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Quick Black Bean and Corn Salad (5 Minutes!)

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

Guess what? We’ve discovered a hack to make a kickin’ fresh black bean and corn salad…in just 5 minutes, no chopping required. Sure, it’s a bit of a shortcut. But if this shortcut gets you to eat more vegetables and plant-forward meals: how could it be bad? We’ll admit: we’re wary of recipes that claim to be the easiest, best thing you’ve ever tried. But this one…let’s just say we’ve been eating it on repeat ever since!

Black bean and corn salad…in 5 minutes!

With all the chopping involved, many black bean and corn salads take upwards of 20 minutes to make. Your knife and cutting board are dirtied, and you end up with tomato seeds all over your counter. Of course, we’re not averse to this on the regular! But we designed this black bean and corn salad to be a quick lunch time hack, or a lightening fast appetizer for dipping with chips. Here are the secrets:

1 can black beans
1 can corn
1 cup fresh pico de gallo, aka fresh salsa (purchased)

It’s a true dump and stir recipe! Add a little salt and olive oil, and if you like garnish with cilantro. That’s it! No chopping. Mind blown.

The lifesaver: purchased fresh pico de gallo (aka fresh salsa)

This black bean and corn salad is only possible because of one thing: it’s easy to find fresh pico de gallo in modern grocery stores. (This is true in American stores, at least!) You may also see it labeled as “fresh salsa” or “salsa fresca.” Pico de gallo translates to “beak of the rooster” in Spanish. It’s a type of salsa made with fresh tomatoes. The ingredients in pico de gallo include:

Tomatoes
Onion
Jalapeno pepper
Cumin
Garlic (optional)
Cilantro
Fresh lime juice

The nice thing about using purchased pico is that you can find it in the fresh food section, already chopped up and ready to mix into your salad! The pico de gallo also helps to make a natural dressing for the salad with the acidity of the lime juice. Mix that with a drizzle of olive oil, and you’ve got a dressing!

Or, make homemade pico!

Don’t have access to fresh store-bought pico de gallo or fresh salsa? Depending on your location, you might not be able to pick up a container of this magical mixer. That’s ok: just make your own pico! The salad will take a little longer to make, of course. But it’s worth it for the flavor! Just make a half recipe of our Best Pico de Gallo recipe.

Shrimp Rice Bowl — Add it to a shrimp rice bowl for a tasty dinner

Ways to serve this quick black bean and corn salad

What we love about this black bean and corn salad, other than being quick? It’s endlessly versatile! You can serve it for so many different occasions. This might just seem like a simple recipe: but we think it decreases the barriers between you and fresh, plant-forward eating. And for that, we think it’s a genius combination! You can make it into a lunch, dip, or healthy dinner idea like:

Easy lunch, with crackers or chips
Fast healthy appetizer, with tortilla chips
In a rice bowl, with cilantro lime rice
In a taco, like tofu tacos, shrimp tacos or egg tacos
As a side for tacos
On a sweet potato, like quick baked sweet potato or sweet potato wedges
Sprinkled over sheet pan nachos
With shrimp, like grilled shrimp skewers
With fish, like Grilled White Fish, Grilled Ahi Tuna or Grilled Cod

More black bean recipes

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

Go from can to side dish in 5 minutes with Easy Black Beans
Snack on Crispy Roasted Black Beans
Make up a batch of tasty Black Beans and Rice
Go for fan favorite Cuban Black Beans Recipe
Throw them into chili for Mango Black Bean Chili
Make homemade Refried Black Beans

This black bean and corn salad recipe is…

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

Quick Black Bean and Corn Salad (5 Minutes!)

(7 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

5 from 7 reviews

Author: Sonja Overhiser
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 0 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Yield: 4
Diet: Vegan

Print Recipe

Description

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

Ingredients

15-ounce can black beans*
15-ounce can corn
1 cup fresh pico de gallo, aka fresh salsa (purchased)**
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon olive oil
Fresh cilantro, if desired (for garnish)

Instructions

Drain and rinse the black beans. Drain the corn. In a bowl, mix them with the pico de gallo, salt, and olive oil.
If desired, add torn cilantro. Serve immediately with a slotted spoon as a side salad, in a rice bowl, in tacos, or as a dip with tortilla chips.

