Fabulous 4 Bean Fiesta Salad

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Fabulous 4 Bean Fiesta Salad 🌱 A festive, flavorful and colorful combo of delicious beans, peppers, red onion, corn and cilantro in a light & zesty citrus dressing. Perfect for potlucks, patio parties, picnics & outdoor entertaining! GF. Oil-free option.

A bowl of 4 bean salad made with kidney, black, pinto and garbanzo beans, red and orange bell peppers, corn, red onion and cilantro.

Many years ago, long before I became a vegan recipe blogger, I was on a mission to find inspiration for an easy, nutritious and delicious vegan dish to throw together for a potluck. I decided to make my favorite southwestern quinoa salad, but I also wanted to make a salad with protein that didn't require cooking, so I searched bean salad recipes. That's when a ran across a Mexican Bean Salad recipe with tons of reviews on Allrecipes.

I decided to give it a go. I liked it enough that I wanted to try it again, but with some alterations. First, I increased the variety of beans. The original recipe included far more onion than I like, so I cut it in half. Instead of green bell pepper, which tends to be bitter, I opted for sweet red, orange or yellow bell peppers.

The dressing is what I tweaked the most. The original Mexican Bean Salad recipe specifies ½ cup olive oil and 2 tablespoons sugar. That's way more oil than I would ever use, so I reduced the oil by 75% and replaced the sugar with just 1 tablespoon maple syrup. I also cut the salt by two-thirds and adjusted the seasonings to my liking.

It turned out fantastic! The combination of tastes and textures are so incredibly good. Soft chewy beans, sweet corn, crisp fresh peppers, red onion and cilantro tossed in a mildly spicy, citrusy & lightly sweet dressing creates a flavor fiesta in your mouth.

Table of Contents

Ingredient Notes
Instructions
FAQ's
Recipe
Food Safety
Comments

Why you should try this recipe

It's absolutely delicious!
Many of the ingredients are items you likely have on hand
Contains lots of fiber, protein, Vitamin C & other healthy nutrients
The perfect dish for potlucks, patio parties, picnics and outdoor entertaining!
Easy to substitute with other ingredients as needed
So colorful and appealing - it's a crowd pleaser!

Ingredient Notes

Ingredients to make four bean salad including pinto, black, kidney, and garbanzo beans, corn, bell pepper, lemons and lime, garlic, spices, maple syrup, cilantro, red wine vinegar and olive oil.

🥕 See the printable recipe below for quantities & details.

Beans - 4 varieties - I use black beans, kidney beans, pinto & garbanzo beans (chickpeas). You can also use cannellini or northern white beans.

Bell peppers - I prefer red, orange or yellow (they're sweeter than green peppers).

Corn kernels - fresh or frozen. It's ok to add the corn while frozen, as it will thaw quickly. The corn should be a bit crisp, not cooked or too soft.

Red onion - finely diced

Cilantro - fresh, chopped or torn into pieces.

Olive oil - (omit if you prefer not to use oil).

Red wine vinegar - You can substitute with white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar

Lime juice - fresh

Lemon juice - fresh

Garlic - minced. Substitute with garlic powder if needed.

Maple syrup - Substitute with sugar or agave nectar if you prefer.

Cumin - Cumin has a strong flavor. Decrease or increase amount per your taste preference. I find 1 teaspoon to be plenty.

Sea salt

Black pepper

Chili powder

Add-in options

Chopped tomatoes or halved cherry tomatoes
Black olives
Lime or lemon zest
Green onions
Jalapeños - seeded & diced
Avocado - add right before serving

Instructions

Step One - Prep the veggies

Diced red and orange bell pepper, red onion and chopped cilantro in bowls.

1. Wash peppers and remove seeds. Dice peppers and onion into small pieces.

A bowl with kidney, pinto, black and garbanzo beans with diced peppers, red onions chopped cilantro.

2. Drain and rinse the beans. Chop cilantro. In a large bowl, combine beans, peppers, corn and onion. Set cilantro aside.

Step Two - Prepare Dressing

4. In a jam jar, salad dressing shaker, cruet or small bowl, combine olive oil, vinegar, lime juice, lemon juice, minced garlic, maple syrup, cumin, salt, pepper and chili powder. Adjust seasonings to taste if needed.

