This Easy Shishito and Corn Salad with Black Beans recipe is a zesty summer side dish made with fresh shishito peppers, sweet corn, red onion, cherry tomatoes, black beans, chives, and a tangy lime dressing.
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It's shishito pepper season! And they're starting to grow like crazy in our garden. I grew them for the first time last year and quickly became obsessed. Shishitos, overall, have a great flavor. They're slightly smoky with a bold, green peppery flavor. But the thing I actually like the most is that 1 in 10 peppers will have a big kick of spice! I call it "pepper roulette" cause you never know what you're going to get while eating them.
My favorite way to eat shishitos is in their classic blistered state. I usually blister them and throw them into a noodle stir fry with other veggies. But I've been wanting to branch out and find other ways to use all of our delicious shishito peppers. So I recently decided to try them in a corn salad made with somewhat Tex-Mex inspired flavors and ingredients.
Corn is one of the main components of this salad. It's still summery sweet and readily available in supermarkets and farm stands. Along with shishito peppers, I've also added some cherry tomatoes and onion from my garden. I tossed in some black beans for protein and created a simple dressing made with lime juice, olive oil, and seasonings. Then, I finished off the salad with a sprinkle of cotija cheese.
Shishito and Corn Salad with Black Beans
The only thing I cooked for this salad was the shishito peppers. Everything else was just tossed right into it. You could cook the corn if you prefer. I'd recommend either grilling or boiling the ears of corn before removing it from the cob. I prefer to use the corn kernels raw since they tend to be sweeter than cooked corn. It also gives the salad a nice balance of flavors.
To start this salad, we need to blister the shishitos. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shishito peppers and cook. Turn them occasionally until they're charred and blistered on all sides. This should take about 5-7 minutes. Remove the peppers from the stove and set aside to cool. Once they're cool, give them a chop.
In a large mixing bowl, add the corn kernels, blistered shishito peppers, cherry tomatoes, red onion, black beans, and chives (my husband isn't a big fan of cilantro, so I used garlic chives from our garden instead). Mix everything together.
In a small bowl, stir the olive oil, lime juice, smoked paprika, and salt and pepper together. Pour over the salad and toss to combine.
Place salad in a serving dish and sprinkle crumbled cotija cheese on top. Garnish with extra chives, if desired, and serve.
Shishito and Corn Salad with Black Beans
Equipment
- 1 large skillet
- 1 large mixing bowl
- 1 small mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 10-12 shishito peppers stems removed
- 2 tbsps. olive oil divided
- 2 ears fresh corn kernals removed
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 1/4 cup red onion diced
- 1 - 15 oz. can black beans rinsed and drained
- 2 tbsps. fresh chives chopped
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup cotija cheese crumbled
Instructions
- Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shishito peppers and cook, turning occasionally until charred and blistered on all sides, about 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat and cool. Once shishitos have cooled, chop them up and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add corn, blistered shishitos, cherry tomatoes, red onion, black beans, and chives. Mix together.
- In a small bowl, stir 1 tbsp. olive oil, lime juice, smoked paprika, and salt and pepper together. Pour over salad and toss to combine.
- Place salad in serving dish. Sprinkle crumbled cotija cheese over the top and serve. Best served chilled or at room temperature.
This summery side dish makes a great, light lunch and also pairs well with grilled steak or chicken, and of course dishes like tacos and Mexican rice bowls. Store leftover salad in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days. If you're planning on making this salad ahead of time, add the dressing and cotija cheese right before serving.
Did you make this Shishito and Corn Salad with Black Beans recipe? Share it on social media using the hashtag #holokahome. Don’t forget to tag me @holokahome!
