Black Beans and Corn Salad is an easy-to-make summer salad with diced garden vegetables, black beans, and Italian dressing. It is full of colorful garden vegetables!
Colorful Black Beans and Corn Salad
This crunchy salad is pretty with its fresh, healthy, colorful medley of chopped vegetables. But the best part is that it tastes as good as it looks! The secret to making a great salad is to chop all the vegetables by hand, avoiding an electric chopper because it will extract too much water from the vegetables. The salad is finished with Italian dressing; use more or less than the recipe lists to suit your taste.
Drain and Rinse the Black Beans
This recipe starts with canned black beans, drained and rinsed to wash away some sodium from the canning process. After rinsing the beans, let them drain for a few minutes while you work on the rest of the ingredients.
Add Lots of Vegetables
This salad is packed with a variety of vegetables. If there’s one you’re not a fan of, feel free to omit it or substitute it with something you enjoy. I prefer small bell peppers, as they come in convenient bags containing red, orange, and yellow varieties. Including all three colors adds a vibrant touch to the salad!
Use Small Tomatoes
When I make any salad, I prefer to use small tomatoes like grapes or cherries because they are easier to work with than big tomatoes. There is no need to core them or remove the seeds as you do with larger tomatoes.
Use Fresh or Frozen Corn in Black Beans and Corn Salad
This salad is best with either fresh or frozen corn. If using fresh or frozen, cook it in a teaspoon of olive oil and allow it to cool while you prepare the other vegetables. If you have canned corn, feel free to use it, but drain it well and don’t heat it before adding it to the salad.
Cilantro
This salad is delicious with cilantro. However, not everyone loves cilantro, so you can substitute it with another fresh herb, such as chopped basil or oregano. Or leave off the herbs altogether.
Dress Black Beans and Corn Salad
Add 1/4 cup of your favorite Italian dressing to this salad and toss it to coat it. Or serve it on the side and let others add it to their salad. By the way, ranch dressing also tastes great with this salad. Enjoy!
Other Recipes You Might Enjoy
Click on each name to link to the recipe.
- Texas Caviar (Cowboy Caviar)
- Black Beans and Corn Bake
- Coconut Black-Eyed Peas
- Black Bean and Corn Salsa
- Veggie Nachos
Black Beans and Corn Salad
Equipment
- strainer for rinsing beans
Ingredients
- (1) 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup fresh or frozen corn
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 cup grape tomatoes, quartered
- ½ cup red onion, chopped
- 1 cup bell pepper, chopped
- 1 large jalapeno, chopped fine
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- ¼ cup Italian salad dressing
Instructions
- Drain the black beans after rinsing them.
- Add the corn and olive oil to a skillet and heat on medium. Cook the corn for 3-4 minutes or until cooked. Set it aside to cool.
- Hand chop all the vegetables and add them to a medium bowl. Add the black beans and corn. Stir to mix well.
- Add the Italian dressing and stir to coat the vegetables. Keep leftovers in the refrigerator.