Southwest Black Bean and Rotini Salad

Spiral rotini pasta tossed with hearty black beans, sweet corn, diced bell pepper, and cotija cheese in a smoky cumin-lime vinaigrette.

• Prep: 10 min
• Cook: 9 min
• Total: 19 min
• Servings: 2
• Cuisine: Mexican
• Difficulty: Easy
• Cost: $3.79/serving

Dietary

• Vegetarian
• Nut-Free
• Soy-Free
• Egg-Free
• Pescatarian
• High-Fiber
• Low-Cholesterol
• High-Protein

Tags

• quick
• healthy
• fresh
• smoky
• tangy

Ingredients

• 1.5 cup rotini pasta (dry)
• 1 can black beans (15 oz can, drained and rinsed)
• 1 cup sweet corn (canned, drained)
• 1 orange bell pepper (medium, diced)
• 0.25 cup red onion (finely diced)
• 0.33 cup cotija cheese (crumbled)
• 0.25 cup fresh cilantro (chopped)
• 2.5 tablespoon olive oil (extra virgin)
• 2 tablespoon lime juice (fresh)
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 0.5 teaspoon ground cumin
• 0.5 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 0.25 teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Cook rotini pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water for 9 minutes until al dente. Drain and rinse thoroughly with cold water to cool, then drain completely.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, lime juice, honey, ground cumin, smoked paprika, and salt until emulsified.
3. In a large salad bowl, combine the cooled rotini, black beans, sweet corn, diced orange bell pepper, diced red onion, cotija cheese, and fresh cilantro.
4. Pour the cumin-lime dressing over the salad and toss well to coat. Divide between two lunch containers.

Notes

Flavors deepen as it rests in the refrigerator, making it great for next-day packed lunches.

Nutrition (per serving)

• Calories: 755
• Protein: 27.9 g
• Carbohydrates: 102.8 g
• Fat: 27 g
• Fiber: 16 g
• Sodium: 1578 mg
• Saturated Fat: 6.3 g
• Sugar: 11.3 g
• Cholesterol: 23 mg