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10-minute black bean and corn salsa is loaded with Southwest flavor and texture. Scoop over grilled meats or serve with tortilla chips and watch it disappear at your next gathering.
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Why you'll love this recipe
This is the 10-minute appetizer you can pack up and take anywhere! This scrumptious Mexican black bean and corn salsa is easy to make and guaranteed to disappear. Whole black beans and loads of fresh produce combined with flavors of cilantro, jalapeño, and lime make this a party in a bowl, so you better grab the chips!
When making black bean corn salsa, you can simply crack open canned beans to get this recipe going. The rest involves chopping produce. All of the salsa ingredients are common grocery store items, which makes it pretty much always available and budget-friendly. It's a delicious cousin to black eye pea salad.
Lastly, black bean salsa is always a winner as a snack or appetizer with tortilla chips. I also love it scooped over loaded steak nachos and taco bowls, or as a side next to a chunky guacamole or chipotle brown rice. So healthy and delicious!
Ingredient notes
Get ingredient amounts in the printable recipe card below.
- black beans - Use canned black beans or cook dried beans in an hour with pressure cooked black beans.
- corn - Use fresh, frozen, canned, or cooked whole corn for this recipe.
- red bell pepper or chopped tomato - Bell peppers are perfect when it's not tomato season. They add crunch and color!
- red onions - These are colorful, crunchy, and add the right amount of heat for this salsa. Substitute with green, yellow, or white onions.
- fresh jalapeño peppers - Or Serrano peppers. It's a good idea to test the heat before adding to the salsa.
- fresh cilantro - Always wash and dry before chopping and adding to salsa.
- fresh lime - Use the zest and juice of fresh lime for more lime flavor.
- salt and pepper - to taste
- avocado - Wait to add until ready to serve to prevent browning.
How to make this recipe
- Place well-drained black beans, corn, bell pepper, onion, jalapeno, cilantro, and lime in a mixing bowl.
- Cover and refrigerate up to 2 days.
- Prior to serving, toss ingredients together and add salt and pepper, to taste. Add diced avocado and gently toss to combine. Serve chilled.
Recipe tips
- Always drain and rinse the black beans thoroughly, whether they're canned or scratch-cooked, because any excess liquid will coat the other salsa ingredients and make it mushy.
- When using fresh jalapeno peppers or Serrano peppers, always test the spiciness before adding to the salsa. No two peppers are ever the same and you don't want to make the salsa unpleasant for anyone.
- When using tomatoes in black bean salsa, remove excess moisture and seeds from the tomatoes before chopping. This will preserve the texture of the salsa.
- If you don't have a ripe avocado, feel free to leave it out. Black bean and corn salsa holds its own with or without avocado. You can always add more bell pepper or corn to prevent losing volume.
Make ahead instructions
To make black bean and corn salsa ahead, place black beans, corn, bell pepper, jalapeno, cilantro, and lime in mixing bowl. You can even wait to combine until ready to serve. Cover and refrigerate up to 2 days in advance. To serve, add salt and pepper, to taste. Then add diced avocado, tossing gently to combine.
More salsa recipes
Why not serve more than one salsa at your next game day event? These salsa recipes are tested, tasted, and crowd-approved!
- 5 Minute Blender Salsa
- Peach Salsa
- Mango Avocado Salsa
📖 Recipe
Black Bean Corn Salsa Recipe
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When scaling the recipe 2x or 3x, the gray ingredient note stays the same. Adjust quantities accordingly.
Ingredients
- 1 (15-ounce can) Black Beans, drained & rinsed (or 1 ½ cups cooked beans)
- 1 cup Frozen Corn, thawed
- 1 small Red Bell Pepper, diced, about 1 cup
- ¼ medium Red Onion, diced, about ½ cup
- 1 Jalapeño Pepper or Serrano Pepper, seeded and minced
- 2 Limes, zested and juiced, about ¼ cup juice
- ¼ cup Fresh Cilantro, chopped
- ½ teaspoon Sea Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
- ¼ teaspoon Ground Cumin
- Optional add-ins: Diced avocado, canned diced tomatoes, or fresh tomatoes
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a medium sized mixing bowl. Gently stir until combined.
- Cover and refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Serve chilled with tortilla chips, or scoop over nachos, tacos, and burritos.
Recipe Notes
Equipment
- citrus squeezer optional
Donna says
Oh I love this as an afternoon snack before dinner is ready. So easy to whip up a big batch and have it hanging out in the fridge for a bit of a nibble instead of reaching for something I shouldn't!
Traci Antonovich says
Thanks Donna! It is the perfect snack food...have used it that way many many times 🙂
Annissa says
What a beautiful salsa! The flavor combination makes my mouth water. Avocado is one of my favorite ingredients. This looks so satisfying, I don’t think I even need dippers for it. I might just spoon it over a salad and call it lunch!
Traci Antonovich says
Thanks so much, Annissa! Love hearing those words 🙂
Debra says
10 minutes and loaded with homemade flavor? I'm in!! So simple, yet so much better than jarred salsa. Love that you can prep it in advance and just add the avocado last minute. Easy clean up when you have guests or take to someone else's house.
Traci Antonovich says
Thanks Debra! Yep, all the flavor is in this one! 🙂
Carmy says
This looks perfect for game day! I love a good salsa, it sounds like such a refreshing bite! I wish I had a bowl of this right now actually.
