Black Bean and Corn Salsa

Name: Black Bean and Corn Salsa
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 15 min
Ingredients: 1 15- ounce can black beans; 1 15- ounce can corn (or about 1 ½ cups frozen corn, thawed); 1 small red onion (finely chopped); 1 large tomato (chopped); 1 jalapeno pepper (finely diced); 1 red pepper (chopped); ¼ - ½ cup chopped cilantro; 1 garlic clove (minced or pushed through garlic press); ½ - 1 teaspoon salt; ½ teaspoon cumin; ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper; Juice from 1 lime

By Inger Apr 27, 2024 Appetizers, Beans, corn 9 Comments

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With black beans, corn, peppers and cilantro, this Black Bean and Corn Salsa is a colorful, tasty, and nutritious appetizer or side. Eat a rainbow!

Welcome to my sister’s go to recipe when she brings an appetizer. She’s a registered dietitian and can be counted on to turn what is often a not-very-healthy course into something that’s nutritious–and still a lot of fun!

Now I admit I’m partial to fruit salsas like my Mango Pineapple Salsa. But variety’s the spice of life. And this week I decided I’d rather have a savory black bean salsa, instead of one based on fruit or tomatoes.

My husband loved it for snacking in front of the football draft! And I thought it was great as a Cinco de Mayo dress rehearsal!

Why You’ll Love This!

Tasty. Savory with a little kick of heat, this appetizer will make your taste buds happy.

Nutritious. This provides lot of fiber and a little nutrition from, well, almost everything in it!

Easy. Do a little chopping, mix a few ingredients, open a bag of chips and you’re done!

What You’ll Need

Ingredient Notes

Black beans. With the corn this forms the bulk of the salsa. You can use home cooked beans (from dried) or canned beans. You can also substitute another type of bean if needed.
Corn. With the corn this forms the bulk of the salsa. I used canned corn but I have used frozen or cut it from the cob in the past.
Red onion. This adds savory flavor.
Tomato. This adds flavor and nutrition.
Jalapeno pepper. This adds a little kick of spice.
Red pepper. This adds flavor and nutrition.
Cilantro. This helps the salsa taste like salsa!
Garlic, cumin. These provide a flavor boost.
Salt, pepper. Salt and pepper serve to enhance the flavor.
Lime. Lime adds a tart note and more “salsa” flavor.

Special Tools

No special tools required!

Step by Step Directions

Mix the salsa ingredients.

Serve with chips or other dippers.

How to Serve

Black Bean and Corn Salsa is delightful as an appetizer or as a side with any number of dishes.

As an appetizer, the classic dipper is, of course, tortilla chips. But go with crackers, pita chips or whatever you have. Or make it extra healthy by serving with vegetables. In that case, choices that you can cut wider such as cucumber or zucchini chips will work best to hold the salsa.

And don’t forget to serve this as a tasty side or condiment. Perfect, of course, with Mexican or Southwest food, salsas can also complement meat or seafood. I’ve done Mango Salsa & Pork Chops, Broiled Salmon with Fruit Salsa, and even Vegan Breakfast Tacos with Pomegranate Salsa.

Corn and Black Bean Salsa meets all many special diet requirements just as is. This includes vegetarian, vegan, dairy-free, and gluten-free. I guess this makes it a good item to bring to almost any event!

Tips & FAQs

Can I add avocado? If I’d had an avocado, I might very well have chopped and added it, so sure. If you do, remember that cut avocados tend to brown, so it won’t keep as well (though the lime juice will help).

What if I like things hotter? One side effect of using natural ingredients is that they aren’t all the same. So if you happen to get a jalapeno pepper that’s a little on the mild side, you may feel this needs more kick. In that case you can add more jalapeno, add a pinch of cayenne or a little bit of hot sauce. Not a problem!

Can I use frozen pepper? Surprisingly yes! You can almost never use a frozen fruit or vegetable in something that is served raw because the cell membranes break down and they turn mushy. But chopped peppers are a delightful exception to this.

Celebrating Cinco de Mayo

Blackstone Mexican Street Corn from Jen Around the World
Mangonada Float from Pandemonium Noshery
Pork Tacos with Jalapeno and Pineapple Slaw from Hezzi-D’s Recipe Box
Skillet Mexican Beef and Rice from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
Taco Casa Burrito Boats (Retro Copycat) from Palatable Pastime
Tortitas di Santa Clara (Pumpkin Seed Cookies) from That Recipe

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