This black bean and corn salad is a fresh mix of black beans, corn, red peppers, jalapeno and avocado, all tossed in a zesty cilantro lime dressing. An easy salad that’s the perfect side dish for any meal!
Black bean salad is full of different flavors and textures, and makes a great side dish. You can even serve it as a dip for chips or as a topping for grilled meats or fish. This salad is perfect with entrees like grilled pork chops, shrimp kabobs or baked chicken wings.
I love this time of year when all the fresh foods come into season. One of my favorite dishes to make is this black bean and corn salad. With fresh avocados, red peppers, corn, and jalapeno, it feels like a veggie lover’s dream.
This is one of my favorite summer salads along with watermelon salad, strawberry spinach salad and burrata salad.
Table of Contents
Black Bean and Corn Salad Ingredients
To make this black bean and corn salad you will need two cans of black beans, corn kernels, a red onion, a red bell pepper, an avocado and a jalapeno pepper. For the dressing you will need cilantro, olive oil, lime juice, honey, chili powder, cumin, salt and black pepper.
How Do You Make Black Bean and Corn Salad?
To make this black bean salad, start by mixing together in a large bowl black beans, corn, diced red bell pepper, diced avocado and minced jalapeno. In a second bowl make the cilantro lime dressing by whisking together chopped cilantro leaves, olive oil, lime juice, honey, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss everything together for delicious dish.
Tips For The Perfect Salad
- Gently toss your salad with dressing to keep all the ingredients in good shape.
- I prefer to juice my own limes for this recipe instead of purchasing lime juice. If you juice your own limes, look for limes that are a little soft so that they have a lot of juice.
- You can make this black bean salad up to a day in advance. However, you’ll want to leave the avocado out initially, and then add it in with everything else once you’re ready to serve so the avocado doesn’t turn brown an mushy.
- This recipe contains one jalapeno. If you’re looking for a mild taste, remove the jalapeno seeds and ribs before you mince the pepper. If you love your spice, leave the seeds and ribs in and enjoy that extra kick of heat!
Quick Tip
Look for a firm, but ripe avocado so that you can dice the avocado without it getting mushy.
Recipe FAQs
It’s actually pretty easy to convert black bean and corn salad into salsa. It’s all the same ingredients, you’ll just want to chop them up finely. Whether turned into a salsa or left as is, it’s delicious served on the top of tacos, with tortilla chips, or over a piece of grilled chicken breast.
This black bean and corn salad is vegetarian. You can even enjoy this salad as a vegetarian main dish. If you remove the honey, it’s also a vegan dish. Between the protein in the beans and the healthy fat in the avocado, this is a salad that will keep you full for a long time.
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Flavor Variations
This black bean and corn salad recipe makes a delicious salad that the whole family will love. However, you can change the flavors to suit your taste!
- Garlic: Add some extra flavor to your salad adding a teaspoon of minced garlic to your dressing.
- Veggies: You can add your favorites veggies like sliced green onions, diced cucumbers, diced tomatoes or add diced celery or carrots for extra crunch.
- Grains: You can make your salad more hearty with cooked grains like quinoa or farro. You could also serve this salad with rice on the side.
- Cheese: Top your salad with cotija cheese, feta cheese or shredded cheddar cheese.
I love that this dish is full of so many flavors and textures. Not only that but it’s fresh and healthy which hits the spot for the warmer months. It’s the perfect summer dish because it can become more than just a side dish, it can be anything you want it to be!
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Love This Recipe?
Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
Black Bean and Corn Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cans black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 1/2 cups corn kernels fresh, frozen or canned
- 1/4 cup red onion minced
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 1 avocado peeled, pit removed and diced
- 1 jalapeno ribs and seeds removed, then minced
- 1/3 cup cilantro leaves chopped
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place the black beans, corn, red onion, red bell pepper, avocado and jalapeno in a large bowl.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the cilantro, olive oil, lime juice, honey, chili powder, cumin and salt and pepper.
- Pour the dressing over the beans and vegetables and toss gently to coat. Serve.
Notes
- Look for a firm, but ripe avocado so that you can dice the avocado without it getting mushy.
- Gently toss your salad with dressing to keep all the ingredients in good shape.
- I prefer to juice my own limes for this recipe instead of purchasing lime juice. If you juice your own limes, look for limes that are a little soft so that they have a lot of juice.
What can I substitute avocado for.? Don’t like it at all
I’d just leave it out!
I left the avocado out, didn’t have any, added cucumber and feta. ?mmmm
Ok, I’m really not a cilantro fan. What would you suggest I use instead of the cilantro?
Green onions are fine!
Can substitute parsley for cilantro.
Excellent recipe. Made it just as the directions said and added celery. The family loved it as a side dish. Will definitely make this recipe frequently over the summer.
excellent dish!
Excellent salad. I added finely minced celery and tomato, a clove of finely minced garlic. I marinated in the fridge for a few hours. The avocado makes it perfect.
This was so good! I used pinto beans cause hubby doesn’t like black beans and a green pepper cause that’s what I had. It was delicious! I will make the dressing by itself to serve on taco salads.
Hey! This looks delicious. As for the black bean cans, how many oz/grams does each one have?
It’s 15 ounce cans!
Thank you for this! About how many days do you think it will keep (without dressing or avocado)?
3 days in the fridge!
Thank you!!
I served it as a main course with warn corn tortillas! It was really great!
Perfect for a summer cookout side dishes. With all the compliments, I felt like a master chef. The recipe is perfection as written. No changes needed!
This is really good, thanks for sharing!
Would this be ok to make a day In advance (minus the avocado)??
Yes that’s fine!
Even if you use avocado, it will be okay because of the lime in the dressing prevents the avocado from turning black. It actually marinated together quite beautifully!
I made this for three people. I halved the black beans and corn, kept everything else the same and also added 1 small clove of garlic, finely minced. It is delicious! Surprisingly filling, too. We ate it with grilled chicken wings, wonderful!
Next time, I’ll dice the red onion a bit finer, maybe add a bit more jalapeno but those are my preferences.. The beauty of this recipe is that it is so versatile and lends itself well to small modifications according to one’s personal tastes.
Thank you!
I made this according to recipe, except minus the jalapeño but added green onion. Delicious!
What is the serving size ? 1 cup?
Yes that’s correct!
Is there something you think would work well as a substitute for the honey in the dressing?
Any other sweetener will work!
What do you think about adding quinoa to this? I was thinking a grain to bulk it up a little for a potluck tomorrow. Do you think it would detract from the dish?
I think that would be a great addition!
This is wonderful!!! I cant wait til summer when i can use really fresh produce !!!! Thank you for this recipe!
Does the dressing keep the avocado from turning brown? I’m taking this to a tailgate & will have to mix everything up before I leave my house. Just want to make sure the avocados will remain fresh & green.
It should be fine because the lime juice in the dressing should keep it from going brown!
Great recipe! I used only one can of beans and added small shrimp. Yum! Lemon juice with EVOO for the dressing worked great especially with the avocado in there. Goes great into the cooler for boat trips using corn scoop chips. Thank you!!
For some reason my iPad will not register the star rating. Five stars from Panama City Florida !!!!!
Soooo yummy, this complemented my Salmon very well. I did not include the bell peper only because the kids dont like it. I love getting complements on my dishes 🙂
Made this with fresh, grilled corn and it was outstanding. My only change was subbing white onion for purple – I find the white to taste a little more mild sometimes, but I’ll bet the purple is prettier! I’ll be making this again, no question. Perfect side dish for the southwest grilled chicken breasts we had for dinner.