Black Bean Salad with Corn, Avocado & Lime Vinaigrette
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This make-ahead and festive black bean salad is a huge crowd-pleaser. Perfect for a summer cookout!
This black bean salad recipe was sent to me by one of my readers (thank you, Ellen!). It’s a huge crowd-pleaser and one of the most popular recipes on my website. The salad is ideal for entertaining because you can make it ahead of time — in fact, you should because it gets better and better the longer it sits. Try pairing it with my grilled tequila lime chicken and cornbread for a delicious (and easy!) Southwestern-themed cookout. Or, for an appetizer spread, serve it tortilla chips for scooping and chicken quesadillas.
Table of Contents
“I have made this about 4 times in the last couple of weeks. My family loves it! The flavors and textures come together perfectly!”
What You’ll Need To Make Black Bean Salad with Corn, Avocado & Lime Vinaigrette
- Black Beans: Form the hearty base of the salad, providing protein and texture.
- Corn: Adds sweetness and crunch and contributes to the salad’s vibrant color.
- Red Peppers: Offer a pop of color and juicy sweetness to the salad.
- Garlic and Shallots: Infuse the salad with aromatic depth of flavor.
- Salt and Cayenne Pepper: Season the salad, balancing flavors and adding a hint of heat.
- Sugar: Balances the acidity of the lime juice and enhances the overall flavor profile of the salad.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Creates a luscious and smooth vinaigrette, binding the ingredients together.
- Lime Zest and Lime Juice: Provide brightness and tanginess, elevating the salad’s flavors.
- Fresh Cilantro: Adds a burst of freshness and herbal aroma to the salad.
- Avocados: Contribute creaminess and richness, complementing the other ingredients perfectly. If you’re unsure of the most efficient way to prepare an avocado, see my step-by-step guide on how to cut an avocado.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by cooking the corn in boiling salted water.
A few minutes is all it takes — you want it super crisp. Refresh the corn under cold water to stop the cooking process.
Place the corn on a clean dish towel set over a cutting board, then use a serrated knife to cut the kernels of the cobs. (The dish towel both dries the corn and prevents it from bouncing all over the place.)
Next, rinse and drain the black beans.
Combine the corn and black beans with the remaining ingredients, except for the avocado.
Toss and chill until ready to serve.
Before serving, dice the avocado and add to the salad. It’s important to add the avocado at the last minute to keep it from turning brown.
Toss well, then taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. You may find that it needs a bit more salt or a squirt of lime juice, as the flavors tend to mellow in the fridge.
That’s all there is to it. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
Sure, I recommend chilling it for a few hours or overnight. If necessary, you can make it up to 1 day ahead. Just hold off on adding the avocado until you’re ready to serve to keep it fresh and vibrant.
This is best with fresh corn but when it’s not in season, you can use canned or frozen corn. Just drain and rinse canned corn before adding and if using frozen, ensure it’s thawed beforehand. You’ll need a total of about 2-1/4 cups of corn kernels for the salad.
To add a kick of heat, you can double the cayenne pepper or add a diced jalapeño. For the jalapeño, adjust the amount based on your preference for spiciness, keeping in mind that the heat of the peppers lies in the seeds and veins.
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Black Bean Salad with Corn, Avocado & Lime Vinaigrette
This make-ahead and festive black bean salad is a huge crowd-pleaser. Perfect for a summer cookout!
Ingredients
- 2 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed and drained
- 3 ears fresh cooked corn, kernels cut off the cob
- 2 red bell peppers, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons minced shallots, from one medium shallot
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 9 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, best quality such as Colavita
- 1 teaspoon lime zest (be sure to zest limes before juicing them)
- 6 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish
- 2 Hass avocados, chopped
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients except for avocados in a large bowl and mix well. Cover and chill for a few hours or overnight. Right before serving, add avocados and mix gently, being careful not to mash avocados. Garnish with a more chopped cilantro if desired. Serve at room temperature.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (8 servings)
- Serving size: 3/4 - 1 cup
- Calories: 464
- Fat: 24 g
- Saturated fat: 3 g
- Carbohydrates: 52 g
- Sugar: 7 g
- Fiber: 15 g
- Protein: 13 g
- Sodium: 591 mg
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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This salad has become one of my favorites! I make enough ahead of time to last the week, and I bring it for lunch every day at work. Yum!!
Made this last night and have made it at least 5 times. Its great. I usually have most of these ingredients on hand goes well with the turkey burgers on here as well or any burger on here for that matter.
