Tex-Mex Three Bean Potato Salad

Okay, it's official: We need more salad recipes on I Love Vegan.

I know, I know. You'd think that there'd  be loads of salad recipes on a website dedicated to VEGAN food, but apparently I've been trying to separate "vegan" from "salads" without really knowing it. It's time to up the vegan salad count today!

For summer, deli-style salads reign supreme. You know the type, the potato salads (and the many variations), the creamy macaroni salads, the many pasta salads, the coleslaws, the bean salads, the chopped salads. All those types of salads you can make ahead of time, in a nice big batch, and haul to all your summer festivities: picnics, BBQ dinners, your friend's potluck, camping, road tripping, you name it!

So today we're going all in with a deli-style salad, a combo bean and potato salad. Does that sounds weird to you? I hope not! If it does, it might help to hear my inspiration. There's a summer salad at Safeway (Canada), the"Mighty Mex Bean Salad" made with a medley of beans, red pepper, cilantro, and a cumin-lime dressing. I buy it from time to time and always end up wanting to improve on it a bit. I like it best when it's folded into wrap with guacamole, lettuce, tomato, red onion, and cilantro, or as a sort of "bean salsa"with my favourite tortilla chips.

With that salad in mind, and a Little Potato Company recipe on the horizon, I figured it was time to make my version of that bean salad. But my version was going to be amped up with more crunchy bell peppers, grilled corn, and of course, roasted Little Potatoes!

So here's the creation: Kidney beans, black beans, chickpeas, roasted "Onion Medley" Little Potatoes, a rainbow of bell peppers, green and red onion, cilantro, and a cumin-lime vinaigrette. This is the perfect salad for a summer get-together. It's full of fresh flavours and seasonal ingredients.

The best news? If you're vegan and bringing this to a potluck, you're officially saved from going home hungry. Even if this is the only vegan option available, it's nutritious and full of all the elements you need to call this salad a meal in a pinch. But as a disclaimer, I do love this salad most as a side dish. (PS: Never forget to bring your own veggie dogs/burgers to summer BBQ's.)

This recipe is super easy. I used canned beans which helped make this salad come together really quickly (for best flavour, I recommend avoiding low sodium canned beans for this recipe.) While you cook the potatoes and grill the corn you can prep the dressing (easy peasy), chop the peppers, green onion, red onion, and cilantro. Boom, once your corn and potatoes are cool (and chopped), you're ready to assemble!

You'll notice that in the recipe, I say not to add the little potatoes until the salad is ready to serve. There's a few reasons for this. Firstly and most importantly, the beans and vegetables need time to marinate in the zesty cumin-lime vinaigrette. This will make them more flavourful and add more body to the vinaigrette. Secondly, since we're using The Little Potato Company's Oven | BBQ Ready kits, the potatoes are already nice and flavourful. Cooked potatoes don't really benefit from extra time to "break down" in a salad like this. Thirdly, I think that the salad looks nicest when the potatoes are freshly added (but don't worry about leftovers, this salad is still delicious on day 2, even if the potatoes aren't quite as pretty!)

As usual, this can be customized to your liking. Adjust the amount of cilantro, add more cumin or chili powder, add an extra squeeze of lime, play around with the veggies you have on hand, or add some toppings. I've been thinking about adding some perfectly ripe chopped avocado as a last minute topping - it would be SO GOOD! I also tried adding chopped grape tomatoes which was nice, but the salad became a little watery as it marinated, so unless it's just a topping, you might want to avoid ingredients like tomatoes or cucumber.

Enjoy!

This post is sponsored by The Little Potato Company. We love them for their commitment to simple, healthy whole foods like their delicious Creamer potatoes. Thanks for supporting the brands that support I Love Vegan! Learn more about why we love Little Potatoes SO much at www.littlepotatoes.com

Tex-Mex Three Bean Potato Salad

★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews

• Author: Brittany at ilovevegan.com
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Yield: 4 cups 1x
• Category: Salad, Side Dish
• Cuisine: Vegan

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Description

A zesty deli-style salad of beans, bell peppers, grilled corn and roasted, seasoned Creamer potatoes in a cumin-lime vinaigrette.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• one 454 g package of The Little Potato Company's 'Onion Medley' or 'Garlic Herb' Oven | BBQ Ready kit
• ⅓-½ cup grilled corn (approx. 1 ear)
• ½ cup chopped green/red/orange pepper
• 2 tbsp finely chopped red onion (soaked in water)
• ¼ cup green onion, sliced
• ½ cup kidney beans, drained
• ½ cup black beans, drained
• ½ cup chickpeas, drained
• ¼ cup cilantro, roughly chopped (adjust to taste)

Cumin-Lime Vinaigrette

• 2 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 2 tbsp lime juice (add more to taste)
• 2 tsp sriracha
• 1 tsp sugar
• ½ tsp salt (adjust to taste)
• ¼-½ teaspoon cumin
• ¼-½ teaspoon chili powder

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Instructions

1. Prepare the potatoes: Preheat oven to 450F. Slice potatoes in half, add the Onion Medley seasoning packet, drizzle with a generous amount of olive oil and stir well. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the seasoned potatoes evenly over the sheet. Bake for 25-30 minutes, flipping halfway through. Cool before slicing potatoes in half again (so each piece is a quarter of a potato.) Set aside.
2. Whisk together all dressing ingredients. Pour the grilled corn, bell pepper, red onion, green onion, kidney beans, black beans, chickpeas and cilantro into a bowl and stir in the dressing.
3. Add the chopped roasted potatoes just before serving.

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Notes

For best flavour: Allow time for the beans and vegetables to marinate in the cumin-lime vinaigrette for a few hours before adding potatoes just prior to serving.If you don't haven access to The Little Potato Company's Oven | BBQ Ready kits: Season Creamer potatoes with a blend of garlic powder, onion powder, sea salt, and dried parsley and then proceed according to the recipes instructions.My notes: I grilled an ear of corn in my George Foreman. You can achieve similar results in an outdoor grill or by sautéeing until slightly charred in spots.