It’s kind of spring already!! For some reason, I totally crave foods based on the weather and the season (even though in Tahoe it is supposed to snow this week…). With that, I was craving a healthy bean salad. I had made an amazing  Chile Cilantro Vinaigrette that I thought would go great into a cold bean salad. Instead of using only beans, I added a ton of colorful veggies to this dish. This added a great crunch and lowered the calories per ounce.

Here is a mixture of black beans, garbanzo beans, corn,  bell peppers, cherry and roma tomatoes tossed in my cilantro lime vinaigrette. Highly recommended for any pot-luck, on top of a bunch of greens, or a great make a ton of on Sunday for the week recipe.   Heres how to make this guy!

Ingredients

• 1 can of black beans, rinsed
• 1 can of garbanzo beans, rinsed
• 1/2 can of corn, rinsed (or 1/2C of cooked kernels)
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 orange bell pepper, diced
• 1C of grape tomatoes, halved
• 2 roma tomatoes, seeded and diced.
• 2Tbsp Chile-Cilantro Vinaigrette
• Sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
• I also added 1/4 C extra cilantro, because I love cilantro

Directions

1. In a large bowl, add all ingredients up to the tomatoes and stir gently to mix
2. Drizzle Chile-Cilantro Vinaigrette dressing over the veggie mixtures
3. Stir to evenly distribute the dressing
4. Sprinkle with additional salt, pepper and cilantro as desired
5. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours before serving for best taste (this lets the dressing marinate the veggies)
6. Enjoy as a side, or top on a bed of mixed greens.