Black Bean Salad with Lime Vinaigrette
Black Bean Salad is a great vegetarian snacks or side dish made with black beans, avocado, and brought to life with a zingy lime vinaigrette. The flavor gets even better after it sits overnight in the fridge. My favorite way to eat this salad is with tortilla chips, or sprinkled over a taco salad. YUM! And lots of fiber and protein.
I make this Black Bean Salad a lot, especially when I cook for vegetarians. It is full of protein to give you energy and contains healthy fat which helps to make you feel full and satiated. I love the combination of the beans, avocado and citrus together. I make this salad at home and have it as a quick snack in the middle of the day or as a side dish for a backyard BBQ.
Serve as a side dish on top a bed of lettuce or as part of a make-your-own taco bar. Increase the amount of jalapeño peppers if you favor it a little hotter. During the summer replace the canned corn with fresh grilled corn off the cob to give it a smokier, outdoor flavor.
Canned or Fresh Beans
I used canned black beans in the recipe below, which are easy to use if you are short on time. If you have more time then using soaked dried black beans are really nice and have better flavor since they are fresh.
To use dried black beans instead, place 2 cups dried black (turtle) beans in a bowl big enough to handle the beans once they double in size. Cover with water about 4 inches above the level of the beans. Let beans soak for at least 8 hours, overnight is better. When you are ready to cook them, drain the soaking water and place beans in a pot. Pour in new water about 4 - 5 inches above the level of the beans. Place over high heat and bring to a boil.
Once the beans are boiling, turn down heat until beans are gently bouncing around in the water, adding in other ingredients like chopped onion, bay leave, garlic cloves, and chopped tomatoes to give them extra flavor. Simmer for 30 minutes. Taste a couple to see if they are done, add more time if they are still hard. Drain and cool before serving or adding to another recipe like this one. Enjoy!
Ingredients for Black Bean Salad
Black Beans - use one or two cans of black beans
Red Onion - adds the crunch, I like to chop it really small, so the flavor just blends in
Cilantro - chop up the leaves and some of the stems, adds brightness. If you don’t like cilantro, you can use parsley
Jalapeno - add as much as you want to vary the heat level to your preference. I also like to chop this up very small so that I don’t get a big piece in my bites, helps to spread out the heat.
Lime Juice & Honey - creates a nice blend of citrus tang with just a little sweetness
Avocado - add this when you are ready to serve so it doesn’t get brown
Corn and Tomato - these are optional! The corn adds sweetness and crunch, but you can leave it out. The tomatoes are great in here, but will get a little soft if you are prepping this salad ahead of time. Better to leave it out or add them the day you are serving the salad.
The salad is just as beautiful and tasty without the corn, tomato, or avocado, as seen below. So feel free to make this salad your own if you want to change up some of the ingredients.
Let's Make Black Bean Salad!
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Black Bean Salad with Lime Vinaigrette
A great side dish for a summer BBQ or an easy snack to scoop up with tortilla chips. Great source of healthy protein, fiber and fat. Add the avocado the day you are serving it so it stays nice and green.
Ingredients
- 2 cans (15-ounce) black beans, rinsed and drained
- ¼ red bell pepper, chopped
- ½ small red onion, small dice (about ¼ cup)
- 1 small jalapeno, minced
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil
- 1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped, more for garnish
- 1 teaspoon honey
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- ½ firm-ripe avocado, peeled, cut into small cubes
- ½ cup sweet yellow corn (canned or fresh)
- 2 small tomato, chopped or 10 cherry tomatoes sliced in half
Instructions
- Place beans, bell pepper, onion, corn, tomato and jalapeno in a large bowl.
- In a small bowl mix lime juice, oil, cilantro, honey, salt and pepper with a whisk until thoroughly combined. Pour vinaigrette over the bean mixture and stir to mix. Taste and adjust the seasonings as desired. Top salad with extra cilantro leaves and let chill before serving.
- Make at least an hour before serving so that the beans absorb the flavor of the vinaigrette. Stir a couple times to distribute the beans in the vinaigrette.
- Cut and add the avocado just before serving.
Notes
*The Black Bean Salad will stay fresh in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 weeks. The avocado will brown if making the salad more than a day before eating so you can reserve the avocado and add it on the day it is being served.
