Mexican Dense Bean Salad Recipe

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This Mexican dense bean salad is a great way to get a very healthy and filling lunch or dinner you can feel good about eating.

If you don’t know what to make for lunch or dinner, give this incredibly filling and satisfying salad a try. It’s hearty and will keep you full for hours more than most salads would.

Recipe Tips For This Mexican Dense Bean Salad

Here are tips and suggestions for creating a Mexican dense bean salad you won’t be able to stop eating.

Salt And Pepper

I found that adding salt and pepper at the end of making this really brought out some wonderful flavors. But you’ll want to balance that with the ingredients you use. Particularly, the beans. Canned beans can be very high in sodium, so you obviously won’t want to add as much as if you were to cook dry beans at home with no added salt. Simply add to taste after you have tossed the salad and actually tasted it.

Suggested Recipe Additions

If you want to round out this salad even more, you can easily add some sliced olives or even jalapeno peppers if you love some heat. Some fresh cilantro would be excellent in this salad as well if you like cilantro. I personally haven’t been able to find any in the stores since I moved to Spain. I know, crazy. But I have a feeling fresh herbs are something that is sold in open-air markets instead of grocery stores, and I haven’t been to one yet. So please accept that as the excuse for the lack of cilantro in this recipe.

I can personally attest to the addition of black olives and pickled jalapenos. Delicious, and makes the salad taste like a taco salad from a restaurant.

Other additions could be shredded cheese, corn, and even some salsa.

About The Dressing

If you add the dressing and find that the salad is a bit too dry still, do not make more dressing. Instead, add a tablespoon or two more of olive oil. The lime flavor and spices are plenty adequate in this dressing, I just used less oil to keep the calories down due to there being an entire avocado in the salad. But if the final texture is too dry, just add more oil. Nothing else, or you risk overpowering the salad.

Meal Prepping Mexican Dense Bean Salad

If you plan to meal prep this or you aren’t feeding enough people to have this gone in one sitting, I recommend holding off on adding the lettuce until you are ready to eat it. That way you can add the dressing without being concerned with any sogginess the next day. See below for how to deal with already-mixed leftovers.

Mexican Dense Bean Salad Ingredients

(Print the recipe from the red recipe card at the bottom of this post)

The Chicken

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts – Or you can use thighs. But my personal recommendation would be to trim most of the fat off.

Extra virgin olive oil – Or any oil you feel most comfortable using.

Ground cumin

Paprika – Regular, not smoked. If you don’t have paprika, you can substitute it with chili powder instead.

Garlic powder – Or garlic granules.

Salt

Ground black pepper

The Salad

Canned black beans – No sugar added. Drained and rinsed.

Canned pinto beans – No sugar added. Drained and rinsed.

Cherry tomatoes – Or grape tomatoes.

Red bell pepper – You can use any color, but green may be a bit bitter for this salad. If you like that, feel free to use it instead.

Avocado – Pick the biggest one you can get.

Red onion – I used yellow onion because that’s what I had. But, red onion would be better suited for this recipe. Use what you have on hand.

The Dressing

Limes – Juice only. You can use bottled, 100% lime juice with no added sugar if it’s what you have. But fresh is always best in a recipe like this.

Extra virgin olive oil – Or any light-flavored oil you feel most comfortable using.

Ground cumin

Paprika – Or chili powder.

How To Make A Mexican Dense Bean Salad

Use the oil to grease the bottom of an oven-safe dish, pan, or container. Lay the chicken in a single layer in the pan, and season evenly with the spices. Cook at 375F for approximately 40 minutes, or until it’s cooked through and is at least 165F on a meat thermometer. Cooking time for these can vary based on the size and thickness of the chicken. Finally, cool and chop the chicken into bite-size pieces.

In a large bowl, layer the lettuce (unless meal prepping) black beans, pinto beans, chopped chicken, onion, cherry tomatoes, bell pepper, and avocado.

In a small cup or bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients and pour it over the salad.

Garnish with any additions you’d like and serve or pack up for future meals.

Storing Already Mixed Mexican Dense Bean Salad

Store leftovers in an airtight container and store them in the fridge for up to 2 days with any dressing, or 3 days without it.

More Dense Bean Salad Recipes

• Chopped Italian Salad
• Mediterranean Chopped Salad
• Kale Salad With Butter Beans

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