Black Bean Salad

This fresh black bean salad is perfect for summer and alongside barbecue. It is tangy, sweet and spicy and a perfect crowd pleaser. It’s full of Tex-Mex flavors and serves as a very comforting, satisfying and refreshing side.

I was having some guests over for a last-minute barbecue, and I realized that I didn’t have any lettuce to make a salad. I really wanted something light, crisp and refreshing because it was so hot outside. So as usual I went in my pantry to be inspired and I saw a can of black beans. Black beans are my favorite kind of beans, they are very hearty and hold well to spices and herbs. I use them all the time in my Tex-Mex cooking instead of meat. So, I decided to make a black bean salad.

I didn’t have any store-bought salad dressing, but I did have some fresh limes, so I decided to make a dressing using fresh limes and apple cider vinegar to give it a bit of sweetness as well as tanginess. I added all the veggies I had on hand and some chopped jalapenos because I do love a bit of a kick in bean salads. And this salad turned out to be a hit with my guests and my next go to salad recipe. So, let me walk through the recipe.

Variations

You can add chopped up lettuce, onions or any of your favorite veggies.
You can use more than one kind of beans like red kidney beans, garbanzo beans or cannellini beans.

Make Ahead Suggestions

The salad keeps well covered and refrigerated for a few hours.

Servings : 4 as a side

Preparation Time : 15 minutes

Ingredients

For the Salad

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
3/4 cup or 1 small red bell pepper, diced small
3/4 cup or 1 avocado, diced small
3/4 cup or 1/2 cucumber with skin, diced small
8-10 mini tomatoes, cut in half
2 tablespoons or 1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped*
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

For the Dressing

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoons black pepper
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoons cumin powder
1/8 teaspoons garlic powder or 1 garlic clove, finely chopped

Directions

In a bowl mix all the salad ingredients.
In a bowl mix all the dressing ingredients and whisk.
Pour the dressing over the bean salad and cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to a few hours.
Serve cold or room temperature. Enjoy!