Love your recipes Jenn!
i love black beans and corn salads. i’m making this tonight for dinner.
We are on the Daniel diet so I made this using agave nectar, lemon juice & zest because I had them. I also used organic frozen no sugar corn
It was fabulous & will definitely make it again & again.
Thank you.
I saw this on Pinterest, and I *had* to make it. It’s beautiful and a great dip or accompaniment to Tex-Mex menus. I cut the oil by half, increased the garlic, and added chopped fresh jalepenos. It’s awesome! Thank you so much for sharing.
I made this, this morning and have yet to put the avocado in but I tried it to see how the flavors were coming together and WOW, I want to eat the whole thing! I did put about half the salt in, extra garlic (because we are garlic fanatics) and only had one can of beans, but everything else was as directed. This is my new standby recipe!
I can’t wait to make this! My mouth is watering.
This looks mouth watering. I am motivated to try this. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Great recipe
A friend just made this salad for a potluck and it is awesome! Can’t wait to try it myself.
This looks yummy…am making it this weekend, and looking forward to the results…OMG…..can’t wait!
Quick question: why do we have to zest the limes? Is that suppose to go in the dish as well. Thanks!
Hi Molly,
Yes, the lime zest goes into the salad and has tons of flavor. Hope you enjoy!
Try it with frozen watermelon instead of sugar! Mmm
I made this for Super Bowl and it was a big hit. My only issue is there was too much liquid at the bottom and had to keep stirring it. When others decreased the oil, did you have liquid at the bottom too? I let this sit overnight since I read the flavors would blend better which they did. Maybe I should have drained this before serving?
Hi Tammy, There is a generous amount of dressing with this salad. I prefer it that way, especially if I’m serving it with chicken and need a bit of a sauce, but you could certainly decrease the quantities a bit. If the only issue is having to stir it a lot, you can serve it in a shallow dish so that the dressing doesn’t all sink to the bottom. Hope that helps!
This was pretty good. I’d make this again with a few substitutions. I’d use lemon instead of lime and probably 4 tbs instead of 6. I’ll definitely cut the oil to 5 tbs next time. I ALMOST did and regret adding it all now. I like red onions more than shallots so I’ll do those and I’ll probably add a bit more cayenne. Oh, and it definitely needs more avocado. 3-4 for avocado lovers like me. Oh, and I’ll definitely add mango chunks next time and omit the sugar. My friends and boyfriend really liked it as is.
I substituted with canned corn and added grape tomatoes. It was a big hit at our church supper!
Corn is not in season any more. Do I substitute canned or frozen?
It looks & sounds wonderful.
Hi Mary, Lots of people have been having luck with frozen corn. That should definitely be better than canned. Good luck and hope you enjoy!
I use WHITE SHOEPEG CORN in a can, it is crisp and tasty : )
This was super yummy! I made a couple changes to eliminate some calories and for convenience (splenda instead of sugar, added some chopped up banana peppers, cut oil in half and used the juice from the banana peppers and replaces shallots with red onions). Fresh corn is out of season and it was still really good with canned.
Is there a weight watchers point count to this??anyone??
I used 3 med avocados, reduced the oil to 5T and (because we like a bit more garlic) used 4 cloves. With these modifications, using 8 servings for the entire recipe, it equals 8 points per serving.
Hi Kathy,
I just added up the points and it’s about 6 points per serving (not including avocado). And I also cut the oil down to 6 tablespoons. If you add the avocado, which I will cause I love it…..you add another 2 points for 1/4 of a medium avocado. It’s not as low in points as I was hoping, but I might cut back on the oil next time.
Hope this helps!
For the ww points, what is the serving size?
Delicious!! Served it with fish tacos. It was perfect. I also used frozen corn…no fresh available, turned out great! thanks.
I just made this salad and I can tell you its absolute amazing!
Does anyone know how many cups this makes?
I make a similar version of this we call “Cowboy Caviar” Cant’ wait to try this one too!
I cant eat bell peppers. Could I substitute a good firm tomato, like Roma, deseeded of course?
Hi Rebecca, You could definitely substitute a tomato. Hope you enjoy!
I can’t stop eating this stuff!! I am a vegan and added a few roasted almonds and green olives. Let’s put it this way, if I was on death row (which I am not) this would be my requested last meal!!
I literally just made myself sick on this. SO GOOD! We ate it over brown rice. Hubby added steak and shredded cheese to his…daughter added tortilla chips. They said it reminded them of a Chipotle Bowl. Thank you!!!
