Southwest Beans With Toasted Hominy And Honey Tomatillo Vinaigrette

Some salads tell a story. They connect ingredients that share regional roots, celebrate seasonal flavors, and honor culinary traditions. This Southwest Red Bean Salad does exactly that, bringing together the subtle sweetness of Southwest Red beans with the tart brightness of tomatillos, the fresh crunch of spring vegetables, and the nostalgic flavor of oven-toasted hominy.

Recipe creator Jackie Young (@cookwithjackie) developed this dish specifically for Primary Beans' harvest of Southwest beans, and her approach was thoughtful and intentional. "I wanted to match the subtle sweetness of these beans with something light and bright for spring," she explains. "Given their shared regional roots and tart flavor, tomatillos proved to be the perfect contrasting ingredient. The rest of this salad was about connecting the dots, honey for an extra punch of sweetness, southwestern veggies for freshness, corn nuts for texture, and oven-toasted hominy as a nod to the hundreds of masa-laden tamales I ate during the farmers market weekends of my youth."

The result is a salad that's vibrant, textured, and full of flavor, perfect for spring and summer gatherings, potlucks, or as a satisfying lunch all on its own.

Why This Works

What makes this salad so successful is how it balances flavors and textures. The Southwest Red beans provide a subtly sweet, creamy base. The tomatillo dressing is bright and tangy with a touch of heat from jalapeño. Fresh vegetables, cherry tomatoes, radish, shallot, add crunch and freshness. Creamy avocado and salty queso fresco provide richness. Toasted hominy adds a concentrated corn flavor and satisfying bite. And corn nuts on top give you that addictive crunch that keeps you coming back for more.

Every element has a purpose, and together they create something that's much more than just a bean salad. It's a celebration of Southwestern flavors, a study in contrasts, and proof that salads can be just as exciting and satisfying as any hot dish.

The Star: Southwest Red Beans

Let's talk about Southwest Red beans, a beautiful heirloom variety with a subtle sweetness and creamy texture. These beans have regional roots in the American Southwest and Mexico, where they've been grown for generations. They're medium-sized with a gorgeous reddish-brown color that deepens when cooked.

What makes Southwest Red beans perfect for this salad is their mild, slightly sweet flavor that doesn't overpower the other ingredients. They hold their shape beautifully when cooked, giving you distinct, tender beans throughout the salad rather than mushy ones that fall apart. And their subtle sweetness plays perfectly against the tart tomatillo dressing, creating that balance Jackie was looking for.

When cooking these beans, she seasons them with dried New Mexican chile, bay leaves, coriander seeds, salt, and olive oil, aromatics that complement their natural flavor and connect them to their Southwestern heritage.

The Tomatillo Dressing

This isn't just any dressing, it's a tangy, slightly spicy, honey-sweetened sauce that brings the whole salad together. Tomatillos get broiled until blistered and soft, which concentrates their flavor and adds a subtle smokiness. They're blended with jalapeño for heat, garlic for depth, cilantro for freshness, Mexican oregano for earthiness, honey for sweetness, and red wine vinegar for brightness.

The result is a dressing that's complex and balanced, tart but not too sour, spicy but not overwhelming, sweet but not cloying. It's vibrant green and packed with flavor, and it makes you want to drizzle it on everything.

One note: because tomatillos are naturally high in pectin, leftover dressing may thicken and become slightly gelatinous in the fridge. Don't worry, just add a small splash of water and a dash of salt and whisk to bring it back to life.

The Hominy Trick

Here's a technique worth knowing: oven-toasted hominy. Jackie learned this from Chris Morocco's Posole Verde recipe, and it's brilliant. You rinse canned hominy, dry it well, spread it on a baking sheet, and toast it in a hot oven until it's dry to the touch.

Why bother? Toasting concentrates the corn flavor while removing any trace "canned" flavor, helps the hominy keep its shape when tossed with other ingredients, and ensures optimal texture. It transforms canned hominy from something soft and bland into something with real corn flavor and a satisfying bite.

If you're in a time crunch, you can skip this step, but it's worth the extra 15 minutes if you have the time.

Building the Salad

The assembly is straightforward but produces something beautiful. You combine the cooked, cooled beans with toasted hominy, cubed avocado, halved cherry tomatoes (salted to draw out their juices), thinly sliced shallot, matchstick-cut radish, finely chopped jalapeño, and fresh cilantro.

Everything gets tossed with a glug of olive oil, flaky salt, and fresh cracked black pepper. Then it's transferred to a serving bowl, generously drizzled with that vibrant tomatillo dressing, and topped with crumbled queso fresco, corn nuts, and more cilantro.

The result is a salad that's as pretty as it is delicious, a riot of colors and textures that makes you want to dig in immediately.

