Southwest Dense Bean Salad With Cilantro Lime Dressing

This Southwest dense bean salad with cilantro lime dressing is inspired by the viral TikTok dense bean salads. It’s fresh and ultra filling from the protein and fiber – if you have a hard time feeling full, this one’s for you!

If you haven’t seen them yet, dense bean salads are a viral TikTok trend, consisting of beans, a protein, tons of fresh veggies and tossed in a dressing. Known for its meal prep friendliness because it just gets better with time as the flavors marinate.

This Southwest version is made with black and pinto beans, and tossed in a homemade cilantro lime dressing for delicious, healthy lunches that’ll last you all week. Here’s how to make it!

What You’ll Need

Equipment

• Large mixing bowl: I use this huge wooden one.
• Food processor
• Cutting board
• Cutting knives

Ingredients

• Bell peppers: Red, yellow or orange.
• Red onion
• Cherry tomatoes
• Jalapeño
• Canned corn (15 oz)
• Canned black beans (15 oz)
• Canned pinto beans (15.5 oz)
• Cooked chicken: Grilled, pre-cooked or rotisserie chicken all work great!
• Taco seasoning: I make this homemade taco seasoning. Can sub pre-made.
• Cilantro
• Lime juice
• Apple cider vinegar: Or white wine vinegar.
• Honey
• Garlic powder
• Salt + pepper
• Olive oil: Look for one that says “salads and marinades” on the bottle. I use this Pompeian one.
• Greek yogurt

How To Make It

1. Grill the chicken: Season and grill your chicken first so it can cool (I love this Kinder’s all purpose seasoning). Skip if you’re using pre-cooked or rotisserie chicken.
2. Make the dressing: In a food processor, add cilantro, lime juice, apple cider (or white wine) vinegar, honey, garlic powder and salt/pepper to taste. Blend for just a few seconds, then use the divot in the top of the food processor to slowly drizzle in the olive oil while blending to emulsify. Add greek yogurt and blend again until smooth.
3. Chop the rest: Wash and chop the bell pepper, red onion, tomatoes, jalapeño, and cilantro. Use a strainer to drain and rinse the beans. Drain the corn.
4. Assemble: Add all the chopped veggies and taco seasoning to a large mixing bowl, then chop the cooked chicken and add. Season with salt to taste and drizzle with the cilantro lime vinaigrette. Stir until combined.

Tips

• Dressing: Store leftover cilantro lime dressing in an airtight container in the fridge for 5-7 days.
• Chill: If time allows, let sit in the fridge for an hour or more to let flavors combine. Stir again before serving and adjust salt levels as needed.
• To serve: I love this topped with cotija cheese and avocado.
• Add some sweetness: Add some diced mango or pineapple for a sweet contrast.

To Store

Store in an airtight container (or individual containers for meal prep) in the fridge for 4-5 days.

Similar Recipes

• Southwest quinoa salad
• 20 min Southwest chicken
• Chipotle chicken burrito bowls
• Cilantro lime rice

As always, be sure to leave a rating and review down below if you try this Southwest dense bean salad with cilantro lime dressing! And don’t forget to tag me on social media – always love to hear from you and see what you’re cooking up. ♡ Enjoy!

Southwest Dense Bean Salad With Cilantro Lime Dressing

5 from 5 votes

Inspired by the viral TikTok dense bean salads, this recipe is fresh, ultra filling from the protein and fiber, and meal prep-friendly.

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Prep Time:30 minutes mins

Cook Time:10 minutes mins

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Servings: 6

Calories: 368kcal

Equipment

• Food processor

Ingredients

For the salad

• 2 large bell peppers (340 g) red, yellow or orange – chopped
• 1/2 small red onion (100 g) finely diced
• 10 oz package cherry tomatoes halved
• 1 large jalapeño (45 g) seeded, finely diced
• 15 oz can corn drained
• 15 oz can black beans rinsed, drained
• 15.5 oz can pinto beans rinsed, drained
• 1 tbsp taco seasoning
• small handful cilantro chopped
• 1 lb cooked chicken chopped

Cilantro lime dressing

• 1/2 cup cilantro loosely packed
• 3 tbsp lime juice (45 g) fresh
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar (15 g) or white wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp honey (21 g)
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (60 ml)
• 2 tbsp non fat plain greek yogurt (30 g)

Instructions

• Season and grill the chicken first so it has time to cool. Skip if using another cooked chicken or rotisserie chicken.
• For the dressing, add cilantro, lime juice, apple cider (or white wine) vinegar, honey, garlic powder, salt and pepper to a food processor. Blend just a few seconds, then use the divot in the lid to slowly drizzle in olive oil while blending to emulsify. Add greek yogurt and blend again until smooth.
• In a large mixing bowl, add bell peppers, red onion, tomatoes, jalapeño, corn, beans, cilantro, and taco seasoning. Chop the cooked chicken and add, along with 1/2 of the dressing. Mix until combined and season with salt as needed.

Notes

• Chill: If time allows, let sit in the fridge for an hour or more before serving to let flavors combine. Stir before serving and adjust salt levels as needed.
• To serve: Enjoy alone or top with cotija cheese and avocado.
• Dressing: 1/2 batch is ~80g. Store leftover dressing in an airtight container in the fridge 5-7 days.
• Chicken: Grilled, pre-cooked or shredded rotisserie chicken all work great for this recipe.

Nutrition

Serving: 351g | Calories: 368kcal | Carbohydrates: 40.3g | Protein: 33.1g | Fat: 8.6g | Fiber: 11.5g

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