Black Bean and Pepper Salad with Cilantro and Lime

I love this Black Bean and Pepper Salad with Cilantro and Lime and this tasty salad combination is low-glycemic, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, and South Beach Diet Phase One! Use the Diet-Type Index to find more recipes like this one.

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Black Bean and Pepper Salad with Cilantro and Lime is something I could eat every day all summer long.  There’s a generous amount of chopped red and yellow peppers, red onion, and cilantro and only one can of beans, making this a great low-glycemic diet choice.  Today’s the 4th of July celebration in the U.S., and this would be easy to throw together for a holiday pot-luck.

Black beans are such a great pantry ingredient, and this simple salad with black beans, red and yellow bell pepper, red onion, lime, and cilantro has all the flavors that make me happy. I love the colors in this salad too. For best flavor, mix the dressing and let the beans marinate for a while (or at least while you chop the other ingredients) but even if you’re in a rush like I was and forget to marinate the beans, it will still taste pretty great!

Drain the black beans into a colander placed in the sink, then rinse with cold water until no more foam appears and let beans drain. If you have a fresh lime, some lime zest added to the dressing really brightens the flavor. After you mix all the dressing ingredients, marinate the drained beans in part of the dressing mixture if you have time. I used Rick Bayless’ cilantro chopping method where you keep the bunch of cilantro together and thinly slice the leaves up to where the stems start. Also chop some red onion.

Chop peppers the same size as the beans, and mix the marinated beans and peppers together. Mix the red onion and chopped cilantro into the bean and pepper mixture, then add the rest of the dressing, season with salt and fresh ground black pepper and serve.

More Delicious Salads with Black Beans:

Chicken, Black Bean, Avocado, and Radish Salad with Lime and Cilantro ~ Kalyn’s Kitchen
Black Bean, Quinoa, and Red Pepper Salad ~ The Perfect Pantry
Black Bean Salad with Jicama, Tomatoes, Cilantro, and Lime ~ Kalyn’s Kitchen

Print Recipe

Black Bean and Pepper Salad with Cilantro and Lime

Yield: 4 servings

Total Time: 20 minutes, plus marinating time

Prep Time: 20 minutes, plus marinating time

Black Bean and Pepper Salad with Cilantro and Lime is a colorful salad that’s perfect for a meatless side dish.

Ingredients:

Ingredients:

• 1 can black beans, rinsed well and drained
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1 yellow pepper, chopped (could use any combination of colors for the pepper, or use 2 red peppers)
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped

Dressing Ingredients:

• 2 T lime juice (fresh lime juice recommended)
• 2 T extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 tsp. ground Chipotle pepper (you could use green Tabasco in place of the Chipotle pepper)
• 1/2 tsp. mild chile powder (New Mexico chile powder is best)
• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder
• zest of one lime (optional, but recommended)
• Vege-sal or salt to taste
• fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Put black beans in a colander placed in the sink and rinse with cold water until no more foam appears.
2. Let beans drain, preferably 30 minutes or so, until beans are no longer wet. (If you’re rushed for time, you could blot them dry with paper towels.)
3. Mix dressing ingredients.
4. Put beans and dressing into a plastic bowl with a snap-on lid, put lid on, and turn bowl over a few times until the beans are well coated with the dressing.
5. Let the beans marinate in the dressing for an hour or so if you have time, or at least while you chop the other ingredients.
6. Chop peppers and onion into pieces about 1/2 inch square. (I was aiming for the beans, peppers, and onions to be approximately the same size.)
7. Wash cilantro and dry well (I used a salad spinner) then chop coarsely.
8. In large bowl, gently combine beans, peppers, and onion. (If mixture seems dry you can add a tiny bit more olive oil and lime juice at this point.)
9. Season to taste with Vege-sal or salt and fresh ground pepper.
10.  Stir in cilantro and serve.
11. This will keep for a day or two in the refrigerator, although it’s best when the cilantro is still crisp. However, I taste-tested it on my friend Robin when it had been in the refrigerator overnight and she gave it a very enthusiastic thumbs up.

Notes:

This recipe created by Kalyn with inspiration from a blog that no longer exists.

All images and text ©Kalyn Denny for Kalyn's Kitchen.

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Everything in this Black Bean and Pepper Salad with Cilantro and Lime is a perfect low-glycemic ingredient, making this a great recipe for any phase of the South Beach Diet. (Remember that dried beans are limited to 1/3 to 1/2 cup serving for phase one.) If you want a salad that’s lower in carbs, use less beans and more other ingredients, but salads with beans are probably not suitable for most low-carb eating plans.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use the Recipes by Diet Type photo index pages to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You can also Follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

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