Notes

*For a party size, double the ingredients.

**You’ll find this packaged in the refrigerated section at your local grocery: it may be labeled pico de gallo or fresh salsa. If you can’t find it, make homemade Pico de Gallo.

Category: Side dish
Method: Fresh
Cuisine: American

Keywords: Black bean and corn salad

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Fudgy Sweet Potato Brownies

These amazing sweet potato brownies will wow everyone! Fudgy and chewy, they’re loaded with flavor…good stuff, too. One swap and these vegan sweet potato brownies are also gluten-free.

They’re fudgy, chewy, chocolaty, and one of the favorite things to come out of our kitchen to date. Try these Sweet Potato Brownies! Why hide vegetables in desserts when you can proudly proclaim them? These brownies could not be more thrilled by their sweet potato interior. It makes the best chewy texture and loads them with nutrients. In fact, these are super plant-powered vegan sweet potato brownies! But most importantly: they’re irresistibly delicious, with a rich nuance in flavor that makes them taste loads better than a standard brownie. Come, see how it’s done!

Tricks to the best sweet potato brownies

These sweet potato brownies are next level. Everyone who’s tried them comes back with one word: “Wow!” Over here we’re partial to a chewy brownie, and the sweet potato adds just the right moist, chewy texture. It also brings a richness that somehow tastes more real than using loads of butter and sugar. We like these better than a standard brownie: hands down. Here are some of the major ingredients that make this recipe work:

Mashed sweet potato brings richness and texture, and stands in for some butter and flour
Almond butter adds fat while adding protein
Sugar sweetens it just right: you can use granulated, coconut or your favorite solid sugar here
Flour is much less than a standard recipe, and you can substitute to make them gluten free
Cocoa powder brings rich chocolaty flavor
Olive oil is a healthy oil and you’ll only need a touch
Dark chocolate chips are required for the final touch of chocolate!

Roasting the potatoes (and a shortcut or two)

The only difference from these sweet potato brownies and a traditional dump-and-stir recipe? Roasting the sweet potatoes. Here are a few notes on this process, and a shortcut or two:

Roasting the potatoes caramelizes them and brings out the sugars. It’s absolutely worth the 30 minutes of roasting time.
Cut them in half before roasting! This cuts down on the time needed to roast, versus roasting them whole.
You can microwave the potatoes as a shortcut. Prick them all over with a fork, place them on a plate and microwave on high for about 10 to 12 minutes or more until tender, rotating halfway through. But keep in mind: the timing can vary based on size and the microwave can be uneven in cooking. Also, roasting brings out the natural sugars, whereas the microwave does not. So only use this in a pinch!

Make them gluten free!

Want to make these vegan sweet potato brownies gluten free? It’s an easy swap for the flour! Using the sweet potato lets you use much less flour than a traditional brownie. There’s only 1/2 cup flour in the entire pan! Here are a few swaps for the flour:

Try oat flour (or make your own). Oat flour is our favorite gluten-free flour: it makes for beautifully delicious gluten free goods like healthy pumpkin bread or oatmeal pancakes. It’s easy to make, too: just whiz oats in a blender or food processor until they become powdery. It’s an easy swap here.
Or use your favorite gluten free flour. Most 1-for-1 gluten free flour blends will work here!

Let us know what you try in the comments!

Are these vegan sweet potato brownies…healthy?

You’ll never miss the traditional butter and eggs in these vegan sweet potato brownies. Almond butter and olive oil stand in for the butter, and the sweet potato gives them just the right texture. But can they be considered healthy? Here’s what to know:

These are a treat: they’ve got lots of sugar! Don’t be fooled: these are a treat food for sure.
Sweet potato adds fiber, Vitamin A and Vitamin C. Brownies don’t normally have fiber and vitamins, so that’s a plus! One pound of sweet potatoes has 357% of the daily recommendation for Vitamin A and 13 grams of fiber.
Almond butter adds protein and heart-healthy fats. Instead of butter, almond butter adds plant-based protein and makes these a filling treat.

Bottom line: These vegan sweet potato brownies are not a health food, but they’re a healthier treat when compared to a standard brownie.

This sweet potato brownies recipe is…

Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free. For gluten-free, use oat flour.