Are you ready for a fiesta? This Mexican Avocado Salad is the perfect way to brighten up any gathering! Packed with bold, colourful flavours and easy to make ahead of time, it’s sure to be a hit at your next get-together. Get ready for some tasty fun!
This salad is jam-packed with vibrant, colourful ingredients and delicious flavours – black beans, sweet corn, crunchy veggies and a zippy lime, chilli and coriander (cilantro) dressing. It’s the perfect way to brighten up your lunch or dinner.
Want to keep the fiesta happening? Try our sensational Fiesta Salad or our vibrant Garbanzo Bean Salad.
What Makes This A Mexican Salad?
Mexican cuisine is thought to be spicy and heavy, but traditionally it has deep earthy flavours (beans and corn) that are matched with refreshing light flavours (herbs, veggies and citrus).
In this summer salad, we have used Mexican classics such as beans, corn, avocado, coriander/cilantro, lime and cumin.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Avocado – the star of this Mexican salad, it adds creaminess and healthy fats, which boosts its satiety (makes you feel fuller for longer).
- Tomatoes – we found some pretty little mini tomatoes for this salad, but you can use cherry tomatoes, mini Roma tomatoes, or diced-up regular tomatoes will also work.
- Beans – form the base of this salad. We have used black beans, but you could use any beans that take your fancy – red kidney beans, black-eyed peas, or any combination.
- Corn –to make things easy, we have used canned sweet corn, but you can also use frozen corn that has been defrosted and fresh corn that has been cooked until tender.
- Red capsicum/bell pepper –added for some sweet colourful crunch. Use any coloured pepper that you have on hand; we like red because it is sweeter.
- Red onion – for some colourful pungent flavour, swap for any onion that you like or leave it out if you are not a fan.
- Coriander/cilantro – for some herby flavour, if you find it tastes soapy, then swap for some parsley.
- The Dressing – we have shaken up a simple dressing with fresh lime juice, and olive oil dressing and added some spices – cumin, smoked paprika and added some optional chilli powder. For a creamier dressing, try our Creamy Cajun Dressing or our Avocado Ranch Dressing.
How To Make It
Step 1 – Prepare the Ingredients
Place the black beans, and corn kernels in a colander, give them a good rinse under cold water in the sink and let them drain.
Rinse the mini tomatoes, and if you are using cherry or mini Roma tomatoes, slice them in half. You could also dice up regular tomatoes instead.
Wash the red capsicum, remove the core and seeds, and then chop into small dice.
Rinse, peel and trim the red onion, then dice it up finely.
Give the coriander a good wash, shake off the excess water and pat dry, then roughly chop it up.
Wash, pit, peel and dice up the avocado.
Step 2 – Shake-Up the Dressing
Grab a small glass jar and add all the dressing ingredients, season with salt and pepper, and then give it a good shake to combine.
Step 3 – Assemble Your Salad
Throw everything into a large bowl, season with salt and pepper.
Pour on the dressing and give it a good mix. Taste it and adjust the flavourings to your liking.
Pop it all into a salad bowl serve and enjoy!
Serving Suggestions 🍽
This a versatile Mexican bean salad recipe that you can use to jazz up your next barbecue, as it pairs well with grilled meat.
Serve it as part of a Mexican fiesta buffet or as a side dish with store-bought chicken for a stress-free dinner. Try it as…
- A great side for Taco Night as it is so easy to prepare.
- A quick dinner with 30-minute Mexican Enchiladas.
- A vegan option with vegan quesadillas.
- A side to Mexican ribs.
Tips and Questions
Can It Be Made Ahead?
You can make the salad and the dressing up to a day in advance and keep it covered and chilled in your fridge.
As avocados brown easily you will need to add it just before serving. Adding lots of lemon juice helps to stop them from browning.
How Can I Make It a Complete Meal?
Add some grilled or shredded chicken, some seared steak or your favourite grain such as quinoa, farro or some cooked pasta.
Is This Salad Packable?
If you are packing this salad for lunches, picnics or to take to a potluck.
Make up the salad without the avocado. Cut up the avocado and add it just before it gets served.
Dietary Information
This Mexican bean salad suits those that are Dairy-Free; Gluten-Free; Nut-Free; Vegan; and Vegetarian.
Each serving has 350 calories with a net carb count of 9 grams.
More Healthy Avocado Recipes
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 1 medium avocado (approximately 350 grams grams, 12.4 ounces)
- 1 can black kidney beans (approximately 400 grams, 15 ounces)
- 1 can sweet corn kernels (approximately 400 grams, 15 ounces)
- 250 grams small tomatoes (we used mini tomatoes, but cherry, or mini Roma are fine., approximately 8.8 ounces)
- 1 small red capsicum/bell pepper (¾ cup, approximately 135 grams, 4.8 ounces)
- ½ small red onion (¼ cup, approximately 60 grams, 2.12 ounces)
- 1 bunch coriander/cilantro (1 cup chopped)
- Sea salt and cracked black pepper
- ⅓ cup lime juice
- ½ cup olive oil
- ½ teaspoons ground cumin
- ½ teaspoons smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoons chilli powder (optional)
Instructions
- Place the kidney beans, corn kernels, and mini tomatoes in a colander and give them a good rinse under cold water in the sink.
- Wash and chop the red capsicum into a small dice, discarding the core and seeds. Peel and trim the red onion, then also dice it.
- Thoroughly wash the coriander and give it a good shake to remove the excess water, patting it dry before roughly chopping it.
- Place all the dressing ingredients in a small glass jar and season it, shaking to combine. Pit and peel and dice the avocado.
- Add everything to a large mixing bowl, season, pour over the dressing, mix well, and adjust the flavourings to your liking.
- Arrange in a salad bowl, top with the sliced chilli, and enjoy!
