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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My niece made this for a family get-together this weekend and it was fantastic! Can’t wait to make it myself.
Made this lovely salad last night for our Victoria day bbq and it was a bit hit – am taking the leftovers to my brothers BBQ today 🙂 will def make gain. Thanks
I made this salad last night to go with the main dish. It was delicious and easy to make. I am having the leftovers for lunch the rest of this week.
Its a great salad, been making it for ten years now! Really only need 2-3 T olive oil.
No matter how many times I make this, it’s always a HUGE hit! It is my most requested dish next to my potato salad.
Prepared this for a family dinner and it was a total hit!!! I love this salad and could eat it every meal.
This was great! Will be making again soon! Thanks for the recipe!
My sister made this recipe alongside her backyard barbecue spread and everyone chomped it up! it is the perfect accompaniment to grilled chicken and steak.
Absolutely the best!!! I started using less red pepper and added halved grape tomatoes. Delicious served with tequilla lime chicken!
This was a big hit at our last cookout. It was really good with doritos scoops.
I used tomatoes instead of the pepper & red onion instead of shallots, but otherwise went directly by the recipe.
I tried it immediately after assembling and thought it was too spicy, tart, and weird tasting. 2.5 hours later it was the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth!
Made for the first time yesterday and have eaten it for every meal since! I do have one question… has anyone tried making it without garlics/shallots? Just something I’m particular about when I bring food to work… raw garlic leaves the worst taste in my mouth.
Hi Kinzie, I can totally relate! I’m somewhat tolerant of raw shallots and garlic but avoid raw onions at all costs. Anyway, I wouldn’t leave them out but you might try cooking them first in a little olive oil. That should mellow them out enough. Please let me know how it turns out if you try it.
Made the salad last night (I told you I’m obsessed) with sauteed garlic and shallots — still tastes delicious! I used about a tablespoon of olive oil to cook, then another tablespoon just as I was turning the heat off and put that all in the bowl. Then added 4 tablespoons of oil as actual dressing. So, so delicious.
I made this salad last night and everyone loved it!!
Love this recipe and make it all the time! I used about 1/2 of the olive oil though and instead of sugar used Stevia 🙂
Just made this for tomorrow, my house smells yummy from the lime & cilantro
This recipe was a hit at my social gathering. I loved it and even my picky husband did as well! Definitely worth the time and effort to make! I followed the recipe exactly and let it sit overnight and most of the next day and it tasted amazing!
I love the addition of avacado to this salad. I make something similar using my lime and citrus habanero olive oil and garlic cilantro balsamic. I’ll have to get some avocados!
I made this tonight and it was fabulous!!! I did make a small change by not cooking the corn at all, just cut it off the cob in all its raw glory. 🙂 I loved the crunch it gave. Thank you for the recipe. I am definitely making this again.
I’ve made something similar to this several times from the Allrecipes.com site and love it! I lighten it up by reducing the oil and increasing the lime juice. I use green onions instead of shallots and there’s no sugar in that recipe and I add a bunch of halved grape tomatoes. Because I don’t like avocado, I leave it out. My husband and I love it! I’ve made it several times. It’s not usually a crowd favorite (too healthy? LOL) and it IS time consuming due to the chopping but I make it because it’s so light and filling. 🙂
This may be a dumb question…but do
you zest the lime into the mixture or do you only zest if using a juicer?
Hi Ande, You zest the lime into the mixture. Hope you enjoy!
Amazing -looks good.
Looking forward to trying this recipe. It looks yummy
So yummy and good for you:)!
Found this salad on pinterest and finally had the chance to make it tonight. I have to say that the picture does not disappoint. It truly tastes as wonderful as it looks and that was a quick taste before I placed it into the refrigerator to let the flavors marry. Can’t wait until dinner 🙂
This is the best salad I have ever made! Thank you for sharing the recipe 🙂 I share this recipe with all of my friends now. It has been an instant favorite and an instant love.
xoxo
I roasted my corn and red pepper and it turned out great!
Add some chopped/seeded jalapeno and green onion! Really good! It’s also really good to mix with a green leafy salad. Make a little extra dressing and toss everything together!!!!!
Can’t wait to try this delicious sounding recipe.
I make this same dish, but I add quinoa and red wine vinegar.
This looks amazing!
Using this recipe to make veggie tacos.
You said that it tastes better as it mellows. ..and you can keep it for several days….but…Won’t the avocados go dark and mushy after a day?
Hi Marcia, The instructions say to add the avocado right before serving but that said, the lime juice in the vinaigrette will keep it from discoloring for at least a little while.
Looks awesome!! And delish!
This recipe is AMAZING! This is my second time making it. A LOT of chopping but SO worth it. I make this just for myself and eat off it for days! Thanks so much for such a delicious recipe! 🙂
Just wondering if the avocado turns brown after a while? Thinking about making this for son’s open house so it would be sitting out in a bowl of ice on the table.
Hi Diane, It will be fine. Just add the avocado right before you serve it. Toss it gently with the salad and the lime juice in the vinaigrette will keep it green for a while.
My family loves this salad. We serve it as a side dish to enchiladas or fish tacos. Soooo good!
WOW! So delicious! I subbed the red pepper for tomatoes and fell in love. Regretfully, I halved the recipe (since I was only cooking for 2.5 of us) and we didn’t have any leftovers. Note: make the FULL amount this recipe calls for–even when cooking for only 2-3 people! It’s really. that. good.
LOVE, love loved this! I served it as a main dish with some baked corn tortillas. D.E.L.I.C.I.O.U.S
Hi! I just made this salad for supper. It was WONDERFUL! I had it as a lettuce wrap filling.
Your recipe’s are amazing, thank you!
Thank you for this delicious inspiration!!! Looking forward to try it soon with a zippy Riseling.
Cheers 🙂
I make a recipe very similar to this but, instead of red peppers, I use tomatoes. It is one of my very favorite foods and absolutely DELICIOUS left over! I eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner when I make it. Also, when you use tomatoes, it makes a nice little addition to an egg burrito for breakfast. 🙂
I’m going to get the ingredients to make the above version for this weekend. It sounds wonderful with the red peppers!
Oh my goodness I made a little adapted version of this salad but pretty much the same idea and I put it all over my taco and I ATE it. It was SO GOOD. I love how you can make it ahead of time! Jenn, you have not failed me yet I know I can always trust you for good recipes, thank you!
Amazing and delish! Will definitely be making this again. I only used one red bell because hub isn’t a big fan of bell pepper and it even got his approval! yum!! I also paired with a skinny margarita! 😉
Just made this tonight… absolutely delicious! I cut back on the olive oil (about half), hoping that it would still be good. IT IS! The avocado really tips this over on the scale, it’s an 11 😉
I have to try this, looks yummy. Brook, thanks for the points breakdown, I count points too.
Can’t wait to try this!
Delicious especially with grilled tilapia!
I had this today and I did go back numerous times! Soo good. Yummiest ever.
This is a great salad to make for a big crowd or when going to someone’s house for a bbq. It is a crowd pleaser! Plus, it tastes awesome the next day (I put some away for myself before I brought it to a bbq). It is also budget friendly. The ingredient lists seems long, but I bought everything for under $20 (minus the olive oil). I will def. make this again, and again, and again….
I made this for a party. It was delicious and everyone loved it! I will definately be fixing again soon.