Serving Suggestions

This salad is incredibly versatile. Serve it chilled on a hot day for a refreshing meal. Serve it at room temperature at a potluck or barbecue. It makes a great side dish for grilled meats or fish, or a satisfying vegetarian main course all on its own.

It also holds up well, making it perfect for meal prep. The beans, hominy, and dressing can all be made ahead. Just wait to cut the avocado and assemble everything until closer to serving time.

Leftovers are excellent the next day, though you might want to add a little extra dressing since the beans and vegetables will absorb some of it overnight.

A Salad with Soul

What makes this recipe special isn't just how it tastes, though it's absolutely delicious. It's how it connects ingredients that share a history and regional identity. Southwest Red beans, tomatillos, hominy, New Mexican chiles, these are ingredients that belong together, that have been grown and cooked together in the Southwest for generations.

Jackie's recipe honors that connection while making something that feels fresh and contemporary. It's a salad with roots and a salad with soul, the kind of dish that makes you appreciate the stories ingredients can tell.

Southwest Beans With Toasted Hominy And Honey Tomatillo Vinaigrette

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Category

Salad

Cuisine

Southwestern

Creator notes When developing this recipe for Primary Beans' new harvest of Southwest beans, I wanted to match the subtle sweetness of these beans with something light and bright for spring. Given their shared regional roots and tart flavor, tomatillos proved to be the perfect contrasting ingredient. The rest of this salad was about connecting the dots—honey for an extra punch of sweetness, southwestern veggies for freshness, corn nuts for texture, and oven-toasted hominy as a nod to the hundreds of masa-laden tamales I ate during the farmers market weekends of my youth. – Jackie Young, @cookwithjackie

Featured bean: Southwest Red 

Other beans to try: Southwest Gold

Ingredients

• ½ lb dried Primary Beans Southwest Red beans

• 1 dried New Mexican chile

• 2 bay leaves

• 1 tsp coriander seeds

• 1 tsp kosher salt

• A glug of olive oil

For the dressing

• ⅓ lb tomatillos, husked and rinsed

• 1½ tbsp honey

• ½ jalapeño, cut into large chunks

• 1 clove garlic

• ¼ cup cilantro leaves

• ¼ tsp dried Mexican oregano

• 1 tsp red wine vinegar

• ½ tsp kosher salt plus more to taste

• A few turns of fresh cracked black pepper

• ¼ cup neutral oil

For the salad

• 1 can hominy

• 1 large avocado, cubed

• 8 oz cherry tomatoes, sliced in half and salted

• 1 small shallot, thinly sliced into rings

• 1 red radish, thinly cut into matchsticks

• ½ jalapeño, finely chopped

• ¼ cup cilantro leaves, plus more for serving

• 4 oz queso fresco

• A handful of corn nuts for serving

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Directions

1. Prepare the beans: Cook beans with spices, salt, and olive oil according to our cooking guide. When beans are tender, discard chile and bay leaves, drain well, and allow to cool.

2. Toast your hominy: Preheat the oven to 425°F. Rinse hominy to separate kernels and dab dry with a paper towel. Spread hominy evenly on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes, until hominy is dry to the touch. Set aside to cool.

3. Make the dressing: Set broiler to high and place husked and rinsed tomatillos on a foil-lined baking sheet. Broil tomatillos until blistered on top, about 4 minutes, then flip and continue broiling until tomatillos are starting to collapse, about 2 minutes. Remove from broiler and allow to cool.

4. Blend the dressing: Transfer tomatillos to immersion blender with honey, large jalapeño chunks, garlic, cilantro leaves, oregano, red wine vinegar, a few turns of fresh cracked black pepper, and kosher salt. Once smooth, continue blending while streaming in ¼ cup neutral oil until emulsified. Taste and adjust for seasoning.

5. Assemble and dress: In a large bowl, combine beans, toasted hominy, avocado, tomatoes, shallot, radish, finely chopped jalapeño, and remaining cilantro leaves. Season with a glug of olive oil, flaky salt, and a few turns of freshly cracked black pepper. Toss to combine. Transfer to serving bowl. Generously drizzle dressing and top with queso fresco, corn nuts, and additional cilantro leaves. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Recipe Note

Because of the naturally high pectin level in tomatillos, leftover dressing may thicken and become slightly gelatinous. Simply add a small splash of water along with a dash of salt and whisk to reconstitute.

The oven-toasted hominy is a trick I learned from Chris Morocco of Bon Appetit's Posole Verde recipe. If you're in a time crunch, you can skip this step, but toasting helps concentrate the corn flavor while removing any trace "canned" flavor, helps the hominy keep its shape when tossed with other ingredients, and ensures hominy's optimal texture.