Vibrantly colored veggies and beans, spiced with tasty southwestern flavors, what’s not to love? This bright and yummy salad is fun and festive, not to mention how beautiful it will look on your table. A fabulous Whole Food Plant Based recipe. Vegan, oil free, sugar free, gluten free, no highly processed ingredients.
Hi! Robin here!
I love this salad so much. It is one of my absolute favorite salads. The last time we made it, I literally couldn’t stop eating it. Monkey loves it too. The next thing we knew it was all gone. We totally scarfed it down in a flash. This Fiesta Salad is so fresh tasting and delicious, you won’t want to stop eating it too!
Monkey and I have been making variations of Fiesta Salads over the years. Every time we made it, we varied it ever so slightly, largely dependent upon what ingredients we had in the house at that time.
Fiesta Salad Popularity
Fiesta Salads were all the rage in the 80’s and 90’s. You were pretty much assured that every party, cookout, or workplace food day would have a fiesta salad on the food table.
Our work “Food Day Sign-Up” sheets always had someone offering to bring a Fiesta Salad. It typically was one of the first items on the list. Office Food Days weren’t complete without a Fiesta Salad.
Office Food Days
Speaking of Office Food Days, there was a guy at the office, I’ll call him “Barry” (not his real name) who liked to stop by and indulge himself any time there was a food day within our team. Mind you, he wasn’t part of our department, but he pretty much felt entitled to stop by and grab a snack here and there from our food table. It drove everyone crazy.
Etiquette
It is pretty much understood that when you work at a large office and have team food days that you do not partake of other unit’s food unless you are invited to do so. It is office food day etiquette. Do not indulge unless invited, no matter how tempting. Right?
Double Dipper
What really drove us all crazy was “Barry” was notoriously known to “double dip.” OMG, it made us all insane. It was bad enough that he somehow felt entitled to eat our food, but the fact that he would double dip made it all that much worse. We literally would station people to guard any food that could potentially be “double dipped”, like chip dips, cheese balls, and of course, Fiesta Salads.
“Barry” loved Fiesta Salad. (I mean who doesn’t, right?) He was known for standing by our food table and dipping large tortilla chips into our Fiesta Salads, biting off a section, and then plunging that SAME saliva-covered chip back into the bowl again. *Cringe*
Before Seinfeld (aired in 1993)
The Seinfeld episode about double dipping where George double dips his chip in the dip is really what brought the issue of double dipping to light. It was like “Barry” was putting his whole mouth in our Fiesta salad. However, Barry was double dipping way before the Seinfeld episode aired. He was a double dipper from way back in the day where it was quietly discussed within various corners of the office with wrinkled noses of disgust.
Strategize
“Barry” never really got too many opportunities to double dip as we started to get strategic about these types of foods. We started keeping the food at our desks, and then when we would take our 9:30am break, we would bring the food to the food table and set “the dippable food” out. This way we were ensured that “Barry” couldn’t stroll by our food table and double dip our Fiesta Salad. LOL
Does double dipping bother you?
Ameera here!
OMG, my mom loves to tell the “Barry Double Dipping” story. She has told it so many times that I am hyper-vigilant about foods that are “dippable.” So-much-so that I can’t eat foods that are dippable unless I am sure no one has double dipped.
Buffets and Salad Bars
I also dislike eating from restaurant buffets or salad bars, and will avoid them at all cost. I am super paranoid that someone will use the same dirty plate, instead of getting a new plate. Additionally, I can’t stand the thought that maybe someone had dirty hands and I have to touch a serving spoon after that person touched it, etc. I . . . just . . . can’t . . . do . . . it.
Looking for something easy to make for your next work food day, cookout, or party? We got it right here . . . FIESTA SALAD!!!
PrintFiesta Salad
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 6 Cups 1x
- Category: Salad
Description
Vibrantly colored veggies and beans, spiced with tasty southwestern flavors, what’s not to love? This bright and yummy salad is fun and festive, not to mention how beautiful it will look on your table. A fabulous Whole Food Plant Based recipe. Vegan, oil free, sugar free, gluten free, no highly processed ingredients.
Ingredients
- 1 cup bell peppers, fine dice (assorted red, orange, yellow)
- 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded, fine dice
- 2 avocadoes, chopped
- 1 – [ 15.5 oz. can ] black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 – [ 15.5 oz. can ] pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup corn – fresh, canned, or frozen (thawed if frozen)
- ¼ cup red onion, fine dice
- 2 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced
- 1 to 2 Tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely minced (+/-)
- 1/8 cup lime juice (juice of one lime)
- Pinch cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon sea salt (+/-)
Optional Toppings/Ingredients:
- Avocado Hummus – see recipe here
- Corn tortillas
Instructions
- Chop and prepare all your vegetables and place in a large bowl.
- Add the cilantro, lime juice, cayenne pepper and sea salt. Gently toss to mix.
- Allow to sit for 5 minutes to allow the flavors to marry.
- Possible serving ideas:
- A salad
- A salad and topped with avocado hummus
- Serve on top of a crisped corn tortilla with a dollop of avocado hummus
- Serve with a side of crisped corn tortilla chips and avocado hummus
- Put it in a sandwich or wrap
- Enjoy!
Storage: Refrigerate. Use within 7 days.
Hilarious! I would definitely guard my dip from a “Barry” lol
Hi Amanda, glad you enjoyed the “Barry” story! I know, right? lol
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
Avocados are hideously expensive here in New Zealand (anything up to $4-5 each). Can you recommend a substitute for it, or does it really need to be avocado?
Hi Lynne 🙂
Oh my goodness, that is crazy expensive! You could totally omit the avocado altogether and have a super yummy Fiesta Salad <3
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
I added diced mango and it was delicious!
Hi there Rachel 🙂
Woo hoo! We are SUPER excited you enjoyed this recipe. Diced mango sounds DELISH! We appreciate you sharing your wonderful review. Thank you so much for taking the time to write.
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
Made this last night. Oh, so good, tasty and healthy. This is definitely a staple for us. And, now after the Christmas and New Year’s Celebrations, it’s time to eat much lighter in the evening, yet not compromise on having a dinner that is delicious. Thank you again for another winner. You both are awesome. A Happy and Blessed 2022!
Hi there Tuscany 🙂
Yaaaayyy! We are so thrilled that you enjoyed this recipe. Thank you so much for sharing your awesome review with us. We appreciate you taking the time to write.
-Ameera and Robin 🙂