Southwestern corn salads are a fairly popular dish for the warmer weather. I honestly can’t get enough of them. I created my own favorite version. Most versions seem to have tomatoes and onions and I don’t care too much for them raw in this type of dish, so I just stuck with lots of bell pepper.
This is such a simple, incredibly fast dish to throw together with loads of flavor. The whole recipe is just 8 basic ingredients (+ salt). For the “dressing”, I made it a tad sweet, so it wasn’t just straight lime juice, it gave it a wonderful flavor to the end product. When tossed with all the ingredients, it gives a wonderful punch of lime flavor with a sweet undertone. My hubby especially loves this dish! It’s great on it’s own or as a filling inside tacos too.
I can’t wait to hear what you all think of this super simple, easy and delicious southwest lime corn salad! It’s one of our favorites for sure. It means the world to hear your awesome feedback, so please leave it below after you make this. In addition, if you want, I’d love to see your photo on Instagram using my hashtag #thevegan8, otherwise I’ll likely miss it since my feed moves quickly. Thank you!
Southwest Lime Corn Salad
Ingredients
- 1 large red bell pepper, chopped (200g, you'll need about 2 cups chopped)
- 1 1/4 cups pre-cooked corn
- 2 15 oz cans low-sodium black beans, drained & rinsed
- 1/4 cup (60g) fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon (20g) pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 avocado chopped
- Optional crushed tortilla chips for added crunch
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a pan with parchment paper. Add the bell pepper and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 10 minutes.
- While the peppers are roasting, place the corn and beans in a bowl and warm up, as desired, either in the microwave or over a stove.
- Combine the lime juice, syrup, chili powder, cumin and salt in a small bowl, and whisk well. Add the lime mixture to a small pan over medium-low heat. Cook 2 minutes to heat through.
- Add the roasted pepper to a large serving bowl. Add the corn, beans, and lime mixture, and toss to coat everything evenly. Taste and add more salt and seasoning, if desired.
- Chop your avocado and add last right before serving. If serving this as a main meal, it will probably only be enough for 2 people, but as a side dish, it will be good for 4 servings. We've eaten this as a salad and also added it as a filling inside tacos with my Mexican Tahini Sauce as a dipping sauce.
Suzanne
Delicious simple corn salad. I’m with you on the raw onion, this is perfect summer fare.
brandi.doming@yahoo.com
Thanks so much Suzanne! I hope you are doing well!
Emma
I love these kinds of salads for packing to take to work. I just make a big batch at the weekend then add a few scoops to my lunchbox with some leafy greens + a side of hummus + tortilla chips or a wrap. Yum.
brandi.doming@yahoo.com
Such a great idea Emma! This is definitely delicious in tortilla wraps!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Mmm yes! I think everyone should always have a southwest/mexican bean salad in the fridge during the summer 😉 An essential!
brandi.doming@yahoo.com
I agree!
brandi.doming@yahoo.com
I agree, thank you Rebecca!
Linda
Made this for lunch! Toasted a tortilla in shape of bowl, added some lettuce and this wonderful stuff on top. It was a hit and goes on the repeat list. We enjoyed while sitting on our patio. Left overs for tomorrow. Perfect
Florian @ContentdnessCooking
This is the perfect summer salad! Easy to make and delicious! I think it’s also great to add some tempeh or smoked tofu! It’s wonderful, Brandi to have an easy to make recipe and you can play around with flavors and spices.
brandi.doming@yahoo.com
Thank you so much Florian! So glad you like it!
Sophie
A lovely tasty easy corn salad that I also love,….a big Yum!
brandi.doming@yahoo.com
Thank you so much Sophie!
Davida Slobody
Refreshing Sunday brunch dish. Lined individual bowls with 1/2 cup warm brown rice, topped with shredded romaine and baby kale, then scooped bean mixture onto bowl and sprinkled avocado on last. Beautiful, delicious and filling.
brandi.doming@yahoo.com
That sounds so wonderful Davida!! I’m so glad you loved it! We love it inside tacos too and adding rice would definitely take this from a lighter dish to a more filling one, great idea! This is great because it can be a side or make it into a meal. Thank you so much for the feedback!
