Good Eats: Southwestern "Fiesta" Bean Salad

Yummy Yummy Yummy.

Any recipe that has the word "fiesta" and/or "southwestern" in the title/description obviously deserves to be tried.  When I stumbled across this recipe on Pinterest and the link took me to Skinnytaste I was like: "woah"... that means this recipe not only has "fiesta" in the title...but also is healthy. 

As I hate am not a fan of cilantro, I decided to substitute with basil, oregano, & thyme.  I also wanted this dish to be a little spicier and zesty, so I added smoked paprika and a little more red pepper since I wanted this to have some "kick" to it.

 

Ingredients:

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 Tbsp lime juice

1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp & a dash of Red Pepper Flakes, divided

1/2 tsp salt

15 oz. low-sodium black beans, rinsed & drained

1 can chickpeas, rinsed & drained

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

1/4 cup white onion, chopped

1 tsp Basil

1 tsp Oregano

1 tsp Thyme

1.5 tsp Smoked Paprika

1 medium avocado, diced

 

Assembly:

Putting together this delicious lunch was spectacularly easy.  (Loved that since this was a "whoops I forgot about lunch" moment).

 

1. Combine garlic, lime juice, EVOO, cumin, 1 tsp of red pepper flakes, & salt in a medium bowl.

2. Add black beans, chickpeas, tomatoes, onion. 

3. In a small bowl, combine basil, oregano, thyme, smoked paprika, and a dash of red pepper flakes.  Once mixed well, add the contents to the medium bowl of veggies.

4.  Mix all ingredients well (sans avocado).

5. Add avocado right before serving.

 

 

Thoughts after eating....

1. This is definitely going to be a staple in our revolving recipe collection.

2. There is so much versatility in this recipe.  We ate it as is for lunch, but you could put this on fresh spinach and use the juices from the bowl as salad dressing.  You could also pair it with baked/grilled chicken that has been marinated with lime juice.  J, naturally, thought this "would be great with steak".... I was thinking more tilapia and/or chicken, but I'm sure steak would compliment this as well.

3. It is so easy to whip up.  Love that it is packed in protein & fiber, but doesn't take forever to assemble. 

4. It gets better the longer you leave it in the fridge to marinate!

 

 

Happy Nom-ing,