Traci Antonovich says
Thanks Carmy! Come on over! 🙂
Sean says
This is nicely timed for me! I'm looking to use beans more and more (I love how fast I can have them ready in my Instant Pot), and I'm looking for better, healthier snacks. Great idea about leaving the avocado out until you're closer to serving time. I can see how this would last quite a bit longer minus that ingredient. Cheers!
Traci Antonovich says
Thanks so much, Sean! We love cooking beans in our IP too...doing it right now, in fact! 🙂 Yep, this recipe gets ALL the beans into your diet. Cheers to you too!
Marisa Franca says
Your salsa looks delicious !! There is something about a Tex-Mex appetizer that no-one can resist. In fact we have all of the ingredients - they would be perfect for the Super Bowl party. I know the boys won't be able to resist anything with black beans and corn. Just give them some nacho scoopers and they're in hog heaven.
Traci Antonovich says
Thanks so much, Marisa! Haha, I'm right there with the boys...I inhale this stuff! 🙂
Lisa says
Traci, the fresh flavors and healthy ingredients in this salsa look great for dipping, but also to spoon over a piece of grilled chicken or fish. I have a similar recipe, but it doesn't have corn and includes a can of ro-tel. We make it any time we have company and people just plow through it. I'm excited to have a new version I can share. I am making up my shopping list now!
Traci Antonovich says
Yay Lisa...I'm excited to hear it! This is absolutely one of our fav recipes of all time! Hope you love it like we do 🙂
Gloria says
I always have cans of black beans in the house. This sounds delicious...and I know it would be a hit on Mexican night. What a great "take along" to a pot luck too.
Traci Antonovich says
Thanks Gloria! Yep, perfect pot luck dish for any Mexican themed event! 🙂
Danielle says
This just sounds so fresh and delicious. Plus being healthy is a nice bonus 🙂
Traci Antonovich says
Thanks Danielle...you're right...super bonus 🙂
sue says
I've been known to make entire meals out of salsa, so this is right up my alley!
Traci Antonovich says
Thanks Sue! I'm right there with you 🙂
Denisse says
Yum! I'd have a hard time sharing this with anyone else!
Traci Antonovich says
Haha thanks Denisse...that's a nice compliment 🙂
Elaine says
One of the things I most love about mid-April to early May is all of the delicious and fun Mexican recipes that come out! Your recipe definitely falls into the delicious and fun category!! I can not wait to try your recipe!!
Traci Antonovich says
Aww thanks Elaine! I'm right there with you on the Mexican recipe blast! 🙂
April says
Black beans are my favorite and we love them in salsas and many other foods. This would be perfect with fish too. Yum!
Traci Antonovich says
Thanks April...they're a favorite of ours too! So versatile! 🙂
Beth says
This salsa looks perfect! I love beans in my salsa. Absolutely, why not for dinner?
Traci Antonovich says
Haha thanks, Beth! Love beans in salsa too! 🙂
Sandi says
You are making me want to eat salsa for breakfast...that closeup of the chip with salsa, OMG!
Traci Antonovich says
Haha Sandi thanks...I love your comment! 🙂 It gets me every time too LOL
Jenn L says
This deliciousness would totally spoil my appetite for dinner too but WORTH IT!!!
Traci Antonovich says
LOL Thanks Jenn! I may or may not have eaten this for dinner...and nothing else...except chips 😉
georgie says
mmmmm yum! i never would have thought to put black beans in a salsa! love it! looks really fresh and flavourful!
Traci Antonovich says
Thanks Georgie! It's a favorite treat for sure! 🙂
Christina says
Love this ingredient list and how simple this is!! Perfect as a dip for a little Mexican night or basically all the nights!! And it makes such an awesome topping too!
Traci Antonovich says
Yay thanks Christina! I'm with you on ALL the nights 🙂
April says
I love beans and love corn so I know black bean and corn salad must be good. Is it okay to use canned corn instead of frozen?
Traci Antonovich says
April, absolutely! Fresh, frozen, or canned works perfectly. I'll make a note of it in the recipe...in fact, I think I'll take out the "frozen" part LOL. No need for it to be that specific. Thanks for asking 🙂
Rae says
I am going to make this salsa to put on top of tostadas tonight for dinner. Looks nice and spicy.
Traci Antonovich says
Great! Hope you love it like I do! It'll taste even better the next day 🙂
Rebecca says
I bet this is delish! I want some right now!
Traci Antonovich says
Thanks Rebecca, wish I had a whole bowl of it right now...I'd share 🙂
Veena Azmanov says
Wow, this recipe looks delicious! I really like all the ingredients in this recipe! This is the perfect for me! I definitely want to try it ! Thank you for sharing this great recipe!
Traci Antonovich says
Thanks Veena! You're so very welcome...hope you get to try it out! 🙂
Stephanie says
This is all my favorite ingredients in one Yummy bowl. And that's so cool how you got paid to play with food.
Traci Antonovich says
Thanks Stephanie! I'm right there with you 🙂 And yep, gotta love getting paid to be in the kitchen!
Emily says
Hi there! I could have sworn I've been to this website before but after browsing through
some of the post I realized it's new to me. Nonetheless, I'm definitely delighted I found it and I'll be book-marking and
checking back frequently!
Traci Antonovich says
Hey there, Emily. Thanks so much for taking the time to comment. Hope you're loving the recipes here! Any questions, lemme know 😉
Heather says
How does this taste and look as a make ahead dish?
Traci Antonovich says
Great question! It holds up perfect for 48 hours or more, as long as you don't add any avocados until you are ready to serve. At that point, dice your avos and give them a quick toss with the salad.