Mexican three bean salad is a bright, colorful, refreshing dish perfect for the summer. Served cold, this versatile dish is a hit as a side dish at any potluck or barbecue or as a light but filling meatless main.

Light and bright is the best flavor profile for summer eating.

This quick and easy Mexican three bean salad is just that, plus it’s easy on the wallet and the waistline.

Not to mention, my whole crew loves it and it is the perfect dish to bring along to a barbecue as a side.

But since it’s packed with protein from all the beans, you can also serve it as a light summer main.

And it’s a bonanza of texture and flavors from the 3 beans, chopped bell peppers and red onion, and sweet corn kernels.

Bright, fresh cilantro lemon vinaigrette tops it all for a dish that tastes awesome but is so easy to make.

Ingredients

To make it you’ll need a set of ingredients for the salad itself and another for the dressing.

For the salad you’ll need:

Beans– 1 15 ounce can of black beans, 1 15 ounce can of kidney beans, and 1 15 ounce cans of cannelloni beans. Drain them and rinse them.
Bell peppers– 1 red bell pepper and 1 green bell pepper. Remove the seeds and dice them.
Red onion– Peeled and diced
Corn– Thawed frozen corn kernels, drained.

And for the vinaigrette, you’ll need:

Oil– Extra virgin olive oil. Don’t substitute another oil.
Vinegar– Red wine vinegar
Citrus juice– Either fresh lemon juice or fresh lime juice
Sugar– Granulated
Garlic– Minced
Seasonings– Salt, cumin, chili powder, black pepper
Hot sauce– Optional
Cilantro– Roughly chopped fresh cilantro leaves

How to Make

This Mexican three bean salad is so easy to make.

Just toss together the beans, peppers, corn, and onion in a mixing bowl.

Then whisk together the ingredients for the vinaigrette in a smaller bowl.

Once it’s combined, pour the mixture over the veggies and stir gently to coat the veggies in the dressing.

Cover the bowl tightly and refrigerate it for an hour or until the salad has chilled.

Serve and enjoy!

Storing Leftovers

This bean salad holds up so well in the fridge.

Just store it covered in the fridge or transfer it to an airtight container.

Refrigerate it for up to 5 days.

Tips and Tricks

I normally empty the canned beans into a colander, let the liquid drain off and then rinse them until the water dripping off the bottom is clear.
You can make this with all one type of beans if you prefer but you will lose some of the texture.
When I serve it, I often add some diced avocado onto my portion. Don’t do that ahead of time though or the avocado will get brown and mushy.
Make a double batch of this for meal prep and enjoy it all week. You can make it even easier on yourself and portion it out into single serve mason jars or tupperware and store the lot in the fridge.

Other Easy Salad Recipes

Mexican three bean salad is a light and refreshing, protein packed vegetarian dish that works perfectly as a side dish or a light main.

Make it today and enjoy!

Looking for other easy salad recipes?

Try these:

If you’ve tried this MEXICAN THREE BEAN SALAD WITH LIME VINAIGRETTE, or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and whatever else we’ve got going on!