Pinto Bean and Pepper Salad

A simple and healthy bean and pepper salad to serve alongside your favorite grilled or Mexican meal. This Pinto Bean and Pepper Salad is perfect for busy weeknights or as a potluck dish.

My kids went back to school this week. I find it incredibly hard to believe that another summer has flown by, I’m actually still processing the fact that I now have a 4th grader, 2nd grader and 10 month old. How in the world did that happen?

Back to school week always energizes me. I don’t know about other moms, but summer leaves me feeling a little ragged. I love the laid back relaxed feeling of summer break, but by now I’m starting to crave a bit of routine and order around the house. I’m also craving time to cook and blog more, so hopefully you’ll start seeing posts and recipes a little more frequently again.

This past weekend I attended my future sister-in-law’s bridal shower. My “baby” brother is getting married next month and I am so excited for the both of them. Bridal (and baby) showers are always fun to be a part of, not only for the obvious reason of showering the bride with gifts and love, but let’s be honest…the food is always something to look forward to. I love party food! When I started to make my plate my eyes spotted a good looking bean and pepper salad on the table. It was made by the mother of the bride and I helped myself to it a couple of times. It was so simple and that’s what I loved about it. I was inspired to recreate it immediately to serve as a side dish for one of our dinners this week. I made it earlier in the day and stored in the fridge so it was ready to go – to help with typical school night dinner prep madness. This Pinto Bean and Pepper salad is a perfect side dish recipe for tacos, quesadillas or even grilled chicken. It’s also a great (healthy) potluck dish (obviously since that’s how I first tried it), so consider making it for the next barbecue or get together you are invited to!

Hope everyone is having a great week!

Print Recipe

Pinto Bean and Pepper Salad

Yield: about 8 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 medium red, orange or yellow bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
• 1 sweet Vidalia onion, sliced thin
• 2 cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed (I use Bush's Pinto Beans)
• 1 garlic clove, pressed or finely minced
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1 lime, juiced
• 2 tablespoons light oil (I used grapeseed oil, olive oil would work too)
• big pinch coarse salt and fresh ground pepper

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Carefully toss and serve at room temperature or chilled.

Follow Aggie’s Kitchen’s board Bean Love – {Anything and Everything Bean} on Pinterest.