This Pinto Bean Salad with Corn is so fresh and satisfying. Pinto beans are tossed with lightly charred roast corn, crisp fresh veggies, and a spicy jalapeno-lime dressing. It’s delicious as a side for Mexican-inspired meals or as a filling for tacos or burritos.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Big flavor, low effort: Roasting the corn adds a subtle smokiness that makes the whole salad taste more special. A delicious Mexican-inspired flavor profile.
- Great with tacos, burritos or quesadillas.
- Fresh but filling: The pinto beans give it enough heft to feel satisfying without being heavy.
- Perfect for sharing: It feeds a crowd, travels well, and holds up beautifully on the table.
Ingredients You’ll Need
The full measurements are in the recipe card below, but here’s a shopping list of everything you’ll need:
- Pinto beans (canned or cooked)
- Fresh corn
- Roma tomatoes
- Red bell pepper
- English cucumber
- Red onion
- Olive oil
- Lime juice
- Jalapeño
- Fresh cilantro
- Garlic
- Maple syrup
- Ground cumin
- Dried oregano
- Smoked paprika
- Salt
Instructions
Here’s how to make your Pinto Bean Salad. You’ll find all the exact times, temperatures, and measurements in the recipe card below.
Step One: Roast the corn until tender and lightly charred, then set aside to cool.
Step Two: While the corn cools, whisk all the dressing ingredients together in a large bowl.
Step Three: Chop the tomatoes, cucumber, red pepper, and red onion into small, even pieces.
Step Four: Add the beans, vegetables, and corn to the dressing and toss until well coated.
Step Five: Taste, adjust seasoning, and serve.
Storage
This salad is best served immediately, but it’s also a bit more hardy than a leafy salad, so you can make it a couple of hours in advance (just keep the dressing and veggies all separate). I recommend waiting until the last minute to slice the tomatoes so they don’t get soggy. Wait until you’re ready to serve before tossing it in the dressing.
The veggies will soften and leak water, so it’s best on day one, but leftovers are safe to eat for up to 3 days if kept in an airtight container in the fridge.
Expert Tips
Let the roasted corn cool completely before cutting it off the cob. No burned hands and it also helps the kernels stay intact. Allow enough time for the corn to cool completely in the fridge so it doesn’t steam and soften the other veggies.
FAQ
Not really, but you can do a little bit of prep on the day. You can make the dressing and slice most of the vegetables 2-3 hours before serving (but not the tomatoes, they leak). Toss everything together only when you’re ready to serve.
Fresh corn gives the best roasted flavor, but in a pinch you can get away with frozen. If using frozen corn, simmer it briefly, drain well, and pan fry with a light dash of oil until it has golden highlights. Do not roast frozen corn, it will dry out.
It’s mild-medium, but might be a bit too much if you’re sensitive to chili or for young children. Removing the jalapeño seeds makes it less spicy, or you can remove the jalapeno altogther.
It’s great alongside tacos, quesadillas, grilled vegetables, or anything BBQ-style.
I use canned for convenience, just rinse and drain well. You can also cook dried pinto beans. Here’s an easy guide on how to cook pinto beans from Love and Lemons.
Serving Suggestions and More Recipes
This salad works really well alongside tacos, grilled vegetables, or anything BBQ-style, but it’s also easy to turn into a simple lunch. I often serve it as-is, or use it as a filling for wraps with my Buffalo Tofu Fries as a protein.
A similar recipe to this one that has been super popular all over social media is Cowboy Caviar – it’s so tasty as a chip and dip snack and quite similar to this recipe, but with black beans.
If you make this Pinto Bean Salad, I’d love to know how you served it and what you thought! Leave a comment below the recipe card or feel free to tag me on Instagram (I’m @glowdiaries___) so I can see how it turned out 🙂
Pinto Bean Salad with Corn
Ingredients
- 2 cups ears fresh corn 300g kernels
- 1 2/3 cups cooked pinto beans 280g
- 250 g roma tomatoes medium, chopped
- 130 g red bell pepper large, diced
- 175 g English cucumber 1/2 medium, chopped
- 100 g red onion 1/2 medium, finely diced 100
Dressing
- 4 tbsp olive oil plus more to brush corn 60ml (55g)
- 2 tbsp fresh lime juice 30ml / 30g
- 20 g jalapeño 1/2 medium, minced 20g
- 1/2 cup cilantro leaves chopped 10g
- 2 cloves garlic minced 10g
- 1 tsp maple syrup 5g
- 1 tsp ground cumin 2g
- 1 tsp dried oregano 1g
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika 1g
- 1/2 tsp salt plus more to taste, 3g
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F/200 C. Line a pan with aluminum foil.
- Clean corn and brush with oil then place in pan. Roast for 20 minutes. If more char flavour is desired, turn the oven to broil for the last 5 minutes.
- Allow to cool enough to handle.
Prep the dressing:
- Chop the jalapeno, cilantro, and garlic. For less heat, remove the seeds of the jalapeno.
- Combine all dressing ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk until blended.
- Taste and adjust salt as desired (make it a little saltier than you think as it will cover a large amount of vegetables).
Prep the vegetables:
- Chop the cucumber, red pepper, and tomato into small, even pieces.
- Finely dice onion.
- Cut corn kernels off cob once cool enough to handle.
- Add beans and vegetables to the bowl. Toss in dressing and serve.
- Best served the same day but can be stored for up to 3 days.
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