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Home Bean and Lentil Recipes

Cowboy Bean Salad with Lime Dressing

By:Nagi
Published:19 Feb '20Updated:30 Mar '21
100 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

Why make a boring old Bean Salad when you can make it a COWBOY one?? Fun to say, delicious to eat, this big, juicy black bean salad is fresh, simple and fully loaded, tossed with a lime dressing laced with South Western spices.

Use any beans you want. Serve it as a side, stuff into tacos, pile onto nachos. Lasts for days – think meal prep and work lunches!

South Western lime dressing for Cowboy Bean Salad

Cowboy Bean Salad

“Bean Salad” just sounds so dull. But stick the word “Cowboy” in front of it, and suddenly it sounds so much more exciting. Right? Same dish, different packaging. Age old marketing trick! 😂

Though actually, this is a riff on a salsa dish known as Cowboy Caviar in the US. With one big important difference – it has a fraction of the sugar. Cowboy Caviar is traditionally made with so much sugar, my tooth aches just reading recipes!!

This Cowboy Bean Salad has the same good stuff in it – but 95% less sugar in the Dressing. I guarantee you won’t miss it!

Close up of Cowboy Salad

You’ll love how this bean salad lasts for days and days!

What you need for Cowboy Bean Salad

Here’s what you need! Use any beans you want – even lentils or chickpeas. And if you’re one of those coriander/cilantro haters, switch it for chives.

Ingredients for Black Bean Salad with Lime Dressing

How to make it

Pop open cans, shake up the dressing and sharpen your knife to get chopping!

How to make Cowboy Salad with Lime Dressing

Black Bean Salad in a white bowl ready to be served

Bean Salad to serve with anything!

Interesting enough for a meal, great side for any protein! It’s especially ideal for South American food and Southern/South West/Texas, most Western foods and Middle Eastern dishes.

1. Side dish for mains – it’s hearty enough to serve with beef, fresh enough for fish, and everything in between! Because it’s a salsa-type salad, you can also serve it spoon ON the cooked meat.

Main dish suggestions

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2. Light meal – it will keep you full thanks to the beans!

3. Dipping salsa – scoop it up with corn chips;

4. All things Mexican – stuff in / pile on tacos, burritos, enchiladas, nachos, fajitas

Mexican dishes

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This will keep for 4 days in the fridge – and the avocado won’t go brown (contact with air makes it go brown, the Dressing provides a film to stop this from happening). I like to add a squeeze of lime to freshen it up, then give it a toss and dig into it! (again) – Nagi x


Watch how to make it

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South Western lime dressing for Cowboy Bean Salad

Cowboy Bean Salad

Author: Nagi
Prep: 15 minutes mins
Side Dish
South Western, Western
4.98 from 34 votes
Servings8 as a side
Tap or hover to scale
Print
Recipe video above. Why make a boring ole' Bean Salad when you can make it a COWBOY one?? A fresh, simple, healthy black bean salad with a South West lime dressing, this is endlessly versatile and lasts for days. Serve it as a side, stuff it in tacos, burritos and wraps. Pile onto burritos and tacos, take it to work for lunch! {Quantity: Written recipe scaled down to use 1 can of each beans and corn, pictures and video show double batch}

Ingredients

Cowboy Bean Salad:

  • 400g/14 oz can black beans , rinsed & drained (Note 1)
  • 400g/14 oz can corn , drained (or frozen thawed 1.5 cups)
  • 1 red capsicum/bell pepper , 1cm/1/3" diced
  • 1 avocado , diced
  • 1 red onion , diced
  • 3/4 cup coriander/cilantro , roughly chopped
  • 250g/8oz cherry tomatoes , quartered (or 2 large tomatoes, deseeded and diced, Note 2)

Cowboy Lime Dressing:

  • 2 tbsp lime juice
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/4 tsp chipotle powder (or American Chili Powder, Note 3)
  • 1/4 tsp cumin powder
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 1 garlic , finely ninced
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Instructions

  • Shake Dressing in a jar.
  • Place Salad ingredients in a big bowl. Drizzle over Dressing, toss.
  • Serve immediately, or keep for up to 4 days! Might need a squeeze of lime to freshen the flavour.
  • Serve as a light meal or side (goes with everything - beef, fish, prawns, pork, chicken). Especially great with all things Mexican – stuff in / pile on tacos, burritos, enchiladas, nachos, fajitas - and Southern Foods (pulled pork, barbcue ribs, fried chicken!)

Recipe Notes:

1. Black beans - in the spirit of "Cowboy food", I use black beans. But any beans will do here - even lentils and chickpeas.
2. Tomatoes - if using large tomatoes, cut in half and scoop out watery centre, then dice.
3. Chipotle powder ??- sub smoked paprika.
Chipotle powder still not yet in mainstream grocery stores in Australia! It's dried smokey flavoured jalapeños and it's a staple ingredient in Tex Mex / South West / Mexican cooking. Found at Harris Farms (NSW/QLD) and some speciality grocery stores, or online at Firework Foods (I get Mexican ingredients from here) (PS Chipotle SEASONING can be used but skip salt in recipe)
4. Storage - keep for 4 days in the fridge (with dressing), might need a fresh squeeze of lime. Avocado won't go brown once dressed.
5. Nutrition per serving.

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 250cal (13%)Carbohydrates: 30g (10%)Protein: 9g (18%)Fat: 13g (20%)Saturated Fat: 2g (13%)Sodium: 395mg (17%)Potassium: 1457mg (42%)Fiber: 7g (29%)Sugar: 6g (7%)Vitamin A: 2143IU (43%)Vitamin C: 166mg (201%)Calcium: 302mg (30%)Iron: 11mg (61%)
Keywords: bean salad, black bean salad, cowboy salad
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @recipe_tin.

