Southwestern Bean Salad

This bean salad has become one of my favorite recipes lately! It has a lot of good flavors, and I always like spicy stuff! The salad takes almost no time to make beyond cutting up some veggies and tossing them together. Do use red onion, frozen corn (not canned!), and red wine vinegar (not red cooking wine, which confuses people for some reason). Though I’m not a huge fan of cilantro, I always include the full quarter-cup in this recipe. The the original recipe calls for you to refrigerate the salad but I actually prefer mine warm/hot. I think it tastes better, but it’s completely personal preference. It’s good either way!

Calories: about 1,360 for the entire thing, not including chips or toppings

Ingredients:

Servings: 4-6 (2-3 bowls) 

• One 15-oz. can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• One 15-oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup frozen corn, thawed
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
• ½ cup diced medium red onion
• 1 cup halved or quartered cherry or grape tomatoes
• 1 avocado, pitted and diced
• ¼ cup red wine vinegar (it makes it a bit acidic, but it helps to coat all the veggies and give it a good flavor)
• ¼ cup lime juice
• 1 tbs. agave nectar
• ½ tsp. sea salt (or omit if you are reducing sodium)
• ½ tsp. ground cumin
• ½ tsp. chili powder
• 2 tsp. Sriracha
• ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

Combine the beans and vegetables in a large bowl (preferably with a tight-fitting lid so you can shake it up).

Blend the vinegar through Sriracha in a small bowl. Add more chili powder and Sriracha if you want it spicier! It already has a decent kick, so I wouldn’t add too much unless you like it really spicy. Drizzle the mix over the beans and vegetables and toss to coat. This is when I put the lid on and shake it up!

Sprinkle the cilantro over the top before serving. The cilantro is a garnish, but it also adds a lot of flavor to the dish.

The original recipe says to refrigerate it for an hour then sprinkle with the cilantro before serving. I actually prefer this recipe warm. Before I mix all the veggies together, I put the beans and corn in a large microwave-safe bowl and microwave them for about two and a half minutes. Eat it cold or heated—whatever you prefer!