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Cilantro Lime Grilled Steak and Bean Salad

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 8 minutes
Servings 4 - 6

Ingredients

For the steak:

  • 1 lb skirt or flank steak (or other thin steak cut)
  • 2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • 2 tsp olive oil

For the dressing:

  • 2 cups loosely packed cilantro (about 1 small bunch or ½ large)
  • ⅓ cup olive oil
  • ¼ cup lime juice
  • ½ cup raw corn kernels*
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • 1 clove garlic

For the salad:

  • 1 (15 oz) can of beans, drained and rinsed
  • ½ bunch scallions, thinly sliced
  • 1 cup raw corn kernels*
  • 6 cups mixed greens (romaine, little gem, arugula, etc…)
  • ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
  • 1 avocado, chopped
  • *Two ears of corn (shucked, kernels trimmed off) should give you about 1 ½-2 cups of kernels. You’ll use ½ cup for the dressing and about 1 cup (or whatever is left) for the salad.
  • No grill? ~ Pan-fry your steak in a hot skillet instead.

Items you can prep ahead (optional)

  • Season and grill the steak
  • Shuck and trim the kernels off 2 ears of corn
  • Make the dressing
  • Thinly slice ½ bunch scallions
  • Toss together ½ dressing with steak, corn, scallions, and beans.
  • Prep 6 cups mixed greens (romaine, little gem, arugula, etc…)

Instructions

  • Heat your grill on high for at least 10 minutes to get nice and hot.
  • Place your steak on a cutting board or ¼ sheet pan and pat dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle with cumin, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Pour oil all over and use your hands to rub everything around to coat evenly.
  • Once the grill is hot enough, place the steak on the grill, cover, and cook for 2-4 minutes or until you have nice grill marks on the bottom. Flip and cook until it reaches your desired temperature, about 1-5 more minutes. Transfer it to a cutting board to rest for 10 minutes, then cut into bite-sized pieces
  • Meanwhile, add all dressing ingredients to a high-speed blender and blend until smooth and combined.
  • In a medium/large bowl, add the beans, scallions, remaining corn, and steak. Pour about ½ of the dressing over top and toss to coat.
  • Add the lettuce to your individual bowls and pour just a bit of dressing over and toss gently to coat. Scoop ¼ of the steak and bean salad over top. Drizzle each bowl with the remaining dressing along with plenty of feta, avocado, and black pepper.

Notes

Substitutions:

  • To make vegetarian, you can just use an extra can of beans in the salad in place of the steak. Warm up the beans then toss them in the spices, salt, and oil. You can keep them as is or bake them in a 425F oven for 20ish minutes to get them a little crisp. You could also just sub the steak with your protein of choice (either tossed in those spices, etc…or just plain).
  • To make vegan, see above and skip the cheese. 
  • Use any protein in place of steak - chicken thighs or any cut of pork would work. 
  • If you’re not into beans, you can leave them out and use 1.25-1.5 lbs steak instead.

Storage:

  • Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer:
    • Steak: up to 5 days in the fridge or 2 months in the freezer.
    • Dressing: up to 5 days in the fridge or 2 months in the freezer.

Leftovers + Repurposing:

  • I like to warm up the steak/bean mixture in the microwave just to take the chill off, then assemble the salad.
  • Scoop that steak/bean mixture over a bed of grains instead of lettuce. Or use both!
  • Put it into a taco, wrap, or quesadilla.