A bowl with 4 bean salad made with red and orange bell peppers, red onion, corn and cilantro.

5. Pour dressing over salad and toss to thoroughly combine. When ready to serve, add chopped cilantro.

FAQ's

How to store bean salad?

This salad will last up to 3 days refrigerated in an airtight container, that is, if you don't gobble it up sooner! I like it best within the first 24 hours while the veggies are crispest & brightest in color.

Why do beans need to be rinsed before using?

In many recipes, there is no need to rinse canned beans. For this 4 bean salad, I like to rinse the beans with water to remove the excess liquid because it can alter the color of the salad.

What are the best beans to use in bean salad?

I love to add a variety of contrasting flavors and color. My favorites are kidney beans, black beans, pinto beans, garbanzo beans (chickpeas) and cannellini beans.

How do you make bean salad from scratch?

With the exception of the canned beans, this recipe is basically prepared from scratch. If you have the time and would prefer to use dried beans, you'll need to prepare them in separate batches. Cooking assorted beans together can cause the varieties of flavors and colors to absorb into the other beans. I find it's a lot quicker and easier simply using canned beans.

Salad lovers rejoice! Be sure to check out these other delish dishes!

A collage of favorite vegan summer salads including lemon artichoke orzo salad, watermelon cucumber salad, southwestern quinoa salad, old fashioned vegan potato salad, watermelon mango pico de gallo. and four bean fiesta salad.

If you love this recipe ★★★★★ please be sure to rate it below! Sharing your experience lets me know that you enjoyed it and will help other readers decide if they should give the recipe a try too. Thanks a bunch!🥕

Recipe

A bowl of fabulous four bean fiesta salad.

Fabulous 4 Bean Fiesta Salad

5 from 4 votes

by Connie🥕

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Prep Time 20

Cook Time 0

Total Time 20

Course Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine American, Mexican

Servings

Calories 168 kcal

Equipment

Large mixing bowl
Measuring cup
Measuring spoons
kitchen knife
Cutting board
Citrus juicer
Mesh strainer
Measuring cup or salad dressing shaker or jam jar

Ingredients

Salad

4 cans canned beans kidney, pinto, black and garbanzo beans (chickpeas). Drained and rinsed in water.
2 medium bell peppers red, orange or yellow, seeded & diced.
1 cup corn kernels fresh or frozen.
½ medium red onion finely diced
3 tablespoon cilantro fresh - chopped or torn into pieces.

Dressing

2 tablespoon olive oil
⅓ cup red wine vinegar
3 tablespoon lime juice fresh - approx one lime
1 tablespoon lemon juice fresh
1 clove garlic minced
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon chili powder

Instructions

Dressing

In a jam jar, salad dressing shaker, cruet or small bowl, combine olive oil, vinegar, lime juice, lemon juice, minced garlic, maple syrup, cumin, salt, pepper and chili powder. Adjust seasonings to taste if needed.

Salad

Combine drained and rinsed beans, diced peppers, onion and corn in a large bowl. Set cilantro aside until ready to serve.
Pour dressing over beans & veggies and toss to thoroughly combine.
Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Toss again, adding fresh cilantro before serving.

Notes

🥕Add-in options

Chopped tomatoes or halved cherry tomatoes
Black olives
Green onions
Jalapeños - seeded & diced
Avocado - add right before serving

🥕Oil-free option - If you prefer to make the dressing without oil, simply omit the oil.

🥕Storage - This salad will last up to 3 days refrigerated in an airtight container (if you don't gobble it up sooner!). I think it is at its best within the first 24 hours when the veggies are crispest and brightest in color.

Nutrition

Calories: 168kcalCarbohydrates: 28gProtein: 9gFat: 3gSaturated Fat: 0.5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gSodium: 612mgPotassium: 478mgFiber: 9gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 663IUVitamin C: 29mgCalcium: 52mgIron: 2mg

These are estimated values generated from a nutritional database using unbranded products. Please do your own research with the products you're using if you have a serious health issue or are following a specific diet.