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This is one of those salads that just saves the day over and over again.

Here are the reasons I love this salad: It’s fast, it’s really easy, it’s inexpensive, it’s crowd-pleasing, it’s vegetarian, it’s substantial, it’s colorful, it’s protein-filled, it’s a meal in itself, it looks great on a buffet, it’s super portable, it’s season-less, it’s make-ahead, it’s flexible, it can be doubled or tripled (or halved, but that’s not so much the point of this big-batch salad).

I could keep going, but if you’re not convinced by now, I think you probably aren’t going to be.

Southwestern black bean and corn salad

Servings: 10

Start to finish: 20 minutes

Dressing:
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Coarse or kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Salad:
2 (15.5 ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups cooked corn kernels (fresh or frozen)
1 cup chopped red or yellow onions
3 bell peppers, seeded and diced (red, yellow, orange, or a combination)
2 Haas avocados, diced

To Serve (optional):
1 cup thinly sliced scallions
1 cup crumbled feta cheese

In a small container, combine the lemon juice, white wine vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper.

In a large bowl, combine the beans, corn, onions and peppers. Shake up the dressing, pour it over the salad and toss to combine. Sprinkle the scallions and/or the feta over the top if desired, and toss again, or put them out for people to add to their salad as they wish.

If you want to serve it right away, gently mix in the avocado. If you have time, this salad is better if you make it a day ahead, refrigerate it, and then just add the avocado right before serving.

Nutrition information per serving: 114 calories; 50 calories from fat; 6 g. fat (1 g. saturated; 0 g. trans fats); 0 mg. cholesterol; 112 mg. sodium; 15 g. carbohydrate; 5 g. fiber; 3 g. sugar; 4 g. protein.

Katie Workman has written two cookbooks focused on easy, family-friendly cooking,
“Dinner Solved!” and “The Mom 100 Cookbook.” She blogs at http://www.themom100.com/about-katie-workman. She can be reached at Katie@themom100.com.

— AP