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Courgette Butter Bean Salad Recipe with Tomato Salsa

3 September 2026
|In Recipes
|By Damon Segal

This courgette butter bean salad recipe is a quick, gut-friendly dish that pairs caramelised courgette and creamy butter beans with a bright tomato salsa of cherry tomatoes, capers, fresh herbs and lemon. Finished with chilli and a mixed seed topping, and made throughout with premium extra virgin olive oil, it’s a simple plate that’s genuinely satisfying for your gut microbes. Serves 2, with leftovers.

Ingredients for This Butter Bean Salad Recipe

  • 4 tbsp premium extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 shallots, finely chopped
  • 1 courgette, thinly sliced
  • 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
  • 2 x 400g tins butter beans, and their liquid
  • 120g broccoli, cut into small florets and roughly chopped
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • 1 red chilli, thinly sliced
  • 2 tbsp seed mix (suggested: flaxseeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds)
  • Salt and black pepper

For the Tomato Salsa

  • 15 cherry tomatoes, quartered
  • Small handful each of dill, parsley and basil
  • 1 ½ tbsp capers
  • Juice of ½ lemon

Method

  1. Heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a large frying pan and saute shallots over medium heat for 1 minute until slightly softened.
  2. Add courgettes and cook for 8 mins until softened and caramelised, stirring occasionally. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
  3. Add butter beans with their liquid, the broccoli and lemon zest. Stir and season with salt and pepper, then reduce the heat and simmer for 6-7 mins until the sauce has thickened and the broccoli is tender but retains a bit of bite.
  4. Meanwhile, mix the chopped tomatoes, herbs, capers, remaining olive oil and lemon juice in a bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper.
  5. When the butter beans are ready, divide between two plates and spoon the tomato salsa all over. Finish by scattering over the sliced chilli and mixed seeds.

Why This Butter Bean Salad Recipe Is Good for Your Gut

Butter beans are rich in prebiotic fibre that feeds beneficial gut bacteria, while extra virgin olive oil supplies polyphenols linked to a healthier microbiome. Combined with broccoli, fresh herbs and a mix of seeds, this butter bean salad recipe is an easy way to build a gut-friendly meal without sacrificing flavour.

Looking for more ideas? Browse our other extra virgin olive oil recipes.