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Apr20

Brown Rice & Black Bean Salad with Avocado & Cilantro

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This Brown Rice and Black Bean Salad is the perfect dish to make and eat all week! You can add chicken or shrimp, but it’s filling without added protein too.

This recipe is one of the oldest recipes on my blog – I first shared it back in 2012 and it’s still one of my go-to’s! I’m re-sharing it today since I start craving it as soon as the weather warms up and it’s on our menu this week. It’s easy to pull together since it uses pantry staples and the fresh produce required is easy to find. In addition, you could easily swap other veggies into it as well.

Moreover, this big salad batch can easily last all week for quick lunches, for family leftover nights or as a filling side dish. To be totally honest, this salad gets even better the longer it sits, so your leftovers should be even more delicious than eating it fresh. It’s one of those great dishes that you can keep in your fridge at all times. While it’s vegetarian and very filling as is (lots of fiber!!), it also pairs well with chicken or shrimp if you want to up the protein.

Brown Rice & Black Bean Salad with Avocado & Cilantro

Brown Rice & Black Bean Salad with Avocado & Cilantro

Brown Rice and Black Bean Salad

Brown Rice & Black Bean Salad with Avocado & Cilantro

Serves 4-8 people
Serving sizes will vary, depending on whether it’s a side dish or an entree! You can’t go wrong with beans and rice.

Ingredients

2 cups cooked brown rice, chilled
2-3 cups cooked black beans (if using canned, use two 15 oz cans, drained and rinsed)
2 cups seeded and diced tomato
1 bunch (about 5-7) thinly sliced green onions, using both the white and green parts
2 ½ Tablespoons olive oil
2 ½ Tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 ½ Tablespoons water
juice of one fresh lime
1 small diced jalapeño pepper (more or less to taste), remove seeds and ribs if you don’t want it too spicy
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped (more or less to taste, I love cilantro!)
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 whole avocado, peeled, pitted and diced
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese or feta

Nutritional Benefits

Brown rice

High in manganese which is an important mineral that helps bone development, wound healing, nerve function and more. It’s also a great, fiber-rich carbohydrate and you know carbs are important for runners! Carbs are for sure my favorite food group. If you have a rice cooker, you can easily use it for this recipe.

Black beans

Great source of protein and carbs. They also provide plenty of fiber, magnesium, potassium, and folate to help promote healthier levels of blood pressure, metabolism, LDL cholesterol levels, and bone health.

Tomatoes

Great source of vitamin C, potassium, folate, and vitamin K. Plus, they are really tasty, especially as we get more into the summer months, and the perfect flavor and color pop for salads.

Green onions

An excellent, savory garnish for salads. Fun fact: they are also packed with vitamin A and vitamin K.

Olive oil

One of my favorite ingredients for any recipe. I prefer Extra Virgin Olive Oil since it holds more of its nutrients and antioxidants because of the unrefined state. It’s also more flavorful than regular olive oil.

Red wine vinegar

A delicious fermented red wine that packs plenty of antioxidants and acetic acid. It has a pretty strong flavor so just remember to use it in moderation.

Lime juice

Holds plenty of vitamin C and antioxidants making it a healthy AND extremely tasty addition to your salad. I always add plenty of lime juice to my salads because I just love it. In addition, it really brightens the flavors.

Jalapeño pepper

Adds the perfect spice to this salad. Pair it with cilantro and avocado and you get the perfect Mexican flavor. Plus, they are rich in vitamin C and antioxidants.

Cilantro

Loaded with antioxidants, essential oils, vitamins, and dietary fiber. It’s also a good source of minerals like potassium, calcium, manganese, iron, and magnesium. Some people may taste soap when they eat cilantro, so you might need to adjust this ingredient accordingly if making this salad for others. Since Tommy and I don’t have this ‘soap gene’, I can happily put extra cilantro in our salads because it’s SO good and super healthy.

Avocado

One of my favorite superfoods. It’s a healthy fat to keep you full and is PACKED with fiber!

Cheese

Rich in protein, calcium and vitamin K2. I like either a sharp cheddar or feta for this salad!

Instructions

Step 1

In a large bowl combine chilled rice (make sure you cook the rice prior!), beans, tomato, and green onions. If you want to get fancy and add corn kernels, that would taste great too.

Brown Rice & Black Bean Salad with Avocado & Cilantro

Step 2

In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, water, lime juice, jalapeño pepper, cilantro, sugar, and salt.

Brown Rice and Black Bean Salad
Step 3

Pour dressing mixture over the rice and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate the salad for 30 minutes.

