Mexican-Inspired Bean Salad (aka Fiesta Salad)

Fiesta salad with corn, beans, peppers and cilantro in a bowl with avocado.

5 from 5 votes

Mexican-Inspired Bean Salad (aka Fiesta Salad)

This delicious and colorful Mexican-Inspired Bean Salad combines fresh vegetables with canned beans and tangy lime dressing. It’s a great make-ahead or meal-prep salad recipe. I promise you’ll keep coming back to it again and again.

Prep Time15

Total Time15

Course: Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine: Mexican, Tex-Mex

Servings: people

Author: Luay Ghafari

Cost: $10

Ingredients

Lime Vinaigrette

⅓ cup Olive oil
⅓ cup Lime juice
1 tsp Honey or agave syrup
Kosher salt and black pepper to taste - Start with 1 tsp of salt

Salad

1 can Black beans - drained and rinsed
1 can Corn - drained and rinsed
1 Red bell pepper - cored, seeded and diced into ½ inch cubes
1 Tomato - seeds discarded, diced into ½ inch cubes
½ English cucumber (or 2 Persian cucumbers) - diced into ½ inch cubes
½ Red onion - diced into ½ inch cubes
1 Jalapeno or Serrano pepper - seeded and deveined, chopped finely
½ cup Cilantro leaves - roughly chopped

Garnish

cilantro,Tajin chile lime seasoning and optional avocado for garnish

Instructions

Make the dressing. In a mason jar (or small bowl), combine olive oil, lime juice, honey, salt, and pepper. Shake (or stir) vigorously to combine.
Assemble the salad. In a large mixing bowl, add all the salad ingredients. Drizzle the dressing and toss. Transfer to a serving platter or serve in the same bowl garnished with Tajin chile lime seasoning, extra cilantro leaves and optional avocado. This salad is best served cold or cool.

Notes

Key Ingredient Notes:

Canned black beans: Unless you plan to soak your beans overnight and pressure cook them, canned beans are truly the way to go. You can take some creative liberty here and use red kidney beans, pinto beans, Romano beans, or even chickpeas. Make sure to rinse and drain the beans well as the liquid will make the salad murky and unappetizing.
Canned corn: Canned corn is just convenient and you probably have some in your pantry or basement right now. But if you prefer, you can use frozen or fresh corn kernels, just make sure to boil it and cool it down before adding it to the salad.
Red Bell pepper: Bell peppers add a nice crunch and sweetness to this fiesta salad. You can use green, yellow, orange, or red sweet bell peppers. The choice is yours. But do think of how the colors complement each other in the final dish.
Red onion: Onions add a nice bite and spiciness to the salad. If you have picky eaters, you can use milder green onions (scallions) or don’t use them at all.
Cucumber: No substitute for a crunchy and refreshing cucumber.
Jalapeno: In keeping with the Mexican-inspired theme, jalapenos are an important addition (they are a medium heat level chili). You can use them whole or deseed them. Feel free to use other chiles like Serrano if you prefer. Or don’t use any hot peppers and keep the salad mild.
Cilantro: Love it or hate it, cilantro is a must in this salad. The herby flavor rounds out the entire salad. If you truly can’t stand fresh cilantro, use some parsley instead.
Olive oil: Extra virgin olive oil is my go-to oil base for salad dressings because it’s flavorful and versatile, but you can use any oil you like.
Lime juice: Another important ingredient to round out the Mexican-inspired flavors of this salad. You can use lemon juice in a pinch, but lime juice is truly the best option.
Tajin Seasoning: I do love Tajin chili lime seasoning. It’s a great and versatile product that will round out the flavor of this salad.

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