Black Bean, Sweet Corn and Jicama Salad

Jicama is a plant from Mexico. Many people associate the term, jicama, with the plant’s edible tuberous root. This part of the plant is crisp, starchy and slightly sweet. In Mexico, it is often enjoyed raw with lime juice, chili powder and salt. And thus, it was the perfect candidate to add some dimension to this delicious oil free vegan black bean, corn and jicama salad recipe.

Jicama works magically with all the ingredients of this salad, especially the guajillo chili lime dressing. And it has such a pleasing texture.

A few things…

• ・You can find jicama in many U.S. grocery store produce departments. Sometimes, it comes prepackaged as “jicama sticks”, and sometimes, it’s a tuber.

• ・Guajillo chili powder has a mild heat. Other chili powders have no heat or a lot of heat. If you use another type of chili powder in this recipe, you may need more or less of it. Taste the black bean and corn salad, and adjust seasonings.

• ・I used 4 medium ears of sweet corn on the cob for this salad. After steaming it, I cut the corn off the cob. You can also use frozen sweet corn.

• ・This jicama salad can be made ahead. After refrigerating overnight, it maintained its crunch. Before serving, be sure to taste and if needed, refresh the lime juice, salt and chili powder for maximum flavor.

This black bean and corn salad with jicama works great for picnics, as a bbq side, packed in a cooler for a road trip, as a dinner side, for lunch, or even as a light meal in the summer.

Discover more UVK recipes, like Vegan Black Bean Dip, Vegan Black Bean Soup, Black Bean Avocado Salsa, Sweet Corn Salad with Tomatoes, Basil and Bulgur, or Coconut Corn Soup with Soy Curls.

Black Bean, Sweet Corn and Jicama Salad

⅓ cup lime juice

⅓ cup chopped cilantro

⅓ cup chopped scallion

1½ tsp guajillo chili powder (see note above)

1 tsp smoked paprika

½ tsp Mexican oregano

½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp salt

1 15.5 ounce can of black beans, drained and rinsed (OR 1¾ cup black beans)

3 cups sweet corn (see note above)

1 cup jicama, chopped into bite-size pieces

¾ cup bite-size pieces of chopped red bell pepper

½ cup bite-size pieces of chopped avocado

1. In a large mixing bowl, add the lime juice, cilantro, scallions, guajillo chili powder, smoked paprika, Mexican oregano, garlic powder and salt. Stir together.

2. Then, add the black beans, sweet corn, jicama, red bell pepper and avocado. Stir together.

3. Taste, and adjust seasonings, if needed (more salt? more lime juice? more guajillo chili powder?). Serve.