One of the first recipes we ever blogged here on The Taste Place (in April 2009), was a chilled black bean and corn salad recipe (go ahead and laugh at the quality of our photos back then). the original recipe is good, and we made it a couple times. But, once I got back on Weight Watchers, I had to omit this dish from our cooking repertoire because it uses way too much oil.
For a couple years now, I have been regularly making a lighter version of this salad, and my family actually prefers it to the original. I prepare it a bit differently every time, depending on what veggies I have on hand. But I never use any oil, and my dressing is super simple — just fresh lime juice, salt and pepper. I omit the cayenne and go with mild Anaheim peppers when making it for the kids.
We frequently serve this as an accompaniment to many of our favorite Southwestern or Mexican dishes. It is perfect for hot summer nights and for picnics, and can be prepared ahead of time. The leftovers make an excellent healthy work day lunch when tossed with a cup of shredded smoked chicken (Jeff always smokes extra and freezes it in individual servings).
Some of our favorite dishes to serve with this salad:
- Grilled Chipotle Shrimp Tacos
- New Mexico Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas
- Pescado Veracruz
- Slowcooker Barbacoa Beef
- Slowcooker Carnitas
- Slowcooker Chicken Tacos
- 1-1/2 cups frozen sweet corn, thawed and drained
- 1 15oz can of low-sodium black beans, rinsed and drained
- 2 jalapenos (or ½ an Anaheim pepper), diced and seeded
- 3 green onions or ⅛ cup red onion, diced
- ½ cup tomatoes, diced
- ¼ cup cilantro, coursely chopped
- Fresh squeezed lime juice (from 2 large limes)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Toss all diced and chopped vegetables, and cilantro, into a medium bowl.
- Add lime juice, salt and pepper (adjust to taste).
- Mix together well, then cover and chill in the fridge until ready to serve.
Nutrition info calculated from MyFitnessPal.
