This easy black bean salad is one of my simplest salads yet. There’s almost zero cooking involved. Making it the ultimate summer salad since you don’t have to use your stove or oven!
Additionally, like the majority of my salads, this dish can be a standalone meal, as it’s nutritionally balanced, and packed with both protein and fiber. It’s also super versatile and would make a great side dish or dip for chips. It’s the ultimate spoon salad!!
Sidenote, if you want to treat this salad as a dip, my homemade sea salt and lime tortilla chips would go PERFECTLY with this.
Ingredients For This Black Bean Salad
Here’s everything you’ll need for this easy corn and black bean salad.
- Black beans: Duh! As much as I’d like to be that girlie who makes beans from scratch, frankly, I don’t have the time (the last thing I want to do at the end of the day is make the cooking process even longer). So yes, I use canned beans for this salad!
- Yellow corn: I used frozen fire-roasted sweet yellow corn (which is just grilled yellow corn). If you can find fresh organic corn where you are, obviously use that.
- Cherry tomatoes
- Haas avocado
- Red onion
- Jalapeno peppers: If you’re feeling spicy (pun intended), feel free to use a serrano pepper instead.
- Cilantro
- Fresh garlic cloves
- Limes
- Olive oil
- Cumin
- Kosher salt
The Method Behind This Salad
This Mexican black bean salad is so easy to make; it’s just a big bowl of aromatics and beans tossed together. However, to get the most flavor out of everything, I chose to add an additional step to help draw out even more flavor from the aromatics.
Essentially, the aromatics (red onions, garlic, and jalapeno peppers) get finely minced and tossed in the lime juice, olive oil, cumin, and salt. And then I let them sit for about 10 minutes while I prep the rest of the ingredients (chop the tomatoes and avocado, cook the corn, drain the beans, etc.). This step (aka maceration) helps draw out any water from the aromatics and concentrates their flavor.
Serving & Storing
I love eating this salad with a big spoon. But it’s super versatile and would make a great side dish or dip for chips. It’s the ultimate spoon salad!!
In terms of storing this salad, keep any leftovers in an airtight glass container in the fridge for up to 1 day. Any longer than that, and the salad starts losing its crunch.
If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below, or DM me on Instagram. Hope this salad will be on repeat in your kitchen all summer long!
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Easy Black Bean Salad
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: Mexican
Description
This easy black bean salad is one of my simplest salads yet. Plus, it’s super versatile and can serve as both a standalone meal or a fun dip for chips! It’s the ultimate spoon salad!!
Ingredients
Aromatics & Seasonings
- 1/2 small red onion, finely diced
- 1 medium jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 3 tbsp lime juice
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp kosher salt
Other Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (13.4 oz of 385 g) cooked black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup sweet yellow corn
- 1 medium Haas avocado, pitted and diced into cubes
- 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered (about 12 tomatoes)
- 1/2 cup loosely packed minced cilantro
Instructions
- Macerate the aromatics. Dump the onion, jalapeno pepper, and garlic into a large bowl, drizzle over the lime juice, olive oil, cumin, and kosher salt, and stir well. Then set aside to macerate for 10 minutes – this process helps release even more flavor and juice from the aromatics and concentrates their flavor.
- Prep the remaining ingredients. While the aromatics macerate, I like to use this time to rinse the black beans, cook the corn, and dice the tomatoes, avocado, and cilantro.
- Add the remaining ingredients and toss together. Dump the black beans into the bowl of aromatics, followed by the corn, avocado, cherry tomatoes, and cilantro. Toss together well and adjust salt as needed.
- Serve immediately on its own or with a side of tortilla chips!
Notes
Keep in mind that if you’re serving this as a side dish, it’ll serve 3-4 people. However, I usually treat this salad as a standalone meal, which it’s noted as serving 2 people.
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