Angela @ Canned Time
What a fabulous meal and so full of yummy flavors. I love the avocado creamy topping but the real star is the lime juice. I LOVE limes and especially with spicy dishes. My guacamole has too much some times cause I’m always after that tang/sweet thing.
Really bright and fabulous. I’m wondering how it would be at room temp. for travel? I know those tacos would be delicious!!
🙂
brandi.doming@yahoo.com
Hi Angela! Thank you so much sweet lady! Definitely fine at room temperature, in fact I prefer it that way! It is good room temp, cold and hot…totally versatile! 🙂
Robin
This hit the spot for an easy Sunday dinner! I didn’t want to heat up the house by turning on the oven so I just used a jarred roasted red bell pepper. I mixed all the ingredients in a large bowl and skipped the stovetop part. We served it chilled in tacos and in a taco salad. Also added some lime zest & cilantro. So good! Definitely a new go-to.
brandi.doming@yahoo.com
I’m so thrilled you loved this Robin and thank you so much for the wonderful feedback and sharing your gorgeous photo on Instagram! I love how you decorated the salads, thank you again 🙂
Julie
This looks fantastic Brandy! I love Rebecca’s suggestion of having a bean salad in the frig during summer…I’m starting now! 🙂
julie
oopsies ~ I spelled your name wrong! So sorry! 🙂
brandi.doming@yahoo.com
Oh no worries at all!!
brandi.doming@yahoo.com
Thank you so much Julie! Yes, this is so good cold and warm, it really is good anyway you serve it 🙂
Ceara @ Ceara's Kitchen
It’s honestly like you know what all my favorite flavors are girl! I am loving this Southwest lime corn salad! It looks like it could very easily become a weeknight staple around here! The roasted corn, black beans and light lime dressing – YUM! I actually have everything on hand for it right now so might just have to whip it up for dinner tonight! 😀 I’ll make sure to leave a comment with my results!! 🙂
brandi.doming@yahoo.com
Thank you so much Ceara and yes, we love so much of the same foods! This is just so simple to make and can be adapted to basically any dish you want! Thanks girl!
Ceara @ Ceara's Kitchen
This is SO delicious!! Such a fun and easy salad to whip up!! I love how light it is too. We stuffed it into baked sweet potatoes and drizzled your awesome Mexican tahini dressing on top – such an AWESOME meal!! My partner LOVED it as well! It makes the BEST leftover too!! Thanks for the awesome recipe as always 🙂 🙂
brandi.doming@yahoo.com
I’m thrilled you and your hubby loved this so much Ceara! Thank you so much for making it and sharing your beautiful photo on IG as well, you rock!
Harriet Emily
Now this is my kind of salad – I loooove the flavour combo of cumin, chilli and maple! What a perfect mix. Mmmm. This sounds so delicious and refreshing! What stunning photographs too, I wish I could grab the bowl of salad out of the photo and eat it right now lol!
brandi.doming@yahoo.com
You are so sweet, thank you Harriet for the compliment on my photos! I was really rushed this day and battling lighting and wasn’t thrilled with these, so thank you for the compliment! xx And I agree too, cumin, chili and maple syrup and lime juice all together is so heavenly!
Pala
Just brilliant, and the man agrees as well. I couldn’t find any black beans that look like yours so I used kidney beans instead. I also added some chopped sweet potato and we had it as our dinner tonight. Thank you for this recipe.
brandi.doming@yahoo.com
Yay, I’m so happy to hear you loved this so much and even moreso, your hubby! Men are harder to please, lol! Chopped sweet potato sounds like a wonderful addition too, thank you so much for the wonderful feedback!!
Cailee
YUM! This is such a lovely recipe!! I’ve been meaning to make a salad like this!! Great job! …perf for this time of year! 🙂 Also, love the avocado in there! This is so great for vegans and meateaters! PERF!
brandi.doming@yahoo.com
Thank you so much Cailee for your kind words!! This was SUCH a hit with my husband who is so darn picky, so I just had to share it!
