Salmon Black Bean Salad

This smoky bean salad packs a whole lot more flavor into it than you’d expect of something that takes all of six minutes to make, and you have hot smoked salmon to thank for that. Its deep flavor gives a can of black beans a serious boost of flavor, so this lunch doesn’t need too much else by way of seasoning. Add some cherry tomatoes and avocado in there for color and toss it all with a cumin-lime dressing, and the result is a lunch I guarantee you’ll be putting on repeat. Pile the whole mess on rice, scoop it up with chips, or just eat it straight from the bowl.

Both salmon and black beans give this salad the kind of protein boost that’s often needed when you hit that noon slump. Luckily, the recipe comes together in a flash, so you can fill up and move on to the rest of the day’s work without fuss. This is a salad that can be enjoyed whatever way you’re feeling at that moment. I love it alongside a pile of tortilla chips, but it’s also nice on top of a bowl of salad greens or rice. Or stuff some inside a whole-wheat wrap! If you don’t have the energy for any of these things, just grab a fork and dig in — it’s great that way too.

Hot-smoked salmon is salmon that is smoked with heat in the same way meat like ham or bacon gets smoked. The salmon is cooked through and has a firm, flaky, and drier texture, but still has a smoky flavor. It looks very similar to a piece of cooked or grilled salmon (unlike cold-smoked salmon, which is silky in texture and sold thinly sliced).