Southwestern Bean Salad

This Southwestern Bean Salad is fresh, vibrant, and quick to make. It features fiber-rich beans, sweet corn kernels, crunchy cucumber, and red bell peppers, all tossed in a tangy-sweet dressing with warm, earthy seasonings. It’s an ideal side dish for summer cookouts, backyard barbecues, and potlucks!

This bean salad is a truly easy and healthy side dish recipe that takes just about 15 minutes to prepare. It pairs well with chicken, beef, pork, shellfish, and fish. However, it can also be served as a main dish. The abundance of protein from the beans makes it perfect as a vegetarian meal. If you’re a meat-lover, try adding your choice of meat or seafood to the salad to turn it into a main course.

That’s not all. Serve it with tortillas for a crowd-pleasing appetizer!

This vibrant bean salad is packed with protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. The tender beans, sharp red onion, fresh and crunchy cucumber, red bell peppers, creamy avocado, and sweet corn provide fantastic texture and flavor. The bright and citrusy cilantro adds an extra layer of flavor, while the tangy-sweet salad dressing with southwestern seasoning ties everything together.

Ideal for gatherings:

This is an ideal dish for any gathering. It’s vegetarian-friendly, easy to prepare, can be made ahead of time, and simple to transport. Additionally, with no cooking required, it’s a perfect summer dish to make and enjoy. Since this salad contains no mayonnaise or dairy in the dressing, it’s better suited for outdoor events than ones with those ingredients.

Ingredients needed:

• Canned beans—I used black beans and Northern beans for this recipe, but feel free to use what you like.
• Cucumber—has a fresh flavor and crunch.
• Red onion—provides a zingy bite. If you don’t like the sharpness, slice it and soak in cold water for 10-15 minutes. Alternatively, use sweet onions like Vidalia.
• Red bell pepper—adds a pop of color, a little sweetness, and crunch. You can also use green, yellow, or orange.
• Corn—provides sweet, tender, and chewy bites. Fresh, frozen, or canned can be used. Be sure to defrost frozen corn before adding it to the salad.
• Avocado—adds a creamy, buttery texture with a slight grassy and nutty flavor. Select one that is ripe but not too ripe, as this will hold up better when mixed.
• Cilantro—has bright, floral, citrusy, and peppery notes. If you don’t like cilantro, substitute it with parsley.
• Dressing—made with lime juice, red wine vinegar, oil, garlic, salt, black pepper, sugar, cumin, chili powder, and paprika.

Recipe highlights:

• Drain and rinse the beans well, then combine them with the chopped vegetables in a bowl.
• In a small bowl, combine the dressing ingredients and whisk. Pour into the salad and toss to combine.
• Chill for at least 1 hour for the flavors to blend.
• See the recipe card for detailed instructions.

Variations:

There are many ways to customize this bean salad to suit your taste or what you have on hand. Not only can you change the add-ins, but you can also change the beans.

• Other beans—black eye peas, kidney beans, garbanzo beans, and pinto beans are good substitutes.
• Parsley—if you don’t like cilantro, parsley is a great substitute.
• Jicama—This root vegetable has a subtle, almost flavorless flavor but with a sweet undertone. I like to include it for its crispy crunch.
• Tomato—I recommend grape or plum tomatoes because they release less liquid and won’t water down the salad as much as regular red tomatoes.
• Meat—adding meat or seafood makes this salad substantial enough for a main course for meat lovers.

How to serve:

This Southwestern Bean Salad is incredibly versatile, both in its many add-ins and in how it can be served. You can enjoy it as a side dish, as a dip with nachos, or as a main dish with added protein.

• Side salad—ideal for dinner at home, potlucks, cookouts, and backyard barbecue. Pairs well with chicken, pork, steak, or seafood.
• Appetizer—serve with tortillas, crackers, or pita chips.
• Main dish—adding chicken, steak, shrimp, salmon, or swordfish to the salad adds extra protein and makes it a complete meal on its own. It’s a great way to use leftover meat.

Pro tips:

• Rinse the canned beans—rinse it until the water runs clear. This helps remove the starchy, gummy packing fluid and excess salt.
• Blot the beans dry—I recommend blotting them dry with paper towels after rinsing to prevent a watered-down salad.
• Prep ahead—you can make this salad a day in advance, but wait until the day of to add the cilantro, avocado, and dressing. Then refrigerate it for at least an hour to let the flavors meld. If you want to add tomatoes, wait to add them as well, since the tomato may release too much liquid if left sitting for too long.

How to store:

Store any leftover bean salad in an airtight container up to 4 days in the refrigerator.

Recommended supplies:

(Affiliate links. The products I recommend are either what I use, are on my wish list, or come highly rated.)

• Mixing bowls—this set of 8 stainless steel, varying-sized mixing bowls has nonslip bottoms and airtight lids. It includes three grater attachments for shredding, slicing, or grating directly into the bowls.
• Small hand whisk—this 7.25-inch stainless steel dishwasher-safe whisk is the perfect size for whisking dressing.

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Southwestern Bean Salad

Author: In Good Flavor Cooking Method:Mixing Cuisine:Mexican Courses:Salads Main Sides

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 15 minutesTotal time: 15 minutesServings:6 servings

Description

This Southwestern Bean Salad is fresh, vibrant, and quick to prepare. It features fiber-rich beans, sweet corn kernels, crunchy cucumber, and red bell peppers, all tossed in a tangy-sweet dressing with warm, earthy seasonings. It’s an ideal side dish for summer cookouts, backyard barbecues, and potlucks!

Ingredients

• 1 (15.5 ounce) Great Northern beans
• 1 (15.5 ounce) black beans
• 1 cup corn, fresh, frozen, or canned*
• 1 small red bell pepper, cut into small dices
• 3/4 cup chopped red onion
• 1 cup cucumber, cut into small dices
• 1 cup avocado, cut into small dices
• 1 cup cucumber, cut into small dices
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup chopped cilantro (add to your preference)

For the dressing:

• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice (about 1 1/2 limes)
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup canola, vegetable, or light tasting olive oil
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
• 1 1/4 teaspoons cumin
• 3/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 2 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 rounded teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

1. Drain and rinse the beans thoroughly under running water until the water runs clear. Gently pat dry with paper towels. Chop the vegetables. Add all the salad ingredients to a mixing bowl.
2. Combine all of the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk. Pour into the bean salad. Toss gently to combine. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour to allow the flavors to combine.
3. Makes 6 servings.

Notes

• * If you use frozen corn, defrost it before adding it to the salad. Also, if you use canned corn, make sure to drain it well before using.
• If you use olive oil in the dressing, it tends to thicken when stored in the refrigerator, binding the salad. Let your salad sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes before serving, allowing the olive oil to thin out and the salad to loosen.

Keywords:Bean Salad, Vegetarian Main Dish, Side Dish Recipe, Southwestern Bean Salad

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