Natalie @ Feasting on Fruit
This looks full of flavor! I really appreciate that you skipped the onion and garlic this time, they tend to take over any flavor party, which I get a little tired of. This could be the base of the world’s simplest taco night 🙂
brandi.doming@yahoo.com
I agree Natalie! And I do NOT like raw onions…yuck! Most of these types of salads call for them but they are way too strong….I do like green onions raw because they are milder, but this one I wanted the citrus to take center stage and it does perfectly!
Sophia @ Veggies Dont Bite
This plus my mouth plus chips equals major gorge fest! Looks and sounds awesome. LOVE all those flavors!
brandi.doming@yahoo.com
Thank you so much Sophia! It was all scarfed down in record time!
Lee Anne
This salad is incredible!! I made it tonight and it is so good. I only made a couple of changes: I didn’t have fresh limes so I used store-bought lime juice, and I didn’t roast the corn. I buy frozen Roasted Corn from Trader Joe’s and used that instead. It was easy and convenient.
I also made the Mexican Tahini Sauce and added that…OMG…that sent it over the top!! In my opinion, it didn’t need the avocado, but it was good in it. Next time I’ll leave it out and see how it tastes.
This is a winner!! Thank you for posting it.
brandi.doming@yahoo.com
Wonderful LeeAnne! Thank you so much for the awesome feedback! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!! Haha, isn’t that tahini sauce incredible?! We eat it all the time around here and it goes on pretty much anything! Yes, if you added the tahini sauce, you could totally skip the avocado since the sauce is so creamy! Oh, and next time definitely try it with fresh limes and it is even better, the fresh taste is just the best! Thanks again 😉
Nichole Kraft, Food Writing Copyeditor
This looks delish! I love the idea of roasting the veggies for a few minutes. I attend a lot of potlucks, and this will definitely go into my rotation of dishes–so quick, easy, and yummy! Thank you for sharing!
brandi.doming@yahoo.com
Awesome, thank you so much Nichole!
Coley @ Coley Cooks
The colors in this dish are vibrant and amazing. It makes the dish look delicious! I will definitely have to give this a try!
brandi.doming@yahoo.com
Thank you so much Coley! Yes, I love the colors as well and the flavors just make it that much better! 🙂
Kim L
Another recipe by you that knocks it out of the park. This one has such great flavor combinations without the avocado, but adding the avocado in gives it a whole new level.
brandi.doming@yahoo.com
I’m so happy to hear you loved this so much Kim! I love the feedback and really appreciate it! Yes, the avocado totally completes it for me with that creamy bite 🙂
Caroline
Another delicious recipe. I’ve made this a couple times, and have had it both warmed and chilled. Tastes great inside corn tortillas. As usual, this is a well-balanced sweet/tart/creamy/slightly spicy/crunchy/soft dish, as I’ve come to expect from you, Brandi! You are a master at hitting all the right notes in your creations, though at first glance your recipes appear so simple. It is amazing to me that most of the time, my fairly well-stocked vegan kitchen has almost all the ingredients in your recipes. No need to run to the stores for some exotic, expensive thing I’ll only use a tiny bit of and that will be forgotten and wasted further down the road.
Anyhooo… back to the recipe! The only thing I did differently was to add some finely chopped fresh jalapenos. I might skip the roasting part next time, as it’s gotten hot here in Colorado and I resent heating up the house during the summer months. Like a few other posters, I tend to over-garlic/onion/tomato/cilantro all my Mexican-flavored dishes, so this was a delightfully different flavor combination.
Thank you for this recipe; another winner which will go in the regular rotation.
I need to look into your other recipes which use a crock pot or don’t involve the oven. I know as a vegan I should be happy with just eating cold salads, but really, they’re some of my least favorite things to eat . Always have loved vegetables, but not a salad fan.
brandi.doming@yahoo.com
Thank you so much for such awesome feedback Caroline! You made my day! I appreciate your kind words so very much!! I need to get some crockpot recipes on the blog…thanks for the reminder. I have lots of non-oven recipes though…lots of soups and chili!
mercedeh
made it.great taste.thanks 🙂
brandi.doming@yahoo.com
Wonderful, I’m so glad to hear that! Thank you!