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Black Bean Salad For A Crowd

Fresh, earthy flavors make this Black Bean Salad with corn, tomatoes and a light lemon dressing a delicious side dish or salad to feed a crowd. 

Side view of extra large batch of black bean salad with corn, cherry tomatoes, cilantro, green onions and a light lemon dressing in a sturdy aluminum pan.

This simple salad recipe is great to enjoy as a salad with grilled pork tenderloin or marinated chicken or a healthy and hearty snack when served with tortilla chips. 

Healthy Side Dish To Share

A light dressing with a lemon undertone and a gentle combination of spices perfectly accent the black beans and corn to make this Black Bean Salad recipe stand out.

Our neighbor made this for their daughter’s graduation party buffet and the fresh flavors were so enjoyable. As soon as she shared the recipe we made it for our family reunion.

Black beans and corn hold their shape well. Tomatoes and cilantro are more perishable, so they are the limiting factor in how far ahead the salad can be prepared.

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Close up serving spoon full of fresh and flavorful black bean and corn salad with tomatoes over top of a bit batch of the salad.

This black bean salad can be made a couple days ahead of time because there is no avocado like in our Corn and Black Bean Salsa. Just stir to refresh the dressing before serving. 

Ever since our Pasta Salad For A Crowd became so popular on Pinterest we’ve been on the look out for more budget friendly side dish recipes to share at a potluck or picnic.

Overhead view of a pig pan of a black bean salad recipe on a brown wooden counter top.

Ingredients Needed And Substitutions:

  • Black Beans – cans work great, use a strainer to rinse and fully drain.
  • Corn – we like a mixture of yellow and white corn drained in a strainer. Cans are more convenient, but frozen sweet corn that’s been blanched works great too.
  • Cherry Tomatoes – grape tomatoes are an acceptable substitute.
  • Green Onions – this big batch takes about 3 to 4 bunches.
  • Cilantro – one and a half large bunches works well, you can always add extra cilantro.
  • Olive Oil – or another lightly flavored oil.
  • Lemon Juice – Two lemons fully squeezed create a wonder fresh flavor, I try to avoid bottled lemon juice if at all possible as it often has an off flavor.
  • Seasonings – Kosher salt, black pepper, white pepper, cayenne pepper, celery salt and ground mustard.
Ingredients to make a black bean salad are cherry tomatoes, fresh cilantro, olive oil, black pepper, green onions, lemons, cans of black beans, cans of corn, red cayenne pepper, white pepper, ground mustard and celery salt on a brown counter.

Step By Step Instructions

Wash the cilantro and allow to air dry. I like to use my salad spinner to speed up this process.

Rinse and slice the green onions. Rinse and quarter the tomatoes.

Open the cans of corn and beans. Drain and rinse the black beans. Pour into a large mixing bowl.

Large mixing bowl with sections of a can of drained black beans, a can of corn, quartered cherry tomatoes, sliced green onions and cilantro on a wooden countertop.

Drain the corn and add to the bowl along with the other chopped produce.

Black Bean and Corn Salad Dressing

Squeeze lemon juice into a small dish. Add extra virgin olive oil.

Two dishes of olive oil and fresh lemon juice next to a smaller dish with salt, black pepper, dry mustard, celery salt, cayenne pepper, white pepper on a brown counter top.

Add spices, salt and pepper and whisk it all together.

Do not refrigerate the dressing, it needs to be added to the bean salad immediately.

Whisk making a light, lemon and olive oil dressing.

Pour over the black bean mixture and gently fold in until mixed.

Refrigerate before serving to allow the flavors time to blend together.

Wooden spoon mixing cilantro and green onion slices into a black bean salad in a large white mixing bowl.

Serve chilled as a plain side dish or with the scoops tortilla chips. Just avoid thin chips as just like our Mexican Corn Dip this is a heartier dip that needs a sturdy chip.

Serving spoon in a batch of make ahead black bean and corn salad for a crowd.

Keep the salad tightly covered or in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 3 to 5 days after mixing it up. The fresher the ingredients at preparation the longer it will last.

More Potluck Recipes To Enjoy

Lemon Delight has easy layers of flavor and is great for warm weather.

Mom’s Meaty Crock Pot Baked Beans always popular and people always ask for the recipe!

Banana Split Cake is cool, creamy and so pretty with maraschino cherries on top.

Pay Day Crunch is a homemade version of a popular candy bar that’s fun to share.

An economical side dish salsa made with black beans and corn creating earthy flavors that are complimented with fresh tomatoes, green onions and cilantro and coated with a light lemon and olive oil dressing in an aluminum pan.

Black Bean Salad For A Crowd

Servings 20 servings
Author: Jennifer
Fresh, earthy flavors make this Black Bean Salad with corn, tomatoes and a light lemon dressing a delicious side dish or salad to feed a crowd.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 0 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients
  

Salad

  • 4 15.5 ounce can Black Beans rinsed and drained
  • 2 10 ounce cans Corn drained
  • 20 ounces Cherry Tomatoes quartered
  • 2 cups Green Onions sliced
  • 2/3 cup Cilantro chopped

Dressing

  • 2/3 cup Olive Oil
  • 1/2 cup Lemon Juice
  • 3 teaspoons Kosher Salt
  • 1 teaspoon Celery Salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon White Pepper
  • 1 teaspoon Ground Mustard

Instructions
 

  • In a large mixing bowl stir together salad ingredients.
  • In a small mixing bowl whisk together dressing ingredients.
  • Pour dressing over salad, stir and refrigerate before serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 75kcalCarbohydrates: 2gProtein: 1gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gSodium: 470mgPotassium: 102mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 286IUVitamin C: 11mgCalcium: 12mgIron: 0.4mg

Nutritional Disclaimer

“Plowing Through Life” is not a dietitian or nutrition professional. Any nutritional information shared is an estimate and can vary greatly depending on specific products are used. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator of your choice.

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