This past week being our anniversay week, I found myself indulging and carb-sugar binging more than my usual. But staying healthy is a constant journey and life is too short not to enjoy a macron or two!! Its all about enjoying life’s eating a bowl of salad just so you can have a cake later :D… I would rather have pizza every once in a while and balance it out with some healthy meals than depriving myself of pizza for life! Nope! Not gonna happen!
This Mexican flavored black bean salad is the goals! Its loaded with rainbow of colors and packs a punch with zesty lime and hint of cayenne! It is heavy and substantial enough to pass as a lunch or dinner, or you can of course add a side of soup or sandwich to go along. Its packed full of protein and nutrients and makes a great dish to add it to your meal preps.
The best thing about salads is – NO COOKING! Just go chop-chop and whirl together the dressing in a blender and throw everything in the bowl and its all ready to eat!!
For now, feast your eyes on the images! Because I got way to excited seeing all the rainbow of colors 😀
P.S. – This serves as a great dip as well, grab a bag of tortilla chips and bring this Mexican Back Bean Salad as a chunky dip to your next potluck!
- 2 15 oz. cans of black beans [ about 3 cups cooked beans ]
- 1 cup red onion, chopped [ about 1 medium size ]
- ½ cup red bell pepper, chopped [ about half of a pepper ]
- 1 cup fresh corn, stripped [ or 1 cup defrosted frozen corn or 1 cup of drained canned corn ]
- 1 cup ripe mango, chopped [1 medium sized mango ]
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes, halved or cut in to disks
- ⅓ cup spring onion/scallions [ about 3 medium sized ]
- 1 large hass avocado, scooped and diced - slice it right before serving!
- 1 jalapeño, finely chopped and divided in half
- Optional Garnishes - chopped cilantro, crushed tortilla chips, extra avocado slices
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- FOR THE DRESSING
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- 1½ cup cilantro, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons jalapeño [ that we divided earlier ]
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon cayenne [ or substitue with chili powder ]
- 1 teaspoon zest of lime [ from 1 lime ]
- ¼ cup lime juice [ about 1.5 lime ]
- 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, more if needed
- In a large serving bowl, combine black beans with all the chopped produce - red onion, bell pepper, fresh corn, mango, tomatoes, spring onion and half of the jalapeño. Set aside.
- In a blender, add in chopped cilantro, jalapeño, extra virgin olive oil, cayenne, lime zest, lime juice, salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Blend until creamy and smooth.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Adjust the salt and pepper, I usually add about half a teaspoon of salt at this point. Add another tablespoon of lime juice or vinegar to pack a punch.
- Serve right away in individual bowls with diced avocados on top. OR chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours or more to enhance the flavors.
You can store this salad in the fridge for up to 4 days or so.
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