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 or blackened chicken and cornbread for a delicious (and easy!) 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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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?