This Southwest Chickpea Black Bean Salad comes together in 15 minutes with a delicious zesty chili lime vinaigrette. Easy to make and prep for the week ahead!
This bean salad is inspired by my mother-in-law who regularly makes the most delicious garlicky bean salad every summer. Really basic ingredients, like I already mentioned, super garlicky with the best tangy flavor imaginable. And honestly the perfect summer salad to keep on hand in the fridge.
I took the base of her salad and added in a few extra Latin inspired ingredients and now keep a regular batch of this in the fridge. Loaded with plant-protein, fiber, and flavor, I’m certain it will become a favorite for you too.
Why You’ll Love This Southwest Chickpea Black Bean Salad
- Comes together in 15 minutes, just one bowl and no cooking involved!
- A budget friendly recipe using a medley of simple ingredients
- Loaded with nourishing plant-protein, fiber, iron and antioxidants
- Easy to meal prep in advance for lunches or dinners for the week
- Naturally vegan, gluten-free and nut-free!
Key Ingredients and Substitutions
- Beans: I used a combination of chickpeas and black beans to give a variety of textures in this salad. You can feel free to swap for other beans or stick to one variety. Essentially, you just need 2 cans of beans for this.
- Corn: I generally use frozen fire roasted corn, but you can opt for regular fresh, canned or frozen sweet corn.
- Tomatoes: Cherry tomatoes are preferred, but if not a fan of tomatoes you can replace with diced roasted red pepper.
- Onion: I used red onion, but white onion works too. Not a fan of raw onion, you can use pickled onions or caramelize them in a pan to mix into the salad.
- Cilantro: Adds freshness to the salad. You can omit or replace with some parsley to taste.
- Avocado: Adds extra creamy. You can double the amount if you decide to omit the oil in the recipe.
- Jalapeño: For some spice, but can be replaced with some diced pepper.
- Vinaigrette: I highly recommend making this simple chili lime vinaigrette using lime, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, spices, maple syrup and maple syrup.
How to Make A Flavorful Chickpea and Black Bean Salad
In a large mixing bowl, combine the beans, corn, tomatoes, red onion, and cilantro.
In a separate cup or bowl combine lime zest, lime juice, oil, garlic, maple syrup, and seasonings. Whisk the vinaigrette together and pour the dressing over the bean salad base and gently toss together to coat.
Expert Tips
- Feel free to adjust or omit the oil and maple syrup. The oil is there to help improve the mouthfeel of the bean salad and the maple syrup is there to help balance the sharp and tangy flavors of the garlic and citrus.
- Make this a meal by including more grains. Add more corn or serve with tortilla chips, quinoa, rice or bulger wheat.
- Adjust the spice of the salad by omitting the jalapeño or removing the seeds before adding to the salad.
- Add and mix in the avocado when ready to serve. This will make the salad last longer as avocado oxidizes quickly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Toss the whole salad together, but leave the avocado out until ready to serve. The fully dressed bean salad will last for 4 days stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
The vitamin C from both the cherry tomatoes and lime plus the fats from the avocado and oil will help improve the absorption of nutrients in this meal. Vitamin C in particular helps to better absorb iron. And fats help improve the absorption of fat soluble vitamins.
Canned beans contains protein, fiber and iron just like freshly cooked beans. A majority of canned beans contain sodium in them, but when rinsed very well under running water, you can reduce the sodium significantly by ~40%. You can also swap for cans that use no added sodium to by pass sodium if needed.
What to Serve This Chickpea Black Bean Salad With
More Refreshing Salads to Try
- Summer Farro Salad with Crispy Roasted Lentils
- Citrus Infused Couscous Chickpea Salad
- Lemon Orzo Salad with Asparagus
- Roasted Potato Salad with BBQ Chickpeas
- Tahini Ranch Pasta Salad with Smoky Tempeh
- Vermicelli Noodle Salad with Peanut Sauce
Chili Lime Bean Salad
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 70 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Main Course, Side Dish
- Method: No Cook
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Just a few minutes and basic ingredients is all you need for this chili lime bean salad! Fresh flavors and perfect as a side or main!
