Give your taste buds a treat with this spicy potato-bean salad that’s hearty enough to serve as a main dish. You can adjust the seasonings to your own heat preference.
It was blazing hot, and The Spice Hater (aka my daughter E.) was eating dinner with friends. So I seized the opportunity to indulge in a little hot pepper action and mixed up a batch of super-spicy Southwestern potato salad and let it marinate in the fridge until very cold.
The chipotle chiles and cumin combine with fresh lime juice to create a dressing that coats the potatoes and black beans in flavor. It’s hearty enough to serve as a main dish with a side salad and perhaps some air-fried tortilla chips and salsa.
The level of spices in the recipe below tasted perfect to my heat-loving husband and me. But if you don’t like things quite so spicy, be sure you cut down on the chipotle and jalapeño peppers. It’ll still be tasty but won’t burn going down!
For more Southwestern-inspired dishes, check out these recipes:
Southwestern Black Bean Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon ground flax seed
- 2 tablespoons hot water
- 2 pounds small red potatoes
- 1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
- 1/2 cup finely chopped red pepper
- 1/2 cup chopped green onions
- 2 15-ounce cans black beans rinsed and drained (3 cups cooked beans)
- 1 jalapeño pepper seeded and finely chopped
- 1 large tomato chopped
- 1 - 2 tablespoons chipotle chiles in adobo sauce chopped (or chipotle chile powder to taste)
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 1 clove garlic pressed or minced
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- mixed greens or lettuces optional serving suggestion
Instructions
- Combine 1 teaspoon ground flax seed with two tablespoons hot water in a small cup or bowl and set aside to thicken.
- Place potatoes in a saucepan, and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 20 minutes or until tender. Drain; cool. Cut potatoes into 3/4-inch cubes. Place potatoes in a large bowl. Add corn, red pepper, onions, black beans (rinsed and drained very thoroughly), jalapeño pepper, and tomatoes and mix well.
- Remove 1 chipotle chile from can. Chop chile to measure 1 to 2 tablespoons. (Reserve remaining chiles and adobo sauce for another use–I like to mince them and freeze them in ice cube trays.) If chipotles are not available, use ground chipotle chili pepper in next step.
- Combine chopped chipotle chile, flax seed mixture, lime juice, garlic, salt, cumin, chili powder, and black pepper, stirring with a whisk. Drizzle the lime juice mixture over potato mixture, and toss gently. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour, stirring every now and then. Taste and add more lime juice as needed before serving atop mixed greens, if desired.
Nutritional info is approximate.
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Rebecca
April 19, 2011 at 3:42 pmI love this recipe – it is always a hit! I am going to make it for a barbecue next week. Thanks!
Sarah B.
May 6, 2011 at 10:12 pmThis is lovely. It’s a versatile recipe too. I’ve just made a version where I added some nayonaise to create an aioli sauce, used half sweet potatoes, replaced the corn with peas, and replaced the tomato with even more red pepper. Although I left the chili pepper and jalapeno out, it’s still probably too hot for the kiddos at a vegan family potluck we’re attending tomorrow. But I think it’s perfect.
Anna
June 22, 2013 at 5:25 amHi Susan. I was growing up on polish food where was no such thing like fat free. Taste was the most important at any cost! So when , few years ago I was changing the way I eat I try to fallow so many blogs and website’s .Was not easy, specialy for my family. Today , I’m not expert , but least I know what I’m doing only thanks to you. Today I use your recipe over and over again, I found them very tasteful easy and there is no complains from my husband!!!! This salad is another keeper specially on hot day like today. Thank you very much for sharing with all of us and sorry for my English.
Lav
June 25, 2013 at 5:51 pmI skipped the garlic, corn and chilli powder and used small whole potatoes (pressure cooked) instead of red potatoes – the salad was still awesome.
Thank you for recipe, this one is a keeper! 🙂
Kim
December 2, 2013 at 10:23 pmOutstanding! I toned down the heat quite a bit and added just a bit of nutritional yeast. I loved it! Thanks for another wonderful recipe!
Rusti
April 16, 2014 at 7:21 amLove this!! I only used one can of beans, ditched the tomatoes, and added some cilantro. Very yummy!!
Allison Lakomski
June 15, 2014 at 5:39 pmI literally just made this (it is still in the marinating phase), but I sampled and it’s a great blend of spice. I only had sweet potatoes, so I used those instead of red skins, and like one other commenter I only used one can of beans and added some cilantro.
Galia
June 15, 2014 at 7:03 pmI love your receipes !!! All of them !! So simple , !!
Tracy
June 16, 2014 at 7:51 amSusan, this looks great, I can’t wait to try it! Do you have a resource for chipotle chiles in adobo sauce without added oil?
Thanks!
Tracy
Sarah
July 26, 2014 at 1:34 pmAnother great recipe … really awesome flavour. Very much appreciate all your recipes and tips.