A salad that will spruce up your summer menu! This colorful Quinoa Black Bean Salad is tossed in a simple chili-lime vinaigrette and will make the perfect addition to your summer potlucks, picnics, and backyard barbecues. You’ll love the combination of bell peppers, avocado, grape tomatoes, corn, red onion, fresh cilantro plus the quinoa and black beans. This recipe is also great for weekend meal preps and is vegan- and vegetarian-friendly as well as gluten-free, dairy-free, and nut-free.
![Close up view Tex-Mex Quinoa Salad in white bowl with spoon in salad.](https://therealfooddietitians.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Tex-Mex-Quinoa-Salad-5-683x1024.jpg)
Salad season is here! Make this quinoa Black Bean Salad
This is a salad that everyone will love. It’s hearty, it’s flavorful, it’s