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This corn and black bean salad is zesty, fresh, and fast to prepare. It makes a wonderful side salad, healthy lunch, meal prep, or addition to tacos!

corn and black bean salad in a glass serving bowl

You’ve probably seen similar black bean and corn salads described as “cowboy caviar” or “corn and black bean salsa”. So yeah, these ingredients are definitely popular, and I can see why! I had to make it my own.

You’ve heard me ramble on and on about how simple recipes with fresh ingredients don’t need to be fancy to taste amazing, and this is the perfect example.

Corn and black bean salad ingredients:

Corn, black beans, red bell peppers, green bell peppers, tomatoes, red onion, cilantro, lime juice, olive oil. Optional: avocado.

glass bowl with texas caviar

This is the perfect little salad because it’s filled with tons of healthy vegetables, and the black beans make it nice and filling. You’ve got plenty of vitamins and some fiber in here. It’ll please vegans, vegetarians, and meat eaters. 

It’s also a great base for meal prepping. You can easily add more protein (chicken, shrimp, etc.), or eat it as-is.

How to make corn and black bean salad (overview):

Prep your vegetables, beans, and herbs, and add them to a large salad bowl; add the dressing ingredients and adjust to taste as necessary.

Salad can be served right away or chilled for later.

white bowl with corn and black bean salad beside lime wedges

I hope you’re all having an enjoyable summer. Now that we’re back from England, I feel like I can relax a bit. And relax for me is working even harder on the blog. 😛 I’m such a homebody, but that’s ok.

Intercontinental travel is something I don’t see myself ever getting entirely used to, so that’s why I usually stick to traveling within North America. No jet lag, no super long flights, no massive culture shock.

I’m not the most adventurous person haha. There’s definitely things I will miss about England (we go every year or two since my husband is from there), but I’m glad to be home.

I plan on having more BBQs, more walks, and just enjoying the good weather in a low-key kinda way.

white bowl with black bean and corn salad with wooden serving spoon and lime wedges

If you’re curious, cowboy caviar (or Texas caviar) was coined as such in 1940 by Helen Corbitt, who was a native New Yorker but worked in the food industry in Dallas, Texas.

It was served at fancy functions and given the funny name as a comparison to true caviar.

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corn and black bean salad in white bowl close-up

Hope you love this easy black bean salad recipe! Questions? Don’t hesitate to ask.

glass bowl with corn and black bean salad
5 from 2 votes

Corn and Black Bean Salad

By Natasha Bull
This vegan black bean and corn salad is fresh, light, healthy, and full of zesty flavor!
Prep: 20 minutes
Total: 20 minutes
Servings: 4
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Ingredients 

  • 1 (12 fluid ounce) can sweet corn drained
  • 1 (14 fluid ounce) can black beans drained & rinsed
  • 1/2 large red bell pepper chopped
  • 1/2 large green bell pepper chopped
  • 10.5 ounce container little tomatoes (grape, cherry, etc.) chopped
  • 2 tablespoons red onion chopped
  • 1 tablespoon cilantro chopped
  • Juice of 1/2 lime
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions 

  • Prep your ingredients and add them to a salad bowl. Toss with the lime juice and olive oil, and season with salt & pepper. Adjust seasonings as needed (e.g. add more oil or lime juice if necessary).
  • Serve immediately or chill first. Will keep a few days in the fridge.

Notes

  • Avocado would also be a great addition to this salad if you're serving it right away! If you want a little heat, add a pinch of chili powder.
  • Serves 4+ as a side. If you want to eat this as a meal, it makes about 2 servings.
  • Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only and should be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Salt & Lavender makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.

Nutrition

Calories: 260kcal, Carbohydrates: 45g, Protein: 12g, Fat: 5g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Sodium: 6mg, Potassium: 727mg, Fiber: 12g, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 863IU, Vitamin C: 17mg, Calcium: 39mg, Iron: 3mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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Hi! I’m Natasha.

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18 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I made this on Friday ahead of time to bring to a large family BBQ yesterday – first time I have tried it. Very easy to throw together. It was very tasty and traveled very well, too!

    I doubled the recipe. I substituted the peppers for a bag of matchstick carrots. I did add in a little (1/2 teaspoon) of chili pepper and would probably add a teeny bit more the next time. It gave a nice little kick without being spicy.

    Avocado would be fabulous but I did not use it as I just don’t have luck with buying them and timing their ripeness for when it will be needed. They are either still too hard or softened too far with brown spots so I have just given up on that entirely.

    It was so colorful and tasted wicked good, too! Will definitely make this again. Thanks as always for my great “go to” recipe ideas.

    Reply

  3. I hear ya on international travel, it’s definitely exhausting – after mannnny trips to Europe I’ve decided there’s plenty to see here in this country for now instead. This is the perfect simple recipe to reset with after a trip like that!

    Reply

  4. 5 stars
    Mmmmm, this salad looks SO good! I love how easy it is to make, and I bet the flavors just get better and better if you eat it over a couple days!

    Glad you’re getting some relaxation in after your trip. And I’m so with you, overseas travel is so much fun, but always so exhausting!

    Reply

    1. Thanks, Tracy!! Yeah, I think I will be making more of these salads in my future… they’re just so good and easy.

      Reply

  5. I love Texas Caviar Natasha, so I know I’m going to love this salad. I totally agree. Simple recipes are often best. And you can’t beat fresh ingredients from the garden! I’ll be trying this recipe very soon!

    Reply

    1. Thanks!! I hope you do try it… it is really good. I wish I had a garden with fresh veggies, but at least the stuff in the stores is in season now haha.

      Reply