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100 Comments

  1. Nat W says

    December 10, 2023 at 1:32 pm

    5 stars
    Oh yum! What a tasty, economical, easy to prep salad. The combination of flavours in the salad & dressing make it a real winner. Pretty versatile when you consider it can do as a side, a salsa or a dip with corn chips.

    Reply
  2. Jen Campbell says

    November 25, 2023 at 11:43 am

    5 stars
    Love this, I used 4bean mix. Perfect to eat in this heat wave.thankyou

    Reply
  3. Kate says

    February 20, 2023 at 11:31 am

    5 stars
    Another winner! Was absolutely delicious to eat with corn chips. We had it as a side with our refried beans quesadillas.

    Reply
  4. Meghan says

    June 13, 2022 at 9:13 am

    5 stars
    So easy to make, beautiful pops of color and absolutely delicious!!

    Reply
  5. Marbleless says

    June 9, 2022 at 8:33 am

    This was a definite yum! I forgot the sugar (didn’t miss it) and topped it with diced cheese and served it as a light dinner.

    Reply
  6. Zofia says

    April 24, 2022 at 3:38 pm

    5 stars
    Absolute winner of a salad and nails the trifecta: easy, quick and cheap! Also great to feed a large group of people. I paired it with the Mexican Shredded Chicken and the extended family have requested an encore! Thank you

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      April 24, 2022 at 5:26 pm

      Yee haaaa!! Enjoy! N x

      Reply
  7. Trudy says

    February 1, 2022 at 11:43 pm

    5 stars
    Hallo Nagi, I’ve just made this and it tastes delicious and I’m planning on putting it over your Mexican CousCous for dinner tonight! I’m Aussie but have been living in Austria for 10 years so I sometimes end up subbing a lot of ingredients but most of the time things still turn out great! I just wanted to thank you for sharing your wonderfully tasty recipes with all of us, for free (!), with a beautiful website that works perfectly (with very few ads compared to other sites).

    Reply
  8. Robin says

    January 23, 2022 at 3:50 pm

    5 stars
    Another favourite salad recipe from Nagi!! I used a big tin of 4 bean mix, and added extra tomato as I didn’t have capsicum. Also a big handful of chopped parsley and spring onions. I loved the tip to scoop out the juicy insides of the tomato! Definitely a keeper 🙂

    Reply
  9. Belinda says

    December 2, 2021 at 7:49 pm

    5 stars
    Another delicious success (naturally). Used a can of 4 bean mix & served with pork sausages. This will definitely be added to the rotation as we eat A LOT of salads up here in the Darwin heat!

    Reply
  10. Silipa says

    October 18, 2021 at 2:41 pm

    5 stars
    Absolutely yummo! We have it as a main with a piece of grilled chicken or crispy skin salmon and just as scrumptious a day or two after.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      October 20, 2021 at 9:58 am

      Thanks! N x

      Reply
  11. Jeanne M. Gutowski says

    August 10, 2021 at 3:39 am

    5 stars
    I love this recipe. I have made it as a mason jar lunch salad. I am trying to make it a bit lighter. Can I cut the amount of oil and sugar in half?

    Reply
  12. Sue says

    July 21, 2021 at 5:54 am

    In California corn is currently in season, how should fresh corn be used in this recipe? Thanks

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      July 21, 2021 at 10:01 am

      Hi Sue – you’ll need the same gram amount of kernels, I would chop it off the cop then toast in a pan over high heat until golden and cooked (5 minutes). Allow to cool then use in the recipe 🙂 N x

      Reply
  13. Pip says

    July 19, 2021 at 7:00 pm

    4 stars
    Made this tonight! So yum, I added rice to bulk it out slightly as we’re vego and made home tortilla chips to go with it! Very nice but probably a little too much onion for my liking. But overall my bf said it was amazing and I should make it when people come over so thanks for another healthy light, easy dinner recipe!

    Reply
  14. NT says

    July 5, 2021 at 12:35 pm

    5 stars
    Love this! One of my favorite salads to make. Delicious and enough to have as a meal, not just a side.

    Reply
  15. Tash says

    July 3, 2021 at 9:21 pm

    5 stars
    Delicious! Used cannellini beans as I didn’t have black beans and I only had raw corn so cooked the kernels for a bit. Absolutely delicious! Love the dressing!

    Reply
  16. Stephy says

    June 3, 2021 at 4:46 am

    5 stars
    I added another tablespoon of lime. Loved the bean salad! So refreshing during the summer months.

    Reply
  17. Katharine Rasche says

    January 19, 2021 at 9:53 pm

    Amazing as always. I have been trying to eat less meat so I whipped it up for work lunches. This is fresh, flavoursome and SO easy to make.

    Reply
  18. Lana says

    January 1, 2021 at 12:24 pm

    5 stars
    Made this for NYE gathering and got so many compliments. Nagi never fails me!

    Reply
  19. Susan S says

    December 21, 2020 at 8:15 pm

    Excellent addition to our Mexican Fiesta spread. Colourful, flavourful, nicely different alternative to the slaw that we also had on the table. Thank you. 🙂

    Reply
  20. Kathleen says

    December 20, 2020 at 8:42 pm

    Hi Nagi! I looove this recipe but something I’ve been wondering.. the recipe calls for 1 can beans and 1 can corn, however you have two cans in your photo and they look like normal 400g cans. So I just want to be sure of the quantities please? Thanks again – your recipes are always amazing!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      December 21, 2020 at 1:31 pm

      Hi Kathleen, I mention this in the recipe: {Quantity: Written recipe scaled down to use 1 can of each beans and corn, pictures and video show double batch} – N x

      Reply
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Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

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