Meatless Monday: Three Bean Salad with Chipotle Lime Dressing

The other day I really wanted to make a three bean salad. I was at the store and beans were on sale, so I grabbed a few cans and headed home. Then I decided to look up a recipe for three bean salad because I've never made one and wanted a little guidance. Well, I wasn't thrilled with the recipes out there, and I had no idea green beans were one of the three beans in three bean salad. I like green beans, but not in a cold salad. I'd bought pinto, black, and red beans. Whoops.

So of course I just made something up as I went along . . . and I'm totally gonna toot my own horn and say it was awesome.

Three Bean Salad with Chipotle Lime Dressing

Note: this recipe uses partial cans of beans because I didn't want a lot of leftovers not knowing if it would be good or not. Feel free to adjust the ratios and use full cans if you'd like, or just freeze the leftover beans for another recipe.

Ingredients
salad:
2/3 can black beans, rinsed and drained
2/3 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
2/3 can red beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup corn (frozen is fine, just thaw it out first)
1/2 cup white onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp jalapeno, minced

dressing:
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp chipotle hot sauce (I really like Cholula's)
juice of 1/2 lime
1 tsp fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions
1. In a medium bowl, combine all of the salad ingredients and mix well. Be sure to stir gently so you don't crush the beans.

2. In a small container with a tight-fitting lid, combine all of the dressing ingredients and shake vigorously.

3. Pour dressing over the salad, and stir. Serve immediately or refrigerate for later. This salad is good chilled or at room temp.

Makes 4-5 servings

Note: this salad was awesome as a side dish, but totally works as a vegetarian taco too. Just sprinkle some cheese, shredded lettuce and diced tomatoes into a small tortilla shell and scoop in some of the bean salad and voila: instant veggie tacos! Or crumble the taco shells into a good-sized bowl with more lettuce and make a veggie taco salad!
Bon Appetit!
The Food Whore