
Grab my easy-yo-use app that builds your whole week with real, chef-tested vegan dinners in 30 seconds, customized to your budget, time, and taste, with a shopping list sorted by aisle.
📖 How to make Turkish white bean salad
Scroll down for the no-nonsense recipe card, or stick around for step-by-step photos and tips if you want some company in your bean salad journey.
Step One
Pack The Bowl:
Drain and rinse the beans, then add them to a large bowl with the red onion, tomato wedges, parsley, and olives (if using). Toss gently.
Step Two
Whisk You Were Here:
In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, Aleppo pepper, sumac, salt, and pepper.
Step Three
Dress to Impress:
Pour the dressing over the salad and toss gently for 30 seconds to coat everything evenly.
Step Four
Sittin' Pretty:
Let the piyaz sit at room temp for 10 minutes before serving. Garnish the top with additional fresh herbs if you like.
💡Serving Ideas
Piyaz plays super-well with other Middle Eastern dishes, especially when you're crafting a mezze spread or layering flavor across a more filling meal. For a cozy soupy meal, pair it with Ezogelin çorbası, Yayla corbasi, Lebanese lentil soup, or a warm bowl of harira.
Add some starchy balance with Turkish orzo rice (pirinç pilavı), bulgur pilavı, or a side of mercimek köfte.
And don't sleep on serving it up with other cold mezze bangers: muhammara, zaalouk, harissa carrots, or şakşuka all slap.
Bonus points and admiration from me if you end the meal with irmik helvasi or vegan pistachio baklava dripping with rosewater syrup. Dessert lover, I see you and adore you.
👉Top tips
- Soak Onion in Cold Water: If your red onion is a bit too intense, soak it in cold water for 10 minutes to take the edge off without dulling the crunch. Just make sure to drain it really well before adding to the salad so you don't start turning this into a soup by mistake.
- Choose The Right Tomato: Use firm, ripe tomatoes. If they are particularly ripe and juicy, drain some of the liquid off in a wire mesh strainer so as not to make the salad swampy.
🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
Traditionally, pitas are served at room temperature or slightly chilled, never warm.
Use gochugaru in place of Aleppo pepper flakes. If crushed red pepper flakes are all you have on hand, use slightly less. Aleppo is milder and more fruity.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. The flavors will continue to develop as it rests. You may need to drain it as the salt will pull some moisture out of the veggies as it sits.
NO. Just… no. Don't do it. This salad is a celebration of freshness, and freezing it would destroy everything it stands for. Everyone will know that you are a terrible person. Nobody will look at you the same again, not your dog, not your mail carrier, not even the friendly neighborhood cat who used to rub against your leg like you were its favorite human. They will all know, and you will feel a deep shame as the cold emptiness of the universe washes over you in quiet lamentation. Don't do this to yourself.
✌️You'll love these Middle Eastern salads too:
Master the art of plant-based Turkish cooking in a super-fun recorded cooking class with Chef Adam Sobel!
Piyaz
Equipment
Ingredients
Salad:
- 15 oz. Canned white beans drained and rinsed
- ⅓ cup red onion thinly sliced
- 2 cups tomato cut into thin wedges
- 1 cup parsley chopped
- ⅓ cup pitted Kalamata olives optional
Dressing:
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon sumac
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¾ teaspoon salt or to taste
Instructions
- Place the white beans in a large mixing bowl. Add the red onion, tomato wedges, parsley, and olives if using. Toss gently to combine.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, Aleppo pepper flakes, sumac, black pepper, and salt until fully blended.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and toss gently for 30 seconds to coat evenly.
- Let rest at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving as a side or light main dish.
Notes
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Heather Alicia says
oops! Forgot my rating!
Heather Alicia says
New favourite salad! I LOVE white beans so much and to discover this recipe was a real find! Soaked my beans last night. Cooked em up this morning. Tossed them together with everything and let them sit as you said to do. I didn't have enough tomatoes so added some cucumber. YUUUUUMMMMMM!
Adam Sobel says
So happy you love this as much as I do. So nice to have such a simple yummy meal.
Peg Nemoff says
I adore this recipe. It is so easy to make, it tastes so good, and it is healthy! What more could any vegan ask for! Thanks for sharing.
Paige Davis says
This dressing is so delicious! Perfect dish for a warm afternoon when I needed some comfort food.
Karla Merrels Lewis says
A simple easy to make salad with a win for taste!
Adam Sobel says
Glad you loved it!
Marna says
This is another wonder! Complex flavor yet sooooo simple! I used cannellini beans and I did let it sit for about 15-20 mins and it was a hit! My husbands comment while with a full mouth sums it up..."Tomatoes never tasted so good!"
Meg says
Oh! So so so good! It does pay to let the flavours meld….such an awesomely easy dish….no scrimping on the flavours….fabulous! Thank you chef Adam
Zee says
Aw som tasty
Reshyll says
Didn't expect this piyaz to slap this hard. Super easy to throw together and somehow tastes like you actually put effort in (even if you didn’t). The beans are creamy, the onions are punchy, and that dressing is just... 💯