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Salsa fans, this one is for you! Fresh, delicious Corn and Black Bean Salsa is on the menu today, and your whole family is going to love it! Tender black beans and sweet corn round out the flavors in this spicy-as-you-want-to-make-it salsa. Either use my basic fresh salsa recipe below or make this a 3-ingredient recipe by using your favorite jarred salsa.
When I was in high school, I used to visit my brother and his family in Washington state each summer. One of my favorite memories of those trips was cooking with my sister-in-law, a Cordon Bleu trained chef. We would flip through her cooking magazines and pick things to make. One of the very first things we made together was tostadas with this Corn & Black Bean Salsa.
I remember thinking how life-changing this salsa was…I mean, I’d always known salsa from a jar, but this was a whole new ballgame. Silly to think that now, but at 16 I was just beginning to develop a love for cooking.
To this day, I’m not a huge fan of jarred salsa, and corn & black bean salsa is still my favorite. I’ve shared my aunt’s Fresh Homemade Salsa recipe before, but it does have a few ingredients that aren’t always readily available. This fresh salsa recipe is a basic recipe that you can’t go wrong with.
It only needs 5 ingredients, all of them fresh – tomatoes, jalapenos, onion, cilantro and lime juice. Oh, and of course salt. You can play around with the heat by adding more or less jalapeno (add the seeds for more heat, no seeds for less) and with the rest of the flavors until the salsa is to your liking. To keep the salsa from getting too soggy, be sure to remove the seeds from the tomatoes.
Once you love the salsa, you can serve it as is, or get really crazy by adding the black beans and corn. That’s the way I love it. It’s a super delicious and hearty dip that’s also the perfect topping for chicken or fish.
Try this next: Spice lovers, don’t skip my Mango Salsa and my Roasted Tomatillo Salsa Verde!
Pin this recipe for later!Why I Love This Recipe
- Fast and Easy – Minimal prep and zero cooking are required to make this recipe!
- Customizable Heat – You control the level of heat in this dish. Use fewer jalapeño peppers, and make sure to omit the seeds and the membranes if you like a more mild salsa.
- Perfect For Tacos – Not only a great dip for chips, this recipe is perfect for topping your next batch of tacos!
RECIPE WALK-THROUGH
Before You Begin
Assemble your ingredients and do your prep.
- Roma Tomatoes – Fresh, ripe Romas are the best tomatoes for this dish. Remove the seeds to prevent the salsa from being too watery before dicing.
- Jalapeños – Jalapeño peppers vary in heat, so take a little bite before you start so you can gauge how many to use in your salsa to get the spice level you want. Remember, seeds and membranes contain most of the heat, so use that when you decide to add them (or not).
- White Onion – Yellow or red onion also work really well in salsa, but white is my favorite!
- Cilantro – Fresh cilantro adds incredible flavor to your salsa, but it can be omitted if you are one of the few who can’t tolerate it.
- Lime – Fresh lime juice only here, please. Put those green bottles away for this dish.
- Canned Corn – Any kind of canned corn is fine, just make sure it isn’t creamed corn, and drain it well before mixing into the salsa.
- Canned Black Beans – Drain and rinse your black beans before adding to the salsa.
How To Make Corn and Black Bean Salsa
See the recipe card below for full, detailed instructions
- Prep – Remove the seeds and pulp from the tomatoes. Dice the onion, jalapeño and cilantro.
- Combine – Put the tomatoes, onion, jalapeño, and cilantro into a food processor and pulse a few times to combine.
- Add Lime and Salt – Add the juice from a lime and salt to taste. Stir and taste and repeat.
- Add Corn and Beans – Stir in the drained corn and black beans.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you use canned tomatoes for this recipe?
Fresh tomatoes are ideal for salsa, but in a pinch I’ve drained some fire-roasted diced tomatoes before and had good results!
What else can be added to this fresh salsa?
If you like a spicier salsa, try adding a diced habanero pepper to the mix. Garlic is also a fantastic addition.
Serving Suggestions
- Add minced fresh garlic to the mix for extra flavor.
- Stir in more fresh peppers like habanero or even a bit of reaper for extra spicy heat, or add dried pepper powder for more flavor but manageable spice.
- You can add tomatillos to the food processor if you have them available!
Storage Tips
The Best Way to Store Leftovers
- Refrigerator: Store leftovers in a covered container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Freezer: This salsa can be frozen, but its texture will be impacted when it thaws. Nevertheless, it will still be delicious!
Recipe Tips
- For the best results, make this salsa a few hours in advance. This gives all the flavors time to meld.
More Dip Recipes
Basic Fresh Salsa with Corn & Black Beans
Ingredients
Fresh Salsa
- 8-9 ripe roma tomatoes
- 2 jalapenos some (or all) seeds removed
- 1 small white or red onion
- 1-2 tablespoons cilantro
- 1-2 limes
- Salt to taste
- 1 14- ounce can corn drained
- 1 14- ounce can black beans drained and rinsed
Instructions
- Remove seeds and pulp from the tomatoes and cut into quarters. Remove seeds from the jalapenos (if desired) and chop. Roughly chop the onions and cilantro.
- Place first tomatoes, jalapenos, onions and cilantro into a food processor. Pulse several times until the vegetables finely chopped and combined. If you prefer a chunkier salsa, you can forego the food processor and chop all the ingredients to your desired size.
- Place the chopped ingredients into a small bowl and stir in juice from 1 lime. Add a couple pinches of salt. Taste and add more lime and salt as desired.
- To make the Corn & Black Bean Salsa, stir in the corn and black beans and add more lime and salt to taste.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer Kristin Maxwell of “Yellow Bliss Road” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. For accurate calorie counts and other nutritional values, we recommend running the ingredients through your preferred online nutritional calculator. Calories and other nutritional values can vary depending on which brands were used.
Can this be canned? If so would you waterbath or pressure can it?
Hi Babbs, I haven’t tried canning this, so I can’t really answer your question with confidence. Sorry!