Black Bean Salad with Lime Dressing

This delicious salad can be made several ways. If you have time, cook dried black beans to get a deeper, richer flavor in the salad. If you're looking for a quick weeknight meal with no cooking, just go with two cans of black beans.

Entrees

Prep: 20 min
Cook: 0 min to 2 hours
Total: 20 min to 2 hours 20 min
Serves 6-8

Overnight Black Beans
16 ounce bag black beans
Soak black beans overnight and cook according to package directions. Place in a large bowl.
Quick Black Beans
2 15-ounce cans black beans
Alternatively, drain and rinse two cans of black beans in a fine-mesh strainer. Place in a large bowl.
Corn
3 ears fresh corn, cooked or grilled OR
2 cups frozen corn, cooked
If fresh corn is in season, cook corn and cut off kernels. If corn is out of season, cook two cups of frozen corn. Add corn to beans.
Vegetables
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 orange bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 green onions, minced
¼ cup chopped cilantro or parsley
Chop vegetables and add to bowl with beans and corn.
Zesty Lime Dressing
2 limes, zested and juiced
Zest limes until you have about 1 teaspoon of zest. Add zest to a measuring cup. Juice limes and add to measuring cup.
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Add olive oil to measuring cup with lime juice and zest and whisk to combine.
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Add sugar, salt, and cayenne pepper to measuring cup and whisk to combine.
Avocados
3 avocados, diced
Dice avocados and gently mix into salad, taking care not to mush avocados. If making in advance, add avocados just prior to serving.