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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!

Spoon in a bowl of black bean salad with corn, avocado, and lime vinaigrette.

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.

What You’ll Need To Make Black Bean Salad with Corn, Avocado & Lime Vinaigrette

ingredients for making black bean salad

The avocado should be added right before serving to prevent the flesh from browning when exposed to air. 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.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Begin by cooking the corn in boiling salted water.

boiling the corn

A few minutes is all it takes — you want it super crisp. Refresh the corn under cold water to stop the cooking process.

refreshing the corn under cold water

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.)

Corn cut from a cob next to a knife.

Next, rinse and drain the black beans.

rinsing black beans for black bean salad

Combine the corn and black beans with the remaining ingredients, except for the avocado.

black bean salad components ready to toss

Toss and chill until ready to serve.

black bean salad tossed with vinaigrette

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.

adding diced avocado to black bean salad

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.

tossed black bean salad ready to serve

That’s all there is to it. Enjoy!

Spoon in a bowl of black bean salad with corn, avocado, and lime vinaigrette.

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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!

Servings: 6-8
Total Time: 30 Minutes

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

  1. 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

Powered by Edamam

  • 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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Comments

  • I might add some cumin and diced red onion. The cilantro can be blended into the viniagrette. And fresh corn is only available in summer. Frozen corn is a good substitute and if one has time, the frozen or canned corn can be drained and roasted with a bit of olive oil and some kosher salt. This is a great party recipe.

    • Trader Joe’s has a frozen sweet white corn that is amazing– try that, as it tastes just like corn that is fresh off of the cob!

  • I’m snowed in and just made this salad to go along with the grilled tequila lime chicken. Although my chicken is still marinating, I just want to say how absolutely delicious this salad is!!! I made it exactly as called for except I halved it and used canned corn instead of fresh (didn’t have any fresh). It tastes amazing even before chilling! This is a winner and I can’t wait to grill up my chicken. Thank you!! Can’t wait to try more recipes!!

  • I am looking forward to trying the “veggie crack’ recipe. It says it uses a vinaigrette, but I do not see any vinegar in the recipe, haha. I always like a bit of vinegar, any suggestions? Thanks! Lesli

    • Hi Lesli, Feel free to replace some of the lime juice with red or white wine vinegar.

      • Don’t do it, Lesli! The lime juice is what makes this dish sublime (no pun intended). Go with it!

  • This is a delicious salad, it is worth every bit of effort it takes to make the recipe. I have made this many times and always to rave reviews.

  • I love your website! And, this salad is delicious, healthy and seriously amazing — no wonder it’s one of your most popular recipes! I can’t wait to try all of your other recipes that I’ve saved. Thank you for all of the wonderful recipes and a great website. I seriously hope a cookbook is in the works and will soon be a reality!

    • — Merilyn Rowand
    • Reply
    • Thank you, Merilyn 🙂

  • I first pinned this salad in 2010 and gained about 3 mil followers on Pinterest afterwards. It’s THAT good. Healthy, delicious and filling.

  • I took this to an annual pool party last year. About a week before this year’s party, one of the guys who attended the party last year, said you are going to make the avocado black bean dish again right? I figured if he remembered it a year later, it must be great. And it is, so I took it!

  • Hello,

    If you are making the salad the day before, do you add the avocado at the last minute? Or just put the whole thing together to make sure the flavors blend.

    Thank you.

    Katherine

    • Hi Katherine, I would definitely add it at the last minute.

  • This looks delicious, I can’t wait to make it. If you have to substitute frozen or canned corn for the fresh corn, do you know how many cups of corn you need to equal 3 ears of corn?

    • Hi Missy, I would say you’d need about 1-1/2 cups.

  • In spite of the preparation involved – not the least of which is 15-20 minutes to cook corn – this is a seriously fantastic dish. As mentioned, we let it set for a few hours and it paid off (we had before/after taste tests). The one thing we didn’t do was mix in the avocado. We diced a couple but let people add them separately. It just seemed like a soft-ish avocado wouldn’t withstand any mixing and would turn brown over time, in spite of the lime juice.
    I couldn’t stop eating this!

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  • I made this in a double batch this past weekend but served it as a salsa with blue corn chips. It was gone in minutes. I was most surprised at how all my little nephews loved it. It definitely needs to sit because when I first made it I thought it was way too salty and that was after I only used half the salt in the recipe. With time the lime and cilantro and other flavors took away the salty flavor. Definitely cut sugar in half and reduce the oil. I probably used a little more than half the oil called for and that was just becuase I added a little more when I first tasted how salty it was. Delicicious and cant wait to make it again. To be honest, making a double batch was a lot of chopping and took some time but definitely worth it in the end.

    • I call this salsa as well but have always used the lime tortilla chips to scoop it with. So good!!!

  • This recipe is so fast, easy and delicious. The second time I made it I used frozen organic non GMO corn from Whole Foods and cooked it for about 2-3 minutes. I peeled the red pepper before I chopped it and instead of the sugar I added a splash of Agave. This is a healthy recipe by itself for a quick snack or lunch or as a side with chicken or Fajitas etc. Love it!

  • I would like to try this recipe for a tea party. Do you think if I charr the corn, then will it change the flavor? Also can i serve it as individual portions on butter lettuce cups. Thank you

    • Hi Neha, Charring the corn will change the flavor a bit, but not in a bad way 🙂 Go for it! I think the lettuce cups sounds perfect.

  • This salad is fantastic! My family loves recipes that use chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, as they add so much flavor. Thanks, Jenn, for sharing your wonderful recipes!

  • Doesn’t get any better than this.

