Fresh Black Bean and Corn Salad

This quick and easy black bean and corn salad recipe is perfect for a weeknight dinner or a potluck dish. Made with simple ingredients and bursting with flavor, it’s sure to become a new favorite. It combines black beans, sweet corn, tomatoes, avocado, red onion, and minced jalapenos in a light lime vinaigrette.

So Versatile Black Bean and Corn Salad

This beautiful Black Bean Corn Salad is versatile, with plenty of texture and crunch. It can be mixed in burritos and quesadillas, topped on a taco salad, or stuffed in an egg roll. You can serve it with freshly baked tortilla chips or layer it on your scrambled eggs. Or perhaps serve it next to your favorite rib or pork chop recipe. Serve it however you like. I used it on egg burritos this morning. The possibilities are endless.

Ingredients Needed

• Corn: fresh is best, but frozen or canned will work
• Black beans: you can substitute other beans, but then it is not black bean salad
• Other vegetables: red onion, tomatoes, jalapeno pepper, avocado, and garlic
• Olive oil: extra virgin
• Lime juice: fresh is best
• Apple cider vinegar: for a little tang
• Seasonings: cumin, cilantro, salt, and freshly ground black pepper

How to make black bean and corn salad

It does not get much easier than this. Cook the corn and cut off the cob. Combine the corn, black beans, red onion, tomatoes, jalapeno, and avocado in a large bowl. Then, in a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, cider vinegar, cumin, garlic, and cilantro.

Pour the dressing over the veggies and toss to coat. Season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Chill for a little bit to allow the flavors to meld together. If desired, garnish with chopped fresh parsley or red pepper flakes.

Recipe Tips

• Drain and rinse the black beans to remove the excess sodium.
• Use whatever seasonal tomatoes are sweetest. At the time that I made this Black Bean and Corn Salad, the sweetest tomatoes I was getting were grape tomatoes and cherry tomatoes.
• Other veggies to add include red bell pepper and green onions. Consider adding a little feta cheese or cotija cheese, as I did here in my corn salad recipe.
• Choose a nice ripe avocado. Peel back the steam or cap at the top of the avocado. If it comes off easily and you find green underneath, then you have a nice ripe avocado that is ready to eat. If you see brown underneath, then your avocado is more than likely overripe, and you will find brown spots in it.
• Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a day. After a day, the avocado will start to brown.

Four Ways to Cook the Corn

• If boiling, add fresh corn to boiling water. Bring water back to a boil and turn off the heat. Cover the pot and leave the corn in for about seven minutes.
• If grilling, place the fresh corn directly over the hot heat and close the lid. Turn about every five minutes until it is slightly charred and cooked through about 10-15 minutes.
• If microwaving, place the corn with the husk in the microwave and cook for 2 minutes. Allow the corn to stand for five minutes before handling.
• If cooking in a skillet, cut the corn kernels from the cob. Add 1 tablespoon oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add corn and cook for 12-15 minutes, stirring frequently.

More Salad Recipes

Grape Salad

Asian Cucumber Salad

Asian Chopped Salad

Tomato Salad

Cabbage Salad

Grilled Chicken Salad

Asian Noodle Salad

Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad

Mandarin Orange Salad

Black Bean and Corn Salad

Fresh Black Bean and Corn Salad is black beans, sweet corn, tomatoes, avocado, red onion, and minced jalapenos in a light lime vinaigrette. This refreshing salad is perfect on its own or served as a side with tex-mex-inspired dishes like tacos and nachos or as a dip with homemade tortilla chips.

5 from 11 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

Calories: 165kcal

Author: Beth Pierce

Ingredients

• 2 ears corn shucked with silks removed
• 1 can black beans 15.25 ounce drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
• 1 1/4 cups chopped heirloom tomatoes
• 1/2 jalapeno pepper finely minced
• 1 chopped avocado
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

• Place corn in boiling water bring. Bring back to boil. Cover and remove from heat. Allow it to sit for 7-10 minutes. Cool and remove kernels from the cob.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the corn, black beans, red onion, tomatoes, jalapeno, and avocado.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, cider vinegar, cumin, garlic, and cilantro. Pour the dressing over the veggies and toss to coat. Season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Chill for 30 minutes.

Notes

• Drain and rinse the black beans to remove the excess sodium.
• Use whatever seasonal tomatoes are sweetest. At the time that I made this Black Bean and Corn Salad, the sweetest tomatoes I was getting were grape tomatoes and cherry tomatoes.
• Other veggies to add include red bell pepper and green onions. Consider adding a little feta cheese or cotija cheese, as I did here in my corn salad recipe.
• Choose a nice ripe avocado. Peel back the steam or cap at the top of the avocado. If it comes off easily and you find green underneath, then you have a nice ripe avocado that is ready to eat. If you see brown underneath, then your avocado is more than likely overripe, and you will find brown spots in it.
• Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a day. After a day, the avocado will start to brown.

Nutrition

Calories: 165kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Sodium: 9mg | Potassium: 414mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 556IU | Vitamin C: 18mg | Calcium: 21mg | Iron: 1mg

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