# "Vintage" Recipe Hunt: Kidney Bean Salad with French Dressing

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vintage-recipe-hunt-kidney-bean-salad-with-french-dressing/659857>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [June 1, 2013, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vintage-recipe-hunt-kidney-bean-salad-with-french-dressing/659857 "2013-06-01T12:33:01Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\
**Post date:** [June 1, 2013, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vintage-recipe-hunt-kidney-bean-salad-with-french-dressing/659857/1 "2013-06-01T12:33:01Z")

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I’m not sure if this dates from the 50’s or the 70’s, but it was something my mom used to make when I was a kid, and I just loved it. I remember canned kidney beans, and I remember french dressing, and I remember…something crunchy. Celery, maybe? Onions? I’m not sure.

Google is failing me. Anyone remember this, or still make it, and have any recipe suggestions? Or did my mom literally chop up celery, add a can of beans and douse it in bottled French Dressing? It’s possible it’s just that easy, but I’d like to know for sure before I ruin tomorrow’s cookout.

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**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\
**Post date:** [June 1, 2013, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vintage-recipe-hunt-kidney-bean-salad-with-french-dressing/659857/2 "2013-06-01T14:08:48Z")

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Maybe this? From [here](http://www.mullensdressing.com/mulnrecp.htm).  
I’m guessing any French dressing would be fine.

> [@](#):
>
> KIDNEY BEAN SALAD
> 
> 1 No. 2 can red kidney beans, chilled 1 cup chopped celery 2 hard-cooked eggs, chopped 2 tbsp. chopped sweet pickles 1 tsp. minced onion 4 tbsp. Mullen’s Imitation French Dressing First, strain the kidney beans and wash them thoroughly in cold water. Add the beans to the other ingredients and mix together well. This salad may be served on a lettuce leaf and garnished with parsley. Makes 6 servings.

Put the following in your Google search box. Lots o’ hits.

> [@](#):
>
> recipe “kidney beans” “french dressing” celery

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**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\
**Post date:** [June 1, 2013, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vintage-recipe-hunt-kidney-bean-salad-with-french-dressing/659857/3 "2013-06-01T14:39:03Z")

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Thanks! I forgot my quote marks and got lots of kidney bean salads in some sort of dressing, but nothing close to what I’m looking for.

Huh, that might be close. I don’t recall the eggs, but celery sounds right, and pickles a possibility. Knowing Mom, if there were pickles, it was probably a spoon of sweet pickle relish.

Thanks again!

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**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\
**Post date:** [June 1, 2013, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vintage-recipe-hunt-kidney-bean-salad-with-french-dressing/659857/4 "2013-06-01T15:14:06Z")

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So…what time do you want me there for the cookout tomorrow? What else are we having? 😉

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**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\
**Post date:** [June 1, 2013, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vintage-recipe-hunt-kidney-bean-salad-with-french-dressing/659857/5 "2013-06-01T15:53:29Z")

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4:00! 😃 It’s Mom’s 65th birthday, so we’re going to her house with the grandkids, and I’m making some of the favorite foods she made me when I was their age and she was mine. It’s kind of meta, but hopefully tasty, too!

This kidney bean salad, that grated carrot and raisin salad everyone’s mom made in the 70’s (only my mom made it with yogurt, not mayo, as will I!) and [this horrendously delicious Velveeta and green olive macaroni salad](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=355515)that I googled this morning, and found I’d asked about it here 7 years ago!

My husband will grill something to accompany my salad offerings. That part hasn’t quite been decided yet. 😃