Mexican Bean Salad with an Incredible Honey Cumin Dressing
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Say hello to your new taco night sidekick: this zesty, vibrant Mexican bean salad. It’s crunchy, flavor-packed, ready in 15 minutes, and the one I keep coming back to again and again.
If you ask me what cuisine gets made the most in my kitchen, I’d say hands down Mexican! Whether it’s chicken enchiladas with green sauce, burritos, or one of my many taco recipes, I love how fresh, vibrant, and tasty it is. One thing I used to run into was deciding what to serve alongside my favorite Mexican dishes. They’re so colorful and delicious already; how can any side dish hold its own?
This Mexican bean salad ticks all my boxes: Fast ✓ Vibrant ✓ Zesty ✓ Packed with texture and flavor ✓. This is the recipe where people ask for seconds, then the recipe! There are so many bean salad recipes out there, yet this is the one I always come back to. It’s so good that I don’t just serve it with Mexican food – it’s also great for picnics or potlucks.
Key ingredients
If you’re like me, you always have cans of beans on standby in your pantry. That means, I often have everything I need to make this recipe already at home,. This is what you’ll need:
- Beans: I use three types to make a bean mixture – a can of kidney beans, black beans, and cannellini beans.
- Veggies: A green pepper, red bell pepper, red onion, and frozen corn.
- Other ingredients: Fresh cilantro and cheese. I use either cotija or feta cheese.
- Dressing: White wine vinegar, lime juice, a garlic clove, honey, chili powder, cumin, salt, and olive oil.
This recipe proves that familiar and simple ingredients can come together to create something awesome!
Step by step instructions
This black bean salad is easy to make, in just a few simple steps. Whip up the dressing, pop everything in a bowl, and combine. This is how it’s done:
Add your own twist: There are lots of ways you can make this Mexican bean salad your own. Use different beans (like pinto beans or chickpeas), add diced avocado for extra creaminess, add cherry tomatoes, spice it up with some sliced jalapeño or a dash of hot sauce, or add some mango or pineapple for a fruity touch!
Make ahead and store
Make ahead: This Mexican bean salad recipe is not only convenient for making ahead – it actually tastes better when the ingredients have had time to meld together. Simply store it in the fridge until you’re ready to serve. I put a beeswax wrap over the top to keep it fresh.
Store: With beans, veggies, and a vinegar-based dressing, this Mexican bean salad stores well. Keep it in a covered container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Freeze: I don’t recommend freezing this bean salad, as the vegetables will lose their crunch after thawing.
What to serve with Mexican bean salad?
I most often serve this Mexican bean salad as a side dish. It’s also a great recipe for a light lunch or zesty appetizer (just add a bowl of tortilla chips to scoop up the goodness)!
It’s also great with this beef burger topped with guacamole – you can pile a scoop of the bean salad on top or serve it on the side. Or for a more traditional meat and veggie kind of dinner, make my one-pan cilantro lime chicken or this margarita chicken recipe made with tequila and agave.
Mexican Bean Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 15 ounce can kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
- 1 15 ounce can black beans (drained and rinsed)
- 1 15 ounce can cannellini beans (drained and rinsed)
- 1 medium green pepper (chopped)
- 1 medium red pepper (chopped)
- 1 cup frozen corn (thawed)
- ½ cup minced cilantro
- ¼ cup minced red onion
- ¼ cup crumbled cotija or feta cheese
Dressing
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon honey
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 small garlic clove (finely minced)
- ¼ cup olive oil
Instructions
- Start by making the dressing. Add the vinegar, lime juice, honey, chili powder, cumin, salt, and garlic to a bowl and whisk. Slowly pour in the oil while whisking and whisk until it becomes creamy.2 tablespoons lime juice, 1 tablespoon honey, ½ teaspoon chili powder, 1 small garlic clove, ¼ cup olive oil, 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- In a large salad bowl, add the beans, green and red pepper, corn, cilantro, red onion, and cotija cheese.1 15 ounce can kidney beans, 1 15 ounce can black beans, 1 15 ounce can cannellini beans, 1 medium green pepper, 1 medium red pepper, 1 cup frozen corn, ½ cup minced cilantro, ¼ cup minced red onion, ¼ cup crumbled cotija or feta cheese
- Pour the dressing over the top and mix well. If you're not in a hurry, let the salad chill in the fridge for 30 minutes so the flavors have time to develop.
Notes
Nutrition
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Fabulous recipe!! Was a huge hit at the bbq last weekend!!!
I love hearing that! Thanks, Laurie!