Fiesta Bean Salad

This bright and fresh salad is full-flavored, quick to make, and easy to modify. It is full of textures, both crunchy and soft, and balanced in flavor, with just a hint of heat.

Course Salad

Cuisine Vegan

Prep Time 15 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Servings

Calories 533kcal

Author Gary White

Ingredients

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup lime juice
1 Tbsp garlic minced
4 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 Tbsp sea salt
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
3 avocados roughly chopped
1 red bell pepper large diced
1 cucumber deseeded, roughly chopped
15 oz canned whole kernel corn drained
15 oz canned chickpeas drained, rinsed
15 oz canned black beans drained, rinsed
15 oz canned red kidney beans drained, rinsed
1 cup grape tomatoes halved

Instructions

Add olive oil, lime juice, garlic, cumin, coriander, red pepper flakes, and salt to a large mixing bowl. Whisk together until fully combined.
Add avocados to bowl and mix gently, making sure to break up avocados into individual pieces. This will prevent oxidation and discoloration.
Add corn, red bell peppers, and cucumbers to bowl and gently mix to combine. Next, add the beans (chickpeas, black beans, kidney beans) and again mix gently to combine. Finally, add the tomatoes and give one final mix.

Notes

Expert Tips

When making this dish, you definitely want to mix the avocados with the vinaigrette first before you begin adding the other veggies. The lime juice in the dressing with keep the avocados from oxidizing and turning brown. Then, technically, you could all the other veggies and mix; although I recommend doing it in stages.
This recipe is easily customizable. The cucumber or peppers can easily be omitted, and the beans can be substituted for other kinds of beans.
I used ground coriander instead of cilantro in this recipe. In some parts of the world, the terms coriander and cilantro are interchangeable. However in North America, coriander refers to the dried seeds of the plant, while cilantro means the leaves and stalks. They have different flavor profiles, and many people have an aversion to cilantro, or coriander leaves, as it tastes like soap to some. Fortunately, this is not the case with ground coriander. Coriander has a bright, lemony, citrus taste that adds a nice pop of flavor to brighten the recipe.

FAQS

Can I use a different kind of beans? Absolutely! You can prepare this dish with any beans you like.

I don't like cucumber/peppers/etc. Can I leave them out? Yes! As stated above, this recipe is easily customizable.

What can I serve this with? We often eat this as a stand alone dish, but it also pairs perfectly with cilantro lime rice.

What do you mean by deseeded cucumber? And do I have to do it? Deseeding a cucumber is when you slice a cucumber lengthwise, then scrape out the seeds with a spoon. The seeds can be hard and the flesh can be slimy and unappetizing; so I prefer to remove them altogether. And yes, technically you can skip this step, especially if you're using an English or hothouse cucumber.

Nutrition