Black Bean Mango Salad

Inspired by our mango salad and black bean salad, we wanted to make something that combined the delicious juiciness of mangoes with nutty and protein-rich black beans and quinoa.

Little did we know that mango + black beans + quinoa = perfect flavor affinity.

These three ingredients together are excellent base elements for a delicious, nourishing, and refreshing mango black bean salad.

To tie everything together, we rely on a wonderful easy-to-make cilantro lime dressing that adds a tangy, herby, and slightly sweet taste to this vibrant mango black bean salad recipe.

Black beans

You can use canned black beans or dry black beans.

Dry black beans don’t require soaking because their skin is thinner than other varieties.

You can cook them right away in slightly salted boiling water for about 1.5 hours.

Substitute pinto beans, borlotti beans, or white beans for black beans.

Quinoa

You can use white, red, black, or rainbow quinoa.

Remember to rinse the quinoa under running water before cooking it because the quinoa seeds are coated with saponins that can be bitter.

Substitute whole-grain rice for quinoa. Both are suitable for gluten-free diets.

Mango

We recommend using fresh ripe mango.

Substitute pineapple for mango.

Bell pepper

Red bell pepper is our favorite because it’s sweeter than yellow, orange, or green peppers.

Substitute small tomatoes like cherry or date tomatoes for bell pepper.

Cucumber

Cucumber adds a cooling crunch. You can use English, American, or Persian cucumber.

Substitute cucumber with corn kernels, canned or frozen.

Red onion

Red onion is tangy and a little acidic. We love it with the mango!

Make sure your red onion is not too sharp. If so, thinly slice it and soak it in cold water for 10 minutes before draining it and adding it to the black bean mango salad.

Substitute shallots or green onions for red onion.

Avocado

Avocados are creamy and add healthy fats to this colorful salad. Plus, they are delicious with black beans and mango.

If you make this for meal prep, add the avo a few moments before serving the salad.

Red hot chilies

Red hot chilies are optional. We like this salad a little spicy, but if you don’t, keep them out. Jalapeno pepper works well too.

• Fresh cilantro leaves and the smaller stems, or fresh coriander. Substitute flat-leaf parsley.
• Fresh lime juice. Substitute fresh lemon juice.
• Maple syrup. Substitute honey or agave syrup.
• Fresh garlic. Substitute garlic powder.
• Fresh ginger.
• Salt and black pepper.
• Olive oil. Substitute avocado oil.

If you don’t like cilantro (or can’t find it where you live), we recommend making the dressing with flat-leaf parsley and lemon juice and keeping the other ingredients the same.

Rinse the quinoa under cold water, add it to a small pot with lightly salted water (or vegetable broth), bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer until the water evaporates – about 12 minutes.

Let cool down before adding to the veggies.

To a small blender or food processor, add cilantro, lime juice, maple syrup, grated garlic, grated ginger, salt, and olive oil.

Blend until the cilantro is finely chopped and the ingredients are well combined.

Tip: you can also do this by hand, chopping the cilantro with a knife and whisking the ingredients in a small bowl.

To a large bowl, add cooked quinoa, thinly sliced red onion, diced cucumber, diced red bell pepper, diced mango, drained and rinsed black beans, and diced avocado.

Pour the cilantro lime dressing and toss until well combined.

Black bean salad with sweet potato

Tender roasted sweet potato meets creamy avocado, nutty black beans, and sweet corn for probably one of the best and most fulfilling black bean salads.

Check out our black bean salad with sweet potato.

Mango salad

This simple mango salad with red onion, red bell pepper, avocado, and olive oil is a quick, easy, delicious, and refreshing summer salad, excellent for a light lunch or as a side dish to picnics and barbeques.

Check out our mango salad recipe.

This black bean salad with mango and quinoa is a fulfilling recipe you can have as a healthy main meal.

You can serve it as is, pair it with our avocado spread, with guacamole, or with our refreshing tzatziki sauce, and serve it with tortilla chips.

You can also have it in smaller portions next to a main dish. It goes very well with anything grilled, like, for instance, our grilled tofu with peanut sauce, grilled chicken, shrimp, or salmon.

Make ahead: we recommend assembling the salad on the same day you eat it because the veggies release their juices, making the salad a little watery on the second and third days. However, you can prep the dressing and cook the quinoa up to 3 days in advance.

Refrigerator: keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Take out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before serving and mix well.

Freezer: not suitable for freezing.

Get your mango game on with these fresh and healthy mango recipes:

• Mango sorbet (coming soon)
• Mango salad (avocado, mango, bell pepper, lime, red onion, mint, etc.)
• Buddha bowl (brown rice, red onion, mango, avocado, peanut sauce, spinach, etc.)
• Sesame noodles (cucumber, lime, mango, linguine, peanut sauce, ginger, etc.)

Get more fresh and seasonal salad ideas from these colorful dishes:

• Watermelon salad (watermelon, mint, lemon zest, feta, basil, pistachio nuts, etc.)
• Avocado salad (cherry tomatoes, lemon, red onion, parsley, avocado, etc.)
• Tomato cucumber salad (heirloom tomatoes, red onion, cucumber, parsley, etc.)
• Zucchini salad (zucchini ribbons, pine nuts, mint, cherry tomatoes, lemon, etc.)
• Panzanella (stale bread, tomato, cucumber, romaine lettuce, red onion, etc.)

For many more salad ideas, check out our salads category page.