Ingredients
Salad Base
- 1, 15 oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1, 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup frozen fire roasted corn, thawed
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 small red onion, finely diced
- 1 jalapeno, finely diced (optional)
- 1/4 cup cilantro, minced
- 1 avocado, cubed
Dressing
- Zest of one lime
- Juice of 2 limes or 1/4 cup lime juice
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (optional)
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 large clove of garlic, crushed or 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder or Tajin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine beans, corn, tomatoes, red onion, and cilantro.
- In a separate cup or bowl combine lime zest, lime juice, oil, maple syrup, and remaining seasonings. Whisk the vinaigrette together and pour dressing over beans and gently toss everything together to coat.
- Place beans in the fridge to chill for at least an hour before serving. When ready to serve, mix in your avocado and make sure to toss again, then enjoy!
Notes
Feel free to adjust or omit the oil and maple syrup. The oil is there to help improve the mouthfeel of the bean salad and the maple syrup is there to help balance the sharp and tangy flavors of the garlic and citrus.
Make this a meal by including more grains. Add more corn or serve with tortilla chips, quinoa, rice or bulger wheat.
Adjust the spice of the salad by omitting the jalapeño or removing the seeds before adding to the salad.
Add and mix in the avocado when ready to serve. This will make the salad last longer as avocado oxidizes quickly.
Keywords: chickpea and black bean salad, southwest black bean salad, chili lime bean salad, chickpea black bean salad
If you tried this recipe or any other recipe on the blog, then let me know what you thought in the comments below! And if you loved it, don’t forget to rate it too. Feel free to follow on Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok for the latest nutrition tips and recipe videos.
★ Catherine
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So good!!! The photo has tomatoes but none in the recipe?
I will add my own but its a delicious salad!!
★★★★★
Super sorry about that! I switched to a new plugin for displaying my recipes and it looks like it removed the tomatoes. The amount should now be there. Super happy you enjoyed this. 🙂
Any idea what the calorie count is for this salad. Thanks
What is this MAGIC? Sooooooooo good! I only had 1 lime in the fridge, so used that and lemon for a lemon/lime combo. This salad blew my mind! Great recipe! Thaaaaank you!!!!!!
★★★★★
Best comment! Thank you so much and love that you added the lemon to this along with the lime. Such a good combo. So glad you enjoyed!
Hello! For this recipe do you drain the fire roasted corn?
Hi Priscilla! Missed this comment, so apologies for the late response. If there is excess water, yes, definitely drain it off. 🙂
Love everything about this. So flavorful and fulfilling
★★★★★
This message got lost, thank you so so much Kristi for the kindness and so glad you enjoyed this! 🙂
This is such a great no-cook summer recipe! It’s even better the following day after all the spices have had time to marry in the fridge. It’s also such a great way to use fresh farmer’a market corn!
★★★★★
This salad was deeeelicious!! I added extra tomatoes and one extra avocado and omitted the oil. I took it to a friend and she said she could have eaten the whole bowl. This recipe is a keeper!!!
★★★★★
Makes the so so happy. Thank you for the super kind comment and glad you and your friend loved it. 🙂
Can you sub the maple syrup for anything else? Thank you!
Any liquid sweetener works for this. I used maple syrup because it was what I had on hand. 🙂
The recipe does say cherry tomatoes in it 🙂
Do you have nutritional values for this?
I am a cilantro = soap person. 🙁 would it still work just omitting this or do you have a recommended replacement for it?
Totally understand Gloria! You can definitely omit or even replace with a different fresh herb or even some extra dry herbs. One that would work well is oregano. If using fresh, just add a small amount and add extra if desired or use 1 tsp dry oregano to the dish too. For other fresh herbs, you can do some parsley for a little freshness too. Hope this helps. 🙂
Great and easy. Used honey instead of maple syrup and added cumin (not vegan but delicious)
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed it Sabra! That’s what matters. 🙂
This was delicious! Trying to make heart healthy choices for my husband and I. He loved it and asked me to add it to my repeat menus. Thank you for sharing!
Best thing to hear! Thank you so much Carol and love that you guys are in it together. Hoping the both of you stay well and glad you guys enjoyed it. 🙂