Quick Black Bean and Corn Salad (5 Minutes!)

Make a black bean and corn salad in 5 minutes, no chopping, with this genius hack! A quick way to put fresh food on the table.

Guess what? We discovered a trick to making a black bean and fresh corn salad…in just 5 minutes, no hacking required. Of course it’s a bit of an abbreviation. But if that shortcut gets you eating more veggies and plant-based foods, how could that be bad? We’ll admit it: we’re suspicious of recipes that claim to be the easiest and best thing you’ve ever tasted. But this one… let’s just say we’ve been eating it over and over since!

Black Bean and Field Crop Salad… in 5 minutes!

With all that chopping, many black bean and corn salads take over 20 minutes to prepare. Your knife and cutting board get dirty and you end up with tomato seeds on your countertop. Of course we don’t oppose this on a regular basis! But we designed this black bean and corn salad as a quick lunchtime snack or a lightning-fast appetizer to dip with fries. Here are the secrets:

• 1 can of black beans
• 1 can of corn
• 1 cup fresh pico de galloa.k.a. fresh salsa (bought)

This is a real dump and mix recipe! Add some salt and olive oil and garnish with coriander if you like. That’s it! No hash. Perplexed.

The Lifeline: Buy Fresh Pico de Gallo (aka Fresh Salsa)

This black bean and corn salad is only possible for one reason: it’s easy to find. fresh pico de gallo in modern grocery stores. (At least that’s true in US stores!) You might also see it as “fresh salsa” or “salsa fresca.” Pico de gallo means “cock’s beak” in Spanish. It’s a kind of salsa made with fresh tomatoes. The ingredients in pico de gallo include:

• tomatoes
• Onion
• Jalapeno chilli
• cumin
• Garlic (Optional)
• coriander
• Fresh Lime Juice

The beauty of using store-bought pico is that you can find it in the fresh food department, already chopped up and ready to toss in your salad! Pico de gallo also helps create a natural salad dressing with the acidity of lime juice. Toss that with a drizzle of olive oil and you have a vinaigrette!

Or make homemade pico!

Don’t have access to fresh store-bought pico de gallo or fresh salsa? Depending on your location, you may not be able to extract a container from this magic blender. That’s fine: just make your own pico! Of course, the salad takes a little longer. But it’s worth it for the taste! Just make half a recipe from our Best Pico de Gallo Recipe.

Ways to serve this quick black bean and corn salad

What do we love about this Black Bean and Corn Salad other than it’s quick? It’s endlessly versatile! You can serve it on many different occasions. This might seem like a simple recipe, but we think so reduces the barriers between you and a fresh, plant-based diet. And we think it’s an ingenious combination! You can turn this into a healthy lunch, dip, or dinner idea like:

More black bean recipes

What can you do with a can of black beans? Count the ways. Here are some of our favorite black bean recipes:

This Black Bean Corn Salad recipe is…

Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.