Tomato Avocado Salad with Lime & Cilantro

If you need a zesty, light dish for a summer time meal… this recipe just might be for you!

I created this recipe a few years ago, when I had a few ingredients on hand and needed something to round out an alfresco summer meal of grilled chicken.

This dish can be stand alone as all-in-one meal, or you can go meatless and use is as a salad.

I grew up around the Spanish culture, including living in Mexico and Guatemala with my family for four years when I was a little girl, so I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE black beans!  They star as an inexpensive but super healthy protein base for this dish.

If you want to go organic, you can buy organic black beans for about 1.00 per can at most grocery stores.

Cilantro, one of my favorite spice herbs, adds a tasty tang to this recipe.  

ingredients:

6 cups (or three 15-oz cans) cooked black beans

2 or 3 medium avocados

1 large tomato

extra virgin olive oil

sea salt & black pepper

dash of ground cumin

fresh or dried cilantro

1 lime

directions:

If you’re using canned beans, drain and pour them into a medium-sized serving bowl.

Wash and coarsely chop your tomato.

Wash, peel and coarsely chop several avocados.  Fold chopped tomato and avocado into the beans.

Sprinkle a little sea salt, black pepper, and cumin (to taste) over the mixture, then drizzle just a little olive oil on the top.  Gently fold in several pinches of fresh or dried cilantro.  Squeeze the juice of one lime over the salad, then pop it in the fridge to chill.

This salad has lots of bold and zesty flavor once it’s had time to chill an hour or two!

To round out your meal:

• serve the bean salad as a side dish with an herbed or garlic rotisserie chicken.
• toss it with chopped, grilled chicken to make a one-dish meal.

Enjoy!

Check out my other summer-time inspirations here.