Got to try this
One of my coworkers brought this today and shared the recipe. This is awesome…Got to make it for the Superbowl!!
I made this tonight and it was delish! I cheated, though, and did not use fresh corn. I used a bag of Steamfresh white/yellow corn…steamed and cooled. It tasted great and still had crunch!
Forgot to mentioned that I also halved the recipe, so one bag of corn was the perfect ratio for one can of beans and one avocado.
Great tip on the steamfresh corn, Claire. Especially for winter when corn is out of season. Thanks for your comment!
I made this, with some changes- I thought 9 tablespoons of olive oil seemed too much so I used 5 instead, and deleted the sugar- we also like our spicy food so I added a shake or two more of the cayenne, and served it with slow roasted pork tacos- it was absolutely delicious and I am making more tomorrow! I still found it to be on the wet side, so perhaps I will use 5 TBL of lime juice instead, and I also grilled my corn-
I made this and you were so right! Folks kept coming again and again. I ran out of the salad soon. This is staying in my favorite. It is so simple and amazingly tasty. Thank you for sharing.
This was REALLY, REALLY, REALLY good.
Hi Joanne, You can just leave it out or substitute parsley. It will be good either way. Hope that helps!
I don’t like cilantro can I use either parsley or basil or am I just better to make it without cilantro
this looks fabulous. Having lived in Texas for 13 years, and now living in Seattle, I LONG for good Tex Mex, but in the end, its what we make at home that tastes best…..
Yaay, I can’t wait to make this! You made this look so easy I had to try and make it myself… wish me luck, I’m new to the kitchen…
I just made this recipe and promptly inhaled 2 bowls! So amazing!
I have made this three times and every time I make it my family and friends are always asking for more. I have sent this recipe to other friends and they tell me how mush of a hit it is for them too. I can totally taste the difference of the sugar but dont always add it. It is good with or without. I am going to try your other recipes too. They look delicious. I was attracted to this recipe just because of the beautiful photo.
made this for dinner tonight…tastes so great! thanks for the great idea! I gave you a shout-out on my blog for the recipe creds 🙂
This is sooo amazing. Made it with the Tequila lime chicken and chocolate cream pie for dessert. My friends, all real foodies, said it was “the perfect dinner”…it was really good!
Made this last night it was so great. Such a good way to use up veggies from the garden and what is in season. Thanks again for another great recipe.
This is an absolutely amazing recipe! My husband, kids and I all loved it and I can see us serving it in a variety of ways. Tonight we opted to have it with grilled chicken and served it atop green leaf lettuce. I added 1/2 cup of finely chopped cucumber and 2 tsp of vinegar to mine. I liked the original and with the added ingredients. Thanks for sharing!
The same recipe you refer to on the Tequila Lime Chicken does not include the beans.. at least in the photo? I’ve been making a similar version of this salad for some time (less the beans when we are having chicken or fish), but one tip is to desilk the corn, soak it for a few hours in cold water and then dry them. Fire up the coals and brush a bit of olive oil on the corn. Grill it directly over the heat with a sprinkling of salt & pepper. Let them cool and use the kernals in the salad. SOOOO delicious with that roasted, fresh corn flavor!
I’ve made this salad FOUR times already! It’s a definite crowd-pleaser. Thanks!
I make a version of this…I call it Texas Tabouli because I add rice…it makes a great pot-luck dish warm or cold.
Made this for a family gathering and it was a big hit. What a great combination of flavors. Yum! Thank you!
OK – this recipe and pictures of this recipe make me seriously salivate. Must. Go. Buy. Ingredients.
Love this version! And I’m glad I inspired. 😉 My parents happened to be visiting when I made this and they couldn’t get enough of it! Also, your photos are just as amazing.
Made this last night with grilled Mahi Mahi, very good!
I have a party at work next week and it is a Mexican theme. your timing is perfect. Thanks for posting.
What a beautiful-looking salad! I love the combination of ingredients, too… very fresh and summery.
I make this salad all the time in the summer. I will confess though, if I am feeling lazy, I will just pour some Paul Newman’s Lime Vinaigrette dressing on it – Scrumptious!
That looks so delicious. I’m going to HAVE to make it tonight!
Robyn
This looks healthy but I’m hesitant because of all the oil added. Have you tried making it without the oil?
Hi Laura, You can reduce the oil a bit but I wouldn’t omit it completely.