Fresh and colorful black bean salsa is easy to make with corn, tomatoes, peppers, red onions, lime juice and cilantro. Serve with chips for a Mexican party appetizer that everyone loves!
We love salsa dip recipes! Other favorites include avocado salsa, Chipotle corn salsa and restaurant style salsa.
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Black Bean and Corn Salsa
I can’t wait to share this black bean and corn salsa recipe with you today featuring all of my favorite ingredients. It’s easy to whip up and is such a fresh healthy snack!
My husband is not guacamole fan, but he LOVES black bean salsa. It’s the perfect party food served along with jalapeño poppers! Enjoy as an appetizer with your favorite tortilla chips or add on top of Mexican salad or BBQ chicken tacos.
Ingredients
- Corn: For this recipe you can used canned or frozen corn. If frozen, you’ll want to thaw and then make sure to drain very well. I love using the roasted frozen corn in my dip.
- Black beans: The beans add a delicious flavor and plenty of fiber to this dip. Feel free to mix it up and add additional beans if you’d like (garbanzo beans taste great).
- Tomatoes: I love using fresh garden tomatoes. You can use any type of tomatoes you have for this dip.
- Red pepper: The red pepper adds a little crunch and the perfect flavor. You could also substitute with orange or yellow bell pepper.
- Limes: The lime juice adds a little tartness and brings all the flavors together. You could sub with lemon if that’s all you have on hand.
- Onion: I love using red onion for the color, but you could also use a sweet onion or omit completely if desired.
- Salt: The salt makes the flavors really shine. Add salt and pepper to taste at the end.
- Cilantro: The cilantro adds the perfect touch to this dip. Don’t skimp and make sure to use fresh cilantro.
Variations
- Feel free to add in some diced jalapeno to make it spicy. You can also add in a dash of cumin or chili powder for more flavor.
- Diced avocado also makes a delicious addition to this salsa.
- Instead of using canned corn, try grilling your corn for a nice char.
- Add in black eyed peas and a simple vinaigrette to turn into a cowboy caviar.
- Add in some creamy ingredients like sour cream or mayo and you have a version of Mexican corn salad.
- Make it more like a meal by adding leftovers of my cilantro lime rice recipe and transform it into a cold version of rice and black beans!
- To cut the acidity, add a teaspoon of sugar to sweeten it up a little.
How to Make Black Bean Salsa
- Prep: Chop all of your ingredients and rinse and drain beans. Allow the produce to dry. Use a paper towel if needed to absorb any extra liquis.
- Combine: In a medium sized bowl combine corn, beans, bell peppers and onion. Drain excess juice from tomatoes and then add to the bowl. Add the fresh cilantro. Stir gently to combine.
- Taste and adjust: Squeeze fresh lime juice over the top and gently stir. Add more lime juice, salt and pepper to taste. Add a teaspoon of sugar if you’d like to cut the acidity or add a sprinkle or cumin for a little more spice.
- Serve: Gently stir and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Enjoy with your favorite tortilla chips or add to a Mexican dish!
Expert Tips
- Evenly sized veggies: Chopping your ingredients into uniform sized pieces makes it easier to get a little bit in each bite!
- Avoid using the food processor: Chopping and mixing your ingredients by hand avoid your ingredients turning to soupy.
- Make the night before: This will allow all the flavors to meld together for the best dip.
- If adding avocado: If you would like to add some creamy avocado, do so right before serving or it will turn brown.
Ways to Enjoy Black Bean Salsa
- With chips: Serve as an appetizer with this salsa verde recipe and crispy tortilla chips.
- Salad: As a salad topper for my favorite taco salad or BBQ chicken salad.
- Tacos: Grab a flour tortilla and add some taco meat and a few spoonful’s of salsa. Or even add some to your favorite breakfast tacos.
- Burrito bowl: Make your own burrito bowls with cilantro lime rice, shredded chicken, cheese, salsa and your other favorite toppings.
- Pasta salad: Add some cooked pasta or quinoa to turn into a delicious southwest pasta salad.
FAQs
The great thing about this recipe is that you can easily make it up to 24 hours in advance. Simply assemble as directed, then store in the fridge in a covered container. Make sure to give it a big stir before serving so that the flavors and juices are blended together.
Store leftovers in a covered container in fridge for up to 3 days.
For your convenience all nutritional information is located at the bottom of the recipe card below. This dip is low calorie, low fat and higher in protein than most party snacks.
Love easy Mexican recipes? Try this shrimp ceviche, bean dip with cream cheese or seven layer dip, they are all easy crowd pleasers!
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Black Bean Salsa
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Ingredients
- 15 ounce can black beans , drained and rinsed
- 1 cup corn , drained and rinsed
- 1 red bell pepper , chopped
- 2 large tomatoes , diced
- ½ cup diced red onion
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
- ¾ teaspoon Kosher salt , more to taste
- 2 limes , juiced
Optional: Diced avocado, chopped jalepenos
Instructions
- Prep all of your ingredients. Allow the extra juices to drain and the produce to dry before mixing in bowl. Use a paper towel if needed to dry the ingredients.
- Combine the corn, beans, bell pepper and onion into a medium sized bowl. Remove excess juice from tomatoes and then add to the bowl. Add the fresh cilantro. Stir gently to combine.
- Squeeze fresh lime juice over the top and gently stir. Add more lime juice, salt and pepper to taste. Add a teaspoon of sugar if you'd like to cut the acidity or add a sprinkle or cumin for a little more spice.
- Gently stir and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Enjoy with your favorite tortilla chips or add to a Mexican dish!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Categorized as: Appetizers, Cinco De Mayo, Condiments, Dairy-Free, Dips, Gluten-Free, Mexican, Vegan, Vegetarian
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
This is super easy and yummy! I love how colorful it is too!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! :)
Made this for a family picnic and it was one of the first sides gone! I will definitely make it again.
YUM! I absolutely love this salsa during the Spring and Summer! It’s also so pretty for parties too!
I love black beans and when I made this everyone loved the salsa this is a great recipe!
I’m not a fan of black bean. But when I saw this one and tried it, I decided to write a review. It’s delicious! I’ll now add this on my recipe collection.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for leaving a comment and review Latrice!
This was so easy to put together and so yummy! I can’t stop eating it! :P
Looks amazing but jow long does it keep in fridge.. a couple days or do you need to eat same day?
Wow! Another great recipe of yours. Thanks for sharing again. I’ll definitely try this on our Saturday dinner.
This is a great basic recipe! Served it to some friends and they loved it. I did add some jalapeno pepper, and some ground cumin (personal taste) and instead of sugar used agave nectar. Thanks! This will be a regular healthy item in my fridge!
It does keep surprisingly well for a couple of days in the fridge, the avocado does not go brown with enough lime juice, although it gets a wee bit smushy.
We LOVE this salsa so much!