This black bean mango salad is bursting with colors, flavors and freshness and can be used as a salsa with chips or served on grilled chicken, fish or meat!

I call this black bean and mango salad the party salad.

It’s beautiful, dressed and always ready for a good time, whatever the occasion.

It brings color, flavor and fun. Party, party! 🎉

The recipe comes from my mom and we've both been making this salad for years now because it's always a hit.

Plus, it's loaded with veggies, which you know I love! We've got black beans and mango, of course, but also tomatoes and corn, cucumber and red onion.

And it's all topped with a simple red wine vinaigrette that brings it all together.

This little salad is also really versatile!

Ways to serve black bean mango salad:

- Serve as a salsa with some tortilla chips or pita chips for dipping

- Use it as a topping for grilled chicken or fish

- Stuff into some fish tacos

- Serve as a side salad for a picnic or BBQ or burger night

- Add a scoop of this salad to a wrap with some turkey/chicken/steak

So many ways to enjoy it!

 

I also love that it's a make-ahead dish, so it's perfect for bringing to a potluck.

And since it's vegan/vegetarian, gluten-free, low-carb and dairy-free, it's a good one for a crowd. Everyone can dig right in.

(Check out my Google web story for this black bean and mango salad recipe to see more about it.)

Showing up with a gorgeous dish like this is always a good idea - and a good way to be invited back!

Plus, I love having an easy, delicious, go-to recipe in my back pocket that I know will work for almost any occasion. We all need some of those, right?!

Honestly, though, I make it just for us at home, too. We'll snack on it with some chips, have it with grilled chicken, use it as a side salad and then it's gone. Deliciousness.

Now, I've got a few more tips and substitutions on this black bean mango salad recipe. Just tryin' to be helpful.

If you want to jump on down to the recipe, simply scroll right on through the rest of the text. The recipe card is near the bottom of the page, above the comments section.

Notes on making black bean mango salad:

• The recipe calls for a can of white shoepeg corn, but a can of regular corn or Mexicorn would be fine as well. You could also substitute frozen, thawed corn or use fresh corn if it's in season.
• I generally use two small Roma tomatoes for this recipe. Feel free to substitute another tomato.
• A red bell pepper or orange bell pepper would both work here - and add fun color.
• Red onion is one of my faves, but if you don't like it or don't like raw red onion, you could leave it out.
• A regular cucumber works great here. You could also substitute an English cucumber if you prefer.

Tip: I start with about ⅔rds the amount of dressing. Then I mix the salad and see if it needs more.

Since it's going to sit in the fridge, I tend to use it all (either immediately or by adding the rest of the dressing later when I go to stir it), but you can add how much you like to your tastes.

I should also mention that the hot sauce we use -- Crystal brand -- is more flavor than heat, so this salad isn't at all spicy. It just adds some extra oomph. You can adjust the amount, depending on the brand you use and how spicy it is.

Finally, the leftovers of this salad keep great!

Store extra black bean and mango salad, covered, in the refrigerator, for up to 5 days. Stir it well to get the dressing all mixed back in before serving.

I hope you give this black bean mango salad a try for your next party, picnic, BBQ or just family dinner night!

(Oh and be sure to check out my VIDEO for this recipe!)

Enjoy!

XO,

Kathryn

P.S. Looking for more yummy appetizers? Check these out: 

- Jalapeño cream cheese dip

- Healthy 7-layer Mexican dip

- 5-minute homemade salsa

- And you can find all of my healthy summer salads here for more delicious recipes!

Note: This post was updated with expanded text and new photographs in May 2020. It was originally published in April 2015.