Black Bean and Cornbread Panzanella Salad Recipe

One of my ongoing goals is to create salads that are fun and low on actual vegetables.

I prefer salads with as few vegetables as possible — that’s what makes me likely to eat them. Call it a personal preference. The important part is the flavor and the texture, not how many leaves are involved.

Recently I’ve been deep into a Mexican/Tex‑Mex phase — when am I not? I made this salad a few weeks ago after getting a little carried away with cornbread (four batches in three days). I needed a way to use up the extra cornbread besides eating it straight. I love all kinds of panzanella salads, so I put one together with a Tex‑Mex twist: cornbread croutons, black beans, corn salsa and a bright chile‑lime vinaigrette. Yes, it still has bread and tomatoes — and that’s the point.

I tossed this together mostly from leftovers: cornbread cubes, a copycat chipotle corn salsa I had on hand, black beans and more of the chile‑lime vinaigrette I used on a flank steak salad recently. It was one of those dishes born from necessity, but it turned out to be a favorite.

There was very little planning — mostly salvaging ingredients that were close to the end of their fridge lives — but the flavors all came together beautifully. And yes, I did include a few lettuce leaves with my cornbread croutons.

Black Bean + Cornbread Panzanella Salad

Yield:

2
to 4

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5 from 2 votes

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Ingredients

• 1
  batch of cornbread
  cut into cubes
• 12
  ounces
  baby romaine lettuce
• 1
  cup
  black beans
• 1
  cup
  copycat chipotle corn salsa
• 1
  avocado,
  cubed
• 1
  pint
  grape tomatoes,
  halved
• salt + pepper

Chile Lime Vinaigrette

• 2
  tablespoons
  olive oil
• 1
  tablespoon
  rice vinegar
• 1/2
  tablespoon
  red pepper or chile oil
• 2
  teaspoons
  honey
• the juice of 2 limes
• a pinch of salt + pepper

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 425°F. Spread the cornbread cubes on a baking sheet and bake 6–7 minutes. Toss, then bake an additional 6–8 minutes, until the cubes are golden and crisp. Set aside.
• While the cornbread toasts, combine the lettuce, tomatoes, black beans, avocado, corn salsa and cilantro in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper and toss to combine. Add the cornbread croutons and toss again. Serve with the chile‑lime vinaigrette.

Chile Lime Vinaigrette

• Combine all vinaigrette ingredients in a mason jar, shaker bottle or bowl and shake or whisk until well combined.

Course:
Salad

Cuisine:
American

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Final note: margaritas make everything better — consider making them to go with this salad.