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This nutritious Southwest Quinoa Salad is packed with healthy plant-based ingredients and topped with a homemade lime dressing. Enjoy as a main course, side dish, or as a workweek-friendly meal prep. Gluten-free, oil-free option.
The Southwest Quinoa Salad with high-protein quinoa, creamy black beans and fresh tomatoes, red peppers, sweetcorn and zesty lime dressing. Prepare this vibrant and delicious dish in just 35 minutes!
Table of contents
- Spice up your salad game
- What you need to make the Southwest Quinoa Salad
- How to make a Southwest Quinoa Salad
- serving suggestions
- Here’s how to store this Southwest Quinoa Salad
- Substitutions and Variations
- Recipe FAQs
- Quinoa salad recipe from the Southwest
Spice up your salad game
If you’re looking for a cold quinoa salad that offers both flavor and nutrition, this healthy quinoa salad is for you. It’s a great source of protein, packed with fresh veggies, essential amino acids, fiber and nutty flavor. Prepare it on Sunday night for quick and easy meal prep, or whip it up in a few simple steps on busy weeknights or lazy weekends. Enjoy alone or serve with a side of your favorite tortilla chips, restaurant-style guacamole and easy homemade salsa for a filling, plant-based meal the whole family will love.
What you need to make the Southwest Quinoa Salad
This healthy, Southwest-inspired salad is made with quinoa and just 12 cheaper salad ingredients, including a savory dressing. Here is a quick overview of what you need:
- Andean millet: I use white quinoa in this healthy quinoa salad, but any type of quinoa will do. Try red quinoa or tricolor quinoa for a change.
- Fresh vegetables: For the classic Southwest flavors, I stuck to the basics and used grape tomatoes, frozen sweetcorn, red bell peppers, red onions, jalapeño and cilantro. Feel free to make a swap based on what you have on hand. For example, fresh corn or canned corn are great alternatives. If you are sensitive to spices, you can also omit the jalapeños.
- Black beans: You will need 1 can of black beans or about 1 1/2 cooks of dry cooked beans. If you like, swap out the black beans for another, like pinto beans, red kidney beans, or even chickpeas.
- Dressing: This zesty lime dressing brings all the flavors together with a simple blend of olive oil, fresh lime juice, agave and salt.
How to make a Southwest Quinoa Salad
- Cook Add quinoa until light and fluffy. Set aside until cool.
- shake Whisk together the ingredients for the dressing until emulsified.
- Combine In a large bowl, combine the cooked and cooled quinoa, black beans, tomatoes, corn, peppers, onions, jalapeño, and cilantro.
- drizzle Pour the dressing on top and mix well until evenly distributed.
- surcharge prepare immediately or refrigerate until cool.
Caitlin’s cooking tips
- Always rinse your quinoa in a fine mesh strainer! Rinsing uncooked quinoa not only helps remove dirt and debris from the harvesting and packaging process, but also reduces bitterness. Quinoa is coated in saponins, a naturally occurring compound that helps protect the plant from predators as it grows. Rinsing quinoa thoroughly before cooking can remove any residual saponins and reduce the likelihood that the quinoa will taste bitter.
- Let the quinoa rest for the full 5 minutes. After the quinoa has simmered for 15 minutes, I recommend turning off the heat and letting the quinoa sit, covered, for 5 minutes. This will help keep the quinoa fluffy, firm, and fully moisturized.
serving suggestions
Quinoa is a naturally complete protein, making this quinoa salad hearty enough to enjoy on its own as a main course for lunch or dinner. It also makes a great side dish or potluck recipe! Enjoy with creamy avocado, crunchy tortilla strips, pumpkin seeds, feta cheese, additional fresh cilantro, or garnish as desired.
If you’re looking for healthier quinoa recipes, you’ll also love this Quinoa Salad with Roasted Broccoli, this Rainbow Quinoa Salad with Red Curry Dressing, and this Quinoa Arugula Salad with Sundried Tomatoes!
Here’s how to store this Southwest Quinoa Salad
Leftover black bean quinoa salad can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. If you want to freeze this quinoa salad, I recommend making it without the diced red peppers and cherry tomatoes. These ingredients have considerable consistency after freezing and thawing. To keep it fresh and crisp, freeze the salad without and add once it’s thawed and ready to serve.
Substitutions and Variations
- Oil-free option: Swap out the dressing for another of your favorite homemade dressings, like this creamy sundried tomato dressing or this creamy cilantro dressing.
- Quinoa Substitute: If you’re out of quinoa, try another whole grain like farro, barley, couscous, or orzo pasta.
- Add protein: Quinoa and black beans are both high in protein, but if you want to boost your salad’s protein content even further, add crispy tofu, baked tempeh, or an extra cup of black beans.
Recipe FAQs
Although quinoa is generally considered a grain, it’s technically a seed and, surprisingly, belongs to the same family as leafy greens like spinach, chard, and beets.
Quinoa itself is gluten-free, but is often harvested with sticky grains like wheat. This means that cross-contamination is possible. If you have a gluten intolerance or celiac disease, buy certified gluten-free quinoa to be on the safe side.
When cooking quinoa on the stovetop (my favorite method!), I recommend using 1 3/4 cups of water or vegetable stock for every cup of quinoa. Cooking the quinoa using an alternative method, such as a pressure cooker, will use less water. According to this Instant Pot Quinoa recipe, 1:1.5 is the correct ratio.
Yes! Quinoa is a great staple to keep in the freezer. To freeze quinoa on its own, allow it to cool completely, then transfer to a freezer bag or freezer-safe container such as a freezer bag. B. a mason jar made of glass. Once frozen, quinoa can be kept for up to 6 months.
Enjoy! If you make this recipe and want to share it on Facebook or Instagram, don’t forget to tag me @FromMyBowl + #FromMyBowl! I would also appreciate if you could leave a comment below with a recipe rating! Thank you for the support 
For the salad:
- 1 Cup Andean millet
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1 3/4 Cup Water
- 15 ounces black beans
- 10 ounces Cherry or grape tomatoes cut in half
- 1 Cup frozen corn thawed
- 1 Red pepper small cubes
- 1/4 Red onion small cubes
- 1 jalapeno small cubes
- 1/2 Bunch of coriander leaves chopped
For the dressing:
- 1/4 Cup olive oil or avocado oil
- 2-3 tablespoon lime juice about 2 limes
- 1 teaspoon Agave or maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
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Cook quinoa: Rinse and drain the quinoa, then place in a saucepan with the garlic powder, cumin, salt, and water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 15 minutes, then turn off the heat and let sit for 5 minutes before fluffing; set aside to cool.
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Make the dressing: Place the oil, lime juice, agave syrup and salt in a small glass. Cap and shake well until emulsified. Put aside.
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Combine: Place the cooled quinoa in a large bowl along with the black beans, tomatoes, corn, peppers, onion, jalapeño, and cilantro. Pour the dressing over and mix well until evenly distributed.
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Surcharge: Serve immediately or leave in the fridge for 15 minutes to allow all the flavors to blend. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Calories: 489kcalCarbohydrates: 70GProtein: 18GFat: 17GSaturated Fatty Acids: 2GPolyunsaturated fat: 3GMonounsaturated fatty acids: 11GSodium: 602mgPotassium: 995mgFiber: 15GSugar: 5GVitamin A: 1352IUVitamin C: 64mgCalcium: 70mgIron: 5mg