Black bean salad is a true summer dish. I’ve also had the same thing but it was called Texas Caviar. I’ve had it at other people’s places for years and never really loved it. I don’t like raw onions or peppers (including red!). Weird, I know! So, I was looking for a recipe I’d like and I couldn’t find one. Some made their marinade with up to a cup of sugar! I wanted a healthy bean based salad. For some reason I now have a need for more fiber! But, I didn’t want this bean salad to be high calorie or high fat. I just wanted it to taste good! Well, I knew what I liked so I made my own marinade. And I decreed that many ingredients are optional!
I figured out if I made a ‘black bean base salad’ and then added fresh ingredients to my daily serving, I could enjoy this for a week. It is wonderful to have options when people in your household have different tastes. Everyone can get the ‘extras’ that they like. But, you don’t have to eat what you don’t like. I don’t want to tell you how many years it took me to figure out that this can be done to a few of my family’s favorite dishes.
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PinIngredients
- The best part of this recipe is you can add only what you like!
- 1 can corn
- 1 can black beans
- 1 can black eyed peas
Marinade
- 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar (or whatever vinegar you have/like)
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 tsp garlic salt
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro (or 1/2 cilantro & 1/2 parsley) – finely chopped
Optional ingredients
- Avocado
- Onions
- Tomatoes
- Green onions
- Peppers
Instructions
- Mix marinade in a jar so you can shake it (or small bowl so you can stir it).
- I like the taste of onion but not biting into a raw onion. I add thinly sliced onions to the marinade but discard the onions prior to pouring over the bean/corn mixture.
- Let the mixture sit for about 1/2 hour (stir or shake every few minutes)
- Dump corn, black beans and black eyed peas in a bowl.
- Don’t those black eyed peas look like beans??
- Mix these three together.
- After marinade sits for a bit, pour over black bean mixture. Stir regularly so that marinade coats everything. Let the beans and marinade become friends for at least a couple of hours before serving. Personally, I’d make this the day before.
- The bean/marinade mixture can be kept in the refrigerator for about a week. I bet longer but I just don’t want to try 🙂
- Extras can be added! Add fresh just prior to serving.
- I love mine with avocados and tomatoes.
- My husband loves much more flavor and variety. Avocado, onions, tomatoes and red peppers.
I hope you enjoy this black bean salad recipe. It’s great to keep in the fridge and enjoy a few times during the week. Just make sure you add your fresh ingredients the day you serve it.
Let me know what other optional ingredients you love!
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