Quick & Easy Black Bean Salad

Tangy, bright & full of nutrition, Black Bean Salad is the perfect dish to share with friends! Use it as a dip or an appetizer – your guests will LOVE it!

There is something so refreshing about a chilled bean salad. It’s a light, healthy, delicious mixture of flavors that are sure to please any crowd. Black Bean Salad is a warm-weather staple in our house! I even make it in the wintertime when I’m longing for warm summer days.

Filled with fiber and fresh summer veggies, black bean salad is my go-to side dish for potlucks. Coming in a close second is my famous BLT Pasta Salad. This super simple salad is always a big hit!!

BLACK BEAN SALAD
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Ahhhh, summertime. Pool parties, late-night bonfires, baseball games, spending nearly every waking moment outside. It’s the most wonderful time of the year (ok, maybe for most people that’s the holidays… but summer is my absolute favorite time of year).

I know we’re not quite there yet (ahem…winter, you can go right ahead and hurry yourself up). But daydreaming of hot summer days and warm summer nights is one of my most frequent winter pastimes.

One of my favorite things about summer is how much time we’re able to spend with our friends and family, sharing delicious food. We host BBQs, we go on picnics, we have random lunch dates by the pool and dinner parties on the back patio. There’s something about warm weather that really brings us all together.

My favorite summertime dishes to share is a great salad. My friends and family request this black bean salad as if it were the most amazing recipe ever. (It just might be!)

Little do they know that it is literally one of the easiest recipes I’ve ever made!

Not only is it an easy black bean salad to prep, but it is a super versatile dish. It works great as a side dish, a dip, or even as a main course!

If you’ve got 5 minutes to prep and an hour for your salad to chill, you’ve got plenty of time to get this easy black bean salad made for your favorite summertime food extravaganza. I promise, your guests will be singing your praises!

Black Bean Salad Ingredients

• Black beans
• Lime juice
• Tomatoes
• Serrano chili pepper
• Orange bell pepper – a green, yellow, or red bell pepper would work too
• Green onions
• White wine vinegar
• Vegetable oil
• Salt

We love a little bit of heat in our black bean salad, so we use a Serrano chili pepper. Serrano peppers are slightly spicier than a jalapeno, but they’re nothing crazy. If you’re looking for a similar taste, but without so much heat, you can totally substitute a poblano pepper instead!

How to Make Black Bean Salad

This dish could literally be NO easier. It’s as simple as chopping up a few ingredients, putting them all in a bowl, and then letting them chill. Even the world’s worst chef could win with this recipe!

1. Start by de-seeding and finely chopping up your peppers (both the Serrano pepper and the bell pepper). You want the pieces of pepper to be small – just a little bit bigger than a black bean.
2. Next, dice up your tomatoes. Again, keep them small. You’ll want to have about equal-sized pieces of all the ingredients so that you get a taste of everything with each bite!
3. Now chop your green onion (no tears here, green onions don’t cause you to cry like white and red onions do!!).
4. Next, put all of the diced veggies, black beans (rinsed and drained), vinegar, oil, and salt into a medium serving bowl. Mix them up and let them chill in the fridge for an hour. The chill time allows for all the ingredients to meld together and create the beautiful flavor palate that I love so much about this black bean salad!

Can I freeze Black Bean Salad?

Yes, you absolutely can! If you find yourself with leftovers that won’t get eaten in the next few days, don’t worry (and definitely don’t throw them out). Put them in an airtight container and pop it in the freezer.

I’ve been known to have a batch of black bean salad stashed away in the freezer for an easy, ready-made meal for a busy summer day. All you have to do is pull it out of the freezer in the morning and let it thaw on the counter. In a few hours, you’ll have a delicious meal, appetizer, or dip ready to go!

What to serve with Black Bean Salad?

The best thing about black bean salad is that you really can use it for ANYTHING.

If you’re in charge of bringing an appetizer, make black bean salad and bring along a bag of your favorite tortilla chips for dipping.

Do you need a side dish? Pair black bean salad with your favorite grilled meat (we love serving it with these grilled pork chops).

If you want a meatless main dish, just serve up black bean salad as it is! I love packing it as the perfect lunch on a picnic. You could also use it as a filling for a tortilla or as a topping on a romaine salad.

Try some of my family’s other favorite salads!

• Orzo Pasta Salad
• Grilled Ranch Potatoes
• Easy Wedge Salad
• Tortellini Pasta Salad
• Wild Rice and Brussels Sprout Salad
• more SIDE DISH recipes

Tools used to make this Black Bean Salad recipe

Paring knife: every kitchen needs a good (SHARP) paring knife. It will make de-seeding your peppers and slicing your onions so much easier!

Food Storage Containers: for any leftovers you may have. (I rarely have leftovers of this dish though, people can’t get enough of it)!

*This post originally posted on 03/06/2013.