Vibrant and Tasty Fiesta Salad

This fresh, delicious, and super healthy Fiesta Salad with beans and veggies works as a light lunch, side dish, appetizer, or snack anytime. Check out the reviews to see how much readers love this one!

Photo byThriving Home

4 Reasons to Make Fiesta Salad

1. Amazing Flavor & Color: The lime flavor is front and center (mmmm!), the colorful vegetables and fresh herbs make it pop visually, the beans add satisfying protein and fiber, and the peppers give crunch.
2. Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free: Whether you’re watching your carbs or avoiding gluten and dairy, this salad is perfect.
3. Popular Appetizer: This recipe, like our Asian Turkey Meatballs and Chicken Lettuce Wraps, is a crowd-pleasing yet healthier appetizer.
4. Make Ahead: I’d recommend making this big batch on the weekend and then having it in the fridge for healthy snacks and lunches during the week. The flavors get better as they hang out longer.

Ingredients

Gather these fresh, colorful, and nutrient-dense ingredients for the salad.

Photo byThriving Home

Salad:

• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 red or orange bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
• 1/2 red onion, minced
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 1 can corn, drained (or use 1 cup of fresh corn cut off the cob)
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 bunch cilantro, minced (sub: fresh parsley)

Dressing:

• zest of 1 lime
• juice of 2 limes
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (sub: avocado oil)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, plus more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Optional Add-Ins:

• hot sauce, to taste (optional)
• 1–2 avocados, diced (optional)

Ingredient Notes:

• If you don’t like cilantro, fresh parsley can be used instead. Do not use dried herbs in this salad–it just won’t be the same.
• Feel free to use almost any other canned beans in place of the black beans or black-eyed peas. Some ideas: chickpeas, kidney beans, white beans, or red beans.
• For the dressing, you’ll need: fresh lime zest and juice, extra virgin olive oil (sub: avocado oil), minced garlic, honey, and a few pantry seasonings. It’s simple yet fresh and tasty. If you want a little creamier dressing, try our Cilantro Lime Viniagrette.
• The fresher your produce is, the better this salad will be.

Photo byThriving Home

Tip for Making the Chopping Easier

This isn’t a difficult recipe, but be prepared to chop, chop, chop. I got a new chef’s knife for Christmas that I’ve been waiting my whole life for (I didn’t know I was, but I was). It makes chopping vegetable after vegetable a delightful task as it quickly slices and dices anything in its way.

America’s Test Kitchen, my go-to source for unbiased ratings and reviews of cookware and kitchen equipment, highly recommends this particular knife. The best news is that it’s very affordable on Amazon! I tell everyone to get it.

How to Serve Fiesta Chopped Salad

Serve this salad with your favorite tortilla chips or some sturdy crackers. I actually discovered some very additive, gluten-free crackers at a few grocery stores called CrunchMaster Multi-Seed Crackers that pair perfectly!

Other Salads You Might Like

• Autumn Chopped Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette
• Quinoa Tabbouleh
• Mexican Chopped Salad
• Southwest Chicken Salad