Black Bean Salad

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You're going to love this black bean salad with bell peppers, red onion, and a kick of fajita seasoning. It's a hearty side dish that has a great crunch from the fresh peppers.

It keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, it's one of our favorite things to make for a BBQ. This fresh salad is perfect for a hot summer day!

Serve this salad on its own or with some tortilla chips for dipping. You can also add it to a rice bowl as well! If you like easy, healthy recipes, you've got to try this dish.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• How to Make a Bell Pepper & Bean Salad
• Substitutions & Variations
• More Side Dish Recipes
• Storage
• Tips for Making this Recipe
• Black Bean Salad

This deliciously crunchy and creamy salad is full of bold flavors and colorful veggies. If you like bright and fresh bell peppers and creamy, earthy black beans you are going to love this salad.

It's super easy to make and makes a great side dish or simple main meal.

This vegan recipe is ready in about 15 minutes. It saves well in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, making it a great meal prep recipe.

Ingredients

Here's what you'll need to make this easy black bean salad recipe.

Here's what you'll need to make this recipe.

• Peppers - the red, yellow, and orange bell pepper and jalapenos bring a crunchy freshness to the salad
• Alliums - the garlic and red onion add a sharp bite.
• Black Beans - protein-heavy and delicious, these beans are the foundation of the salad.
• Spices & Salt - the fajita seasoning blend and kosher salt add a kick and bring out the natural flavor of the veggies.
• Oil - you'll top the salad with a little olive oil to bring the flavors together.
• Acid - the fresh lime juice adds brightness and balance.

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How to Make a Bell Pepper & Bean Salad

This salad comes together quickly! It just takes a few minutes to chop all the fresh ingredients. We use canned beans to make this recipe go really quickly. If you'd like to use dried black beans, here's how to make them in the instant pot or on the stovetop.

Chop the vegetables - prep the veggies (peppers, garlic, onion, etc) and dice them.

Combine the beans & veggies - drain and rinse the beans and combine them with the vegetables in a large bowl.

Add the flavor - top the beans and vegetables with the lime juice, salt, and fajita seasoning.

Stir to combine and serve.

Substitutions & Variations

Want to add some other ingredients or make other changes? Here are some other recommendations. Feel free to add your favorite ingredients!

• Green Onions - Add in some sliced green onions or chives - they make a great topping!
• Feta Cheese - crumble some feta cheese and stir it into the salad.
• Fresh Avocado - Add some creamy avocado for fresh flavor.
• Spice - If you want this salad a little spicier, add ½ teaspoon of chili powder, ¼ teaspoon of cayenne pepper, or a teaspoon of hot sauce.
• Acid - you can swap the lime juice for lemon juice or apple cider vinegar.

More Side Dish Recipes

Want more easy recipes and side dishes? Check out some of our other favorite recipes we think you'll like.

• Roasted Brussels Sprouts - Roasting Brussels sprouts brings out all their flavor! This great, easy side dish of roasted Brussels sprouts is always a hit.
• Shaved Zucchini Salad - This delicious salad recipe combines shaved zucchini, lemon, goat cheese, microgreens, and toasted pine nuts for an exquisite and luscious side dish.
• Grilled Corn and Black Bean Salad - this black bean and fresh corn salad is a great side dish for a BBQ.
• Shaved Fennel & Asparagus Quinoa Salad - This shaved fennel and asparagus is a simple salad recipe with quinoa, Manchego cheese, red onion, and a zesty lemon dressing.

Storage

This salad will keep for up to 4 days in the refrigerator when stored in an airtight container. It might even be better the next day because the flavors have time to combine.

You can serve it cold, but I like to let it come to room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.

Tips for Making this Recipe

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Specialty Ingredients - You can make your own fajita seasoning - check out our homemade fajita seasoning. It's a delicious spice blend you can use in lots of ways!

Substitutions - If you don't like spicy food, go ahead and leave out the jalapeno and just use sweet bell peppers in this recipe.

Preparation Tips - If your red onion is very pungent, soak it in ice water for 10 minutes before adding it to the salad. It will keep its allium flavor but lose its harshness.

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