  • If I multiply this recipe x 4, how do I multiply the seasonings , such as salt, cayenne, sugar ? Thanks

    • The salt would be 8 tsp, cayenne would be 1 tsp and sugar would be 8 tbsp

  • Black bean corn salad was absolutely delicious and very popular at my party.
    Would like to be able to print the recipe so it’s on one page.

  • I tried the Chipolte version first and I prefer it over this recipe. This one is good too, but I like the kick of the other version plus the honey in the dressing compliments the salad too.

  • this salad is to “die for”. I generally don’t like bean salad but this one is exceptional. The avocado and fresh corn makes it above average….. way above!

    • — Sheryl Tingley
    • Reply
  • I attended a party where this recipe was served, and it was a stand-out! Not only is it pretty to look at, it tasted wonderful! In fact, when I came home, I Googled some of the ingredients to see if I could find the recipe, and viola! I found it – AND I found your excellent website with other fantastic recipes I can’t wait to try.

  • Wonderful recipe! I doubled the recipe and took it to a potluck all of it eaten! I took the sugar down to 1 Tbs and the olive oil too. Will be using this recipe in my regular rotation of dinners.

  • Sounds great for my 7 year old and rest of family!!! Can I leave out sugar and substitute red onion for shallot? Can I make 3 days in advance? Thanks

    • Hi Bethel, You can definitely leave out the sugar and substitute red onion for shallots, but I probably would only make this salad 1-2 days ahead of time (wait to add the avocado until just before serving).

  • This salad stole the show at our neighborhood potluck. Wonderful recipe!

  • Recipe would have been delicious but it’s waaaay too salty. I would half the salt if I did it again.

  • This was just about the best salad I’ve ever had.
    A.MA.ZING.

  • Number of calories per serving or in whatever amount is appropriate is never given. How about doing that???????

  • Hi there! This post couldn’t be written much better! Looking
    through this post reminds me of my previous roommate!
    He constantly kept preaching about this. I will forward this information to him.

    Pretty sure he’ll have a great read. I appreciate you for sharing!

  • This is a great dish. I made it for a party at work & it was a hit! Also I added green onions and used agave instead of sugar 🙂 the recipe was simple and the taste was awesome… Thank you!

  • You don’t have to cook the corn. I use corn straight off the cob for another salad and it gives it a nice crunch. I did it today uncooked for this. We will see how it goes over! But I think it’s yummy!

  • I made this with raw corn and half a red onion instead of a shallot. It is amazing, I think I will scale back a touch on the sugar it is almost too sweet because the corn I get is super fresh and sweet all on its own.

  • I am adding sweet potato to it! Going to a potluck with mexican theme! Thanks

  • loved it. Replaced the corn with chick peas. cut recipe in 1/2 and it was a lot!.

  • I have made this all year long, with fresh and frozen corn, even substituted lemon when I didn’t have Lime. It is a hit every time, and is requested at gatherings. SO easy, and healthy. It usually gets scooped up with corn chips and sometimes it is gone before we dish up the meal.

    I wish the nutritional information was included though…..

  • I made this salad and it was wonderful. I did use frozen corn – the white shoe peg, and it had great flavor, I just rinsed under cold water and let it drain. Great recipe! Thank you!

  • 2 TB of sugar seems like alot – is this sweet or do you recommend reducing?

    • Hi Chris, It’s not sweet at all but the sugar balances the acidity. That said, some readers have reduced or omitted the sugar. I suggest making it first without and adding it taste. A lot depends on the natural sweetness of the corn and bell peppers.

  • I’ve made this recipe a dozen times now, and it is fantastic! I reduce the amount of olive oil and nix the sugar completely. Delicious! I make a big batch on Sundays and take it to work for lunch throughout the week.

  • AWESOME just the way it is and I loved it! for my gluten free, dairy free, yeast, corn and soy free (I know it’s a lot of free’s) I changed the corn to chick peas, lowered the oil, and took out the sugar. YUMMO too!!

  • This looks amazing! Will have to pair it with your cilantro lime chicken like you suggest! Thanks for sharing!

  • A friend sent me this recipe last summer and it has become a family favorite. My kids ask for it all the time. I sub fresh corn with frozen in the winter and it’s still amazing. I’ve used Newmans Light Lime dressing as a substitute in a pinch and it’s ok but I like this one much better!!

  • Are you supposed to cook the corn for this salad?

    • Hi Carol, Yes definitely cook it.

    • No. Don’t cook it. Just shave directly off of the cob.

  • I plan on grocery shop tomorrow for the ingredients for this. My mouth is watering just looking at the picture

  • AMAZING!!!

  • I add shrimp or chicken and mozzerela as well….simply amazing!!!

  • Starting the virgin diet, and found this recipe, I love chickpeas and may need to substitute the corn for chickpeas. Posted it on my Facebook page for my friends.

  • Outstanding. I roasted the corn and added cukes. Now, will have for lunch next two days!!

  • I love this so much! Great for nursing moms on dairy, soy, nut and egg free diets! Add chicken and it makes the perfect meal!!! This is the best!

  • i’ve never cooked corn before. how is it best cooked? boiled or steamed?

    • I like to boil it.

  • I made this for an office potluck and everyone ate multiple servings, even someone who claimed to NOT like black beans. Ha! The only thing I did differently was to add chopped fresh jalapeno, and reduce the oil by 1 or 2 tbsp, otherwise, just as is and it is fabulous!

  • Absolutely delicious. I too added quinoa, it extended the recipe and it was a big hit at the potluck. My son, who is a picky eater, kept coming back for more. I love it as it is so healthy.

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