Black Bean Salad with Corn, Avocado & Lime Vinaigrette
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy.
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.
You May Also Like
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
Powered by 
- 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.
See more recipes:
Comments
Add a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
I made this last night, with a few modifications: first, I halved the recipe, because there were only two of us. I substituted fresh summer garden tomatoes for the red peppers, and about 6 green onions for the shallots, and since the other person here isn’t too fond of spicy food, I cut the cayenne down to just a dash or two, and added ground cumin for flavor (I love cumin on almost everything!) and probably 1/2 t. or so of smoked paprika for the heat. (Sorry, I rarely measure my spices; I just put in a bunch, and then put in more if I think the dish needs more.) I also cut down on the olive oil – about 2 T. total – and since I only had one small lime on hand, supplemented it with about 1 T. of red wine vinegar. And I had no cilantro on hand, so I skipped that. I loved the salad; when you use good, fresh ingredients, you don’t need a ton of spices for the result to taste good! It wasn’t overly spicy, but it was plenty tasty.
Also, I used a trick I often use with tabouli when I know we are going to have leftovers: I put in just as many tomatoes (and in the case of this salad, avocadoes) as I think we’ll eat that night, since they don’t keep well. Then the next night I serve it, I cut and add fresh ones again just before serving. This keeps the tomatoes and avocadoes nice and colorful, and prevents them from getting soggy and wilting into moosh.
I absolutely love your substitution/additions. Thank you for sharing 😋
Another winner!!! Made this for our block party and it was a hit! Will make again for sure. Jenn, your recipes are just THE best! Can wait for my pre-ordered book to arrive!!!
💗
This was phenomenal. I served it with your tequila lime chicken, and wanted it to count as our veg, too, so I added a diced cucumber, thinly sliced spinach, and halved cherry tomatoes. My kids aren’t fans of spice, so I used some ancho chili instead of the cayenne. We cubed the chicken and tossed it right in. Yum! Thanks for the great recipe!
About how many cups of corn should I have after preparing the ears of corn? Ears of corn are different sizes.
It should be 2 – 2-1/2 cups. Hope you enjoy!
Made this recipe for the first time this weekend. Perfect summer salad!
How far ahead can you make this, understanding that you have the avocado and the last minute? Just wondering if two days ahead of time is too early?
Hi Jackie, A day ahead would be optimal but I think you could push to two. Hope you enjoy!
Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe. I have had similar recipes and they are all good. But this recipe is really the best of them all! The lime zest takes it over the top!
I don’t usually like to add sugar to my salads. Have you a healthy alternative?
Thank you
Jessie
Hi Jessie, the sugar helps to balance out the other flavors. Some readers have commented that they’ve used agave nectar in place of the sugar. You can also reduce the sugar or omit it entirely. Please LMK how it turns out?
I’m making this for the 4th of July.
I dread cooking but your recipes are simple & so good!!! I love that I discovered this site. I have a trained chef in the family & a few others who love to cook. They are impressed with these recipes too❤️
❤️
Thank you for this response as I was wondering the same. Can you please tell me if you have actually tried making it without any sweetener at all? If so, does it seem to be lacking or is it truly not a significant difference? I want to make it for a large family group this weekend and at least half of us eat no added sugar on a daily basis (including no honey, no agave, no maple syrup, no coconut sugar, etc.). However, because some do, I want it to taste “normal” even to people who are used to consuming added sugar. Thanks! 🙂
Hi Rebecca, I’ve never made this without sugar. I do find that it helps to balance out the flavors, but a number of people have commented that they’ve reduced or omitted the sugar and have still been happy with the salad. Also, a a lot depends on the natural sweetness of the corn and bell peppers, Hope everyone enjoys!
This salad was absolutely delicious – wouldn’t change a thing! Thank you again for another amazing dish! LMRM
As usual, a great recipe. i added extra lime juice and olive oil and it keeps in the fridge for several days and gets better.