20-Minute Simple Black Bean Pasta Salad
If you’re anything like me, you love a delicious 20-minute recipe, and this simple black bean pasta salad is perfect! It’s made with al dente fusilli, fresh arugula, sweet corn, black beans, fresh cilantro, cherry tomatoes, and a tangy, zesty yogurt lime dressing.
This black bean pasta is filling, light, tangy, and protein-packed with black beans.
Table of Contents
Why I Love This Black Bean Pasta Salad
Welcome back for another 20-minute recipe! This one is my favorite, I love black beans and sweet corn, and the vinaigrette with a touch of yogurt is soo good!
Ingredient List and Substitutions
Pasta
- Fusilli Pasta – or rotini pasta for a slightly larger pasta.
- Purified Water – enough to fill a pot
- Salt – for salty pasta water
Ingredients For The Dressing
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Fresh Lime Juice – if you’re out of limes, use lemon juice. (optional)
- Greek Yogurt
- Garlic – finely minced
- Roasted Cumin Powder (optional)
- Black Pepper – to taste
- Salt – to taste
Black Beans & Corn Combination
- Canned Black Beans
- Canned Sweet Corn – or fresh corn
- Cherry Tomatoes—Grape tomatoes are also a great option. Have you seen brands called flavor bombs or sugar bombs? They’re super sweet, full of flavor, and perfect for this recipe.
- Wild Arugula
- Fresh Cilantro
Equipment
- Large Pot
- Microplane
- Pasta Drainer
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Tongs
- Paring Knife
- Wooden Cutting Board
Step-by-Step Instructions
Prepare
- Fill a large pot with water and enough salt until it’s heavily salted, place it on the stove, and set it to boil.
- Drain, and pour the canned black beans and sweet corn into a mixing bowl.
- Clean, rinse, and slice the tomatoes in half, and to the mixing bowl
- Clean, rinse the fresh arugula, and set aside.
- Chop the fresh cilantro and add to the mixing bowl.
Pasta
- Add the pasta to the boiling water.
- Boil the pasta until it’s al dente, roughly 9-11 minutes, or as indicated on the box instructions.
- Drain well and allow to cool.
- Once the pasta is well-drained and slightly cooled off, place the pasta in the refrigerator and cool until you’re ready to make the pasta salad.
Cumin Lime Yogurt Dressing
- Combine the lime juice, extra virgin olive oil, finely minced garlic, finely chopped onion, salt, and pepper in a bowl or large measuring cup and whisk.
- Then add greek yogurt and whisk.
- Place the dressing in the refrigerator until ready to toss the salad.
Final Steps
- Place the cooled pasta in the large mixing bowl and lightly toss all of the ingredients with tongs.
- Top with fresh cilantro – optional, freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Variations
I love to try different variations of this pasta salad, so instead of black beans, try red kidney beans, garbanzo beans or lentils.
You can add grilled chicken, seared salmon, or this sazon spiced miso salmon.
Storage
Best Storage Option
Store the shrimp pesto pasta salad in an airtight, sealed glass container to preserve it longer.
The cooked shrimp will safely last in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.
What To Serve With Black Bean Pasta Salad with Yogurt Vinaigrette
I love this pasta salad with a side of air fryer chicken thighs, a side of crunchy plantain chips, or air-fried yuca fries.
Looking for other recipes?
Try some of my favorites:
Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad
Super Crispy Pollo Empanizado (Breaded Chicken)
If you make this recipe, please leave a comment or rate it. I would love to hear from you and try my best to respond to all comments.
20-Minute Simple Black Bean Pasta Salad
Equipment
- 1 Large Pot
- 1 Pasta Drainer
- 1 Large Mixing Bowl
- 1 Tongs
- 1 Paring Knife
- 1 Wooden Cutting Board
- 1 Measuring Cup
- 1 Microplane to mince the garlic
Ingredients
Pasta
- 8 oz Fusilli Pasta
- Purified Water
- Water Heavily Salted Water
Dressing
- ¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 4 Limes Juiced
- 8 oz Greek Yogurt
- 1 clove Fresh Garlic
- ⅛ tsp Roasted Cumin Powder Optional
- ⅛ tsp Peppercorn
- 1 pinch Salt
Pasta Ingredients
- 1 can Canned Black Beans Drained
- 1 can Canned Sweet Corn Drained
- 1 cup Cherry Tomatoes
- 1 cup Wild Arugula
- 1 bunch Fresh Cilantro
Instructions
Prep
- Fill a large pot with water and enough salt until it’s heavily salted, place it on the stove, and set it to boil.
- Drain, and pour the canned black beans and sweet corn into a mixing bowl.
- Clean, rinse, and slice the tomatoes in half, and to the mixing bow
- Clean, rinse the fresh arugula, and set aside.
- Chop the fresh cilantro and add to the mixing bowl.
Pasta
- Add the pasta to the boiling water.
- Cook the pasta until it’s al dente, roughly 9-11 minutes, or as indicated on the box instructions.
- Drain well and allow to cool.
- Once the pasta is well-drained and slightly cooled off, place the pasta in the refrigerator and cool until you’re ready to make the pasta salad. Roughly 5 minutes.
Cumin Lime Yogurt Dressing
- Combine the lime juice, extra virgin olive oil, finely minced garlic, finely chopped onion, salt, and pepper in a bowl or large measuring cup and whisk.
- Then add greek yogurt and whisk.
- Place the dressing in the refrigerator until ready to toss the salad.
Final Steps
- Place the cooled pasta in the large mixing bowl and lightly toss all ingredients with tongs, then add the dressing and mix well.
- Top with fresh cilantro – optional, freshly grated parmesan cheese.
