Corn and Black Bean Salsa

If you follow me on Instagram, you probably already know about my love for Mexican food, especially making homemade tortillas. One of the salsas I prepared for my latest meal was Corn and Black Bean Salsa.

But let’s start from the beginning.

A few months ago, I promised a Mexican feast to the son of close friends—who is like a nephew to me—once he completed his chemotherapy treatments. This week, it was finally time to make good on that promise and celebrate the end of his treatments in the best way possible: with food.

Except for one store-bought salsa, I made all the others from scratch, including this Corn and Black Bean Salsa.

It’s an incredibly easy and quick salsa to make, perfect for serving with Mexican dishes or even as a fresh and flavorful picnic salad.

The full menu for the meal is at the end of this post.

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Corn and Black Bean Salsa

To keep things simple, I used canned black beans, which I simply drained.

For the corn, I cooked it first and then lightly charred it on the grill. You can skip this step, but it does add a nice smoky aroma to the salsa.

You can also use fresh corn on the cob or even canned corn.

If you’re making this for a picnic, cook the corn at home, then grill it on-site for extra flavor before assembling the salsa.

That’s it.

If you were looking for a complicated or time-consuming recipe, this isn’t it.

All that’s left to do is separate the corn kernels, mix them with the black beans, and season the salsa.

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How to Season Corn and Black Bean Salsa?

For the seasoning, take a generous handful of fresh cilantro (no, you cannot substitute parsley—if you don’t like cilantro, just skip it, which only means more for the rest of us!).

Finely chop the cilantro and mix it into the salsa along with finely diced red onion and the juice of two limes.

For a little twist, I added finely chopped pickled jalapeño—you can also use fresh chili, adjusting the heat level to your preference.

Season with a pinch of salt and about ⅓ to ½ teaspoon of cumin. The cumin shouldn’t be overpowering but should subtly enhance the background flavors.

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Mexican Feast Menu

And for the sake of documentation (and to make your mouth water a little), here was the full menu:

• Hibiscus Margarita
• Jamaica (Hibiscus & Lime Drink)
• Corn Tortillas
• Pulled Beef in BBQ Sauce
• Grilled Cajun Chicken Thighs
• Cajun & Lime Shrimp
• Chili con Carne
• Corn and Black Bean Salsa
• Pico de Gallo
• Salsa Roja (Charred Tomato & Smoked Pepper Salsa)
• Guacamole with Mango
• Mango & Chili Salsa
• Pickled Red Onion
• Diced Pineapple
• Corn Nachos
• Pickled Jalapeños