I love how easy it is to make this black bean salad. It’s perfect for entertaining as you can make it ahead of time, and it gets even tastier as it sits in the fridge. It’s always a crowd-pleaser and comes together easily in a few quick steps. I love that it’s vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free, making it perfect for sharing.
This colorful and refreshing salad is hearty but light, making it perfect as a light lunch as well as a side to share. It also doesn’t require any cooking, so it’s great for when you don’t want to heat up the kitchen in the summer. Want another refreshing salad? Try my cucumber salad recipe, tomato salad recipe, or watermelon salad recipe.
Key Ingredients You Need
- Black beans — To save time, use canned black beans instead of cooking them from scratch. Always rinse and drain the black beans before adding them to the salad so that it won’t be soggy.
- Corn — You can use fresh, canned, or frozen corn. Use what you have on hand!
- Bell pepper — I use a green bell pepper but if you prefer a sweeter pepper, use red bell pepper.
- Cherry tomatoes — I like cherry or grape tomatoes as they add sweetness to the salad. You can also dice plum tomatoes.
- Jalapeno — This adds a bit of heat to the salad. Make sure to remove the seeds before adding the jalapeno to the salad.
- Lime — You will need lime juice and zest, so I recommend grabbing some fresh limes. Bottled lime juice tends to have a slightly bitter aftertaste, so stick with juicing fresh limes.
- Olive oil — As olive oil is the base of the salad dressing, use good quality olive oil.
How to Make Black Bean Salad
Step 1: In a bowl, whisk together olive oil, chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper.
Step 2: Whisk in the fresh lime juice and set aside.
Step 3: Cut the cherry tomatoes in half or quarters.
Step 4: Dice the red onion and the rest of the ingredients.
Step 5: Add the black beans, corn, bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, red onions, cilantro, garlic, jalapeno, and lime zest to a bowl. Pour the dressing over the salad.
Step 6: Toss until the black bean and corn salad is well combined.
Tips For This Recipe
- I love adding some diced avocado to the bean salad, but I recommend only doing so if you are enjoying the entire bowl right away. Avocado tends to oxidize, so you won’t be able to store the salad as long.
- If you do not like the taste of cilantro, you can swap for parsley or basil.
- To bulk up the salad, you can mix in quinoa or serve it over a bed of salad.
- For some tangy flavor, you can add some feta, cojita, or parmesan cheese to the salad before serving.
- If you want some added crunch, sprinkle some sunflower or pumpkin seeds into the salad.
- Lime zest will add extra lime flavor without needing to add too much lime juice to the salad.
- It’s much easier to zest a lime before juicing, so make sure to zest the lime first.
- If your lime was in the fridge, bring it to room temperature before juicing to get the most liquid out of it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Transfer any extra salad into an airtight container and keep it in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can add a fresh splash of lime juice to refresh the flavors a bit.
Nope, serve this salad chilled or at room temperature! This black bean salad actually tastes better once chilled as it enhances the flavor.
This salad is delicious on its own, but you can also serve it with some nachos, enchiladas, and fajitas, or use it as a filling for burritos and tacos!
IF YOU LOVE THIS RECIPE TRY THESE OUT!
If you’ve tried this Black Bean Salad Recipe, then don’t forget to leave me a 5 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below!
Black Bean Salad
Ingredients
For the Salad:
- 2 15-oz cans black beans rinsed and drained
- 1 cup corn
- 1 bell pepper diced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 cup red onion diced
- ⅓ cup fresh cilantro chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 jalapeno seeded and chopped or 2 tbsp pickled jalapeno
- 1 tsp lime zest
- diced avocado optional garnish
For the Dressing:
- ¼ cup lime juice
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- ½ tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Instructions
- To make the dressing add all of the dressing ingredients to a small mixing bowl. Whisk until well combined. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl add all of the salad ingredients. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss to combine.
- Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- I love adding some diced avocado to the bean salad, but I recommend only doing so if you are enjoying the entire bowl right away. Avocado tends to oxidize, so you won’t be able to store the salad as long.
- If you do not like the taste of cilantro, you can swap for parsley or basil.
- To bulk up the salad, you can mix in quinoa or serve it over a bed of salad.
- For some tangy flavor, you can add some feta, cojita, or parmesan cheese to the salad before serving.
- If you want some added crunch, sprinkle some sunflower or pumpkin seeds into the salad.
- Lime zest will add extra lime flavor without needing to add too much lime juice to the salad.
- It’s much easier to zest a lime before juicing, so make sure to zest the lime first.
- If your lime was in the fridge, bring it to room temperature before juicing to get the most liquid out of it.
Love the black bean salad and add goat cheese and avocado
Those are great additions!