Kitchen notes · a little help before you start
Black Bean Fiesta Mason Jar Salad
A layered bean salad makes a colorful lunch to look forward to. The lime dressing reaches the crisp vegetables at the bottom, with soft beans and grains above them. Tip it onto a big plate, add avocado and enjoy a little of every layer together.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Total
- 20 min
- Original yield
- Serves 2
- Ingredients
- 18 listed
Make it part of your week
Recipe categories & planning details
- Meal type
- Lunch
- Primary protein
- Beans & lentils
- Cuisine
- Mexican
- Preparation & total time
- Prep: 16–30 minutes · Total: 30 minutes or less
- Dish type
- Salads
A few quick notes
1. Blend dressing until smooth
Combine the dressing ingredients in the blender first so the sauce is ready before building either jar.
2. Toss the first vegetables
Put dressing in each jar, add onion, carrot and cabbage, then use a fork to coat that first layer.
3. Leave the greens near the top
Layer corn, tomato, beans and quinoa before filling the remaining space with greens and finishing with cilantro.
Get to know the ingredients
Cooked quinoa
Have the quinoa already cooked before adding its layer above the black beans in the assembled jars.
Corn options
Use fresh corn kernels or frozen kernels that have been thawed before layering them over the dressed vegetables.
Avocado slices
Keep the avocado for serving: pour the jar onto a plate or bowl, then add the slices over the salad.
Let’s make it
Choose your servings, then check things off as you go.
Original recipe: Serves 2. Original quantities shown.
Check ingredients as you prepare them. These checks stay on this page.
How to make it
0 of 2 steps completeMake room for Black Bean Fiesta Mason Jar Salad
Review ingredients in your pantry before anything is added. Meal plans use your household size; grocery-only additions use the servings selected above.
The last little job
Tip out, then add avocado
Pour the layered jar salad onto a large plate or bowl and top it with the sliced avocado before eating.
A little more help as you go
Use wide-mouth quart jars
The two wide-mouth quart jars hold the dressing and layers, leaving enough opening for adding each prepared ingredient.
Beans go below quinoa
Keep the stated order after corn and tomatoes: cooked black beans, then quinoa, with greens filling the rest.
A few questions you might have
Is the avocado packed into the jar?
It is added after the jar is poured onto the serving plate or bowl, rather than among the packed layers.
Does the dressing go over the greens?
It starts at the bottom of each jar, where onion, carrot and cabbage are tossed through it before the other layers.
Are the black beans cooked?
Yes. Cooked black beans are listed and form a layer above the corn and tomatoes, just below the quinoa.
Do I chop the cherry tomatoes?
Chop them before layering over the corn, ready to sit below the beans, quinoa and mixed greens.
What gives the dressing its heat?
Chopped jalapeno is blended into the lime dressing with cilantro, garlic and the other dressing ingredients until smooth.
Storage & reheating safety
For cooked, perishable leftovers, refrigerate within 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F), using shallow containers for prompt cooling. Keep the refrigerator at 40°F or below, use refrigerated leftovers within 3–4 days, and reheat hot leftovers to 165°F, checked with a food thermometer. Follow any shorter package limit.
These are general safety limits, not a tested storage or freezing recommendation for this particular dish. USDA leftovers guidance · Safe cooking temperatures
Recipe source: eatingbirdfood.com. Ingredient names and quantities may be adapted for the pantry.
Preparation notes follow the recipe shown here.