Step 4

Top with shredded cheese and avocado just before serving.

Brown Rice and Black Bean Salad

Brown Rice and Black Bean Salad

To enjoy leftovers, try placing it over a bed of spinach or romaine! It’s also great in a whole wheat wrap or gluten-free tortilla.

Brown Rice and Black Bean Salad Brown Rice and Black Bean Salad

 

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Brown Rice &Black Bean Salad with Avocado & Cilantro

  • Author: Teri
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Cook Time: 5
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 8 1x
  • Category: Side Dish
  • Diet: Gluten Free

Description

This is a filling and delicious salad that vegetarians and meat-eaters alike love! It’s easily adaptable to whatever veggies you have on hand too. Try swapping tomatoes for bell peppers and add cucumber too!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 cups cooked brown rice, chilled
  • 23 cups cooked black beans
  • 2 cups seeded and diced tomato
  • 1 bunch (about 57) sliced green onions, using both the white and green parts
  • 2.5 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 2.5 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 2.5 Tablespoons water
  • juice of one fresh lime
  • 1 small diced jalapeño pepper
  • 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • avocado, peeled, pitted and diced
  • 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese or feta

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl combine chilled rice, beans, tomato, and green onions.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together the oil and next 7 ingredients (through salt).
  3. Pour dressing mixture over the rice and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate salad for 30 minutes.
  4. Top with shredded cheese and avocado just before serving.

Notes

If using canned beans, use two 15 oz cans, drained and rinsed.

If your jalapeño is super spicy or you don’t like spicy food, remove the seeds and ribs and only add the green part.


Nutrition

  • Calories: 256
  • Sugar: 4.6
  • Fat: 8.9
  • Saturated Fat: 1.8
  • Trans Fat: 0
  • Carbohydrates: 33.1
  • Fiber: 10
  • Protein: 9.6
  • Cholesterol: 5

Keywords: brown rice, black beans, vegetarian, salad, tomatoes

Brown Rice and Black Bean Salad

Here’s the original photo from when I posted this in 2012!! 🙂
Brown Rice and Black Bean Salad

Let me know what you think about this salad in the comments! Your feedback and review helps others who try this recipe!

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    29 responses to “Brown Rice & Black Bean Salad with Avocado & Cilantro”

    1. Wow, that was kind of fun! I got a 4, but now I feel like my retinas will have little squares burned onto them for the rest of the night. I wonder if performance varies depending on the computer monitor color calibration? Maybe your score could be blamed on your computer :).

    2. 105?! woman! you’re color blind like a man!
      i got a 7…. but agreed with bethany… that hurt my eyes! the blues were a little rough for me. i had to check, check, double check my colors….. with the help of a few long blinks.

      fun test. i may share it.

    3. I scored a 20! But I’m going to the eye doctor this week because even with my contacts and glasses, my eyes are totally fuzzy…

    4. We took that color test in one of my graphic design classes and apparently I have perfect color vision! Can I put that on my resume? I guess staring at colors on a screen for hours during my graphic design classes paid off.

    5. No way! Your style is waaay too good to not have a firm command of colors! What’s your upper body routine? I feel like that’s my weakest area and could use some inspiration.

    6. I scored a 0!! Was not expecting that!

      The salad looks great, some of my favorite things are in it. I’ll have to make it soon, I have a ton of fresh cilantro from my CSA that I have to use!

    7. Wow. I scored a 62. No wonder the paint colors in my house are slightly off.

    8. Wow that color test made my eyes tired! I got a 24. It felt like my eyes kept crossing so I kinda rushed through it. Lovely salad btw!

    9. I made this for dinner tonight. It was super tasty! I’m pretty sure it made enough to feed a family of 6 for a week, too.

    10. Hey!! Just wanted to let you know that I made this last week and Brent and I both loved it! It’s the perfect light summer dinner that is equally perfect for lunch the next day…in fact, I think I might have eaten it for 3 meals in a row!

      Thanks <3

    11. Teri!! Is it the black bean salad that made us friends–or–the fact that I just scored 119 on the color blind test and we have yet another thing in common?!?? (Either way, its win-win.)

    12. Don’t worry too much! It may have to do with your monitor. I missed a couple of them. My daughter (who is legitimately VERY colorblind) didn’t even know where to begin with this test. She says things like she can sometimes tell green from red because green is lighter than red. She can’t tell a blinking red light from a blinking yellow light.

    13. Your score may vary according to your monitor!

      My daughter is legitimately VERY color blind and didn’t even know where to begin with this test. She can’t tell a blinking yellow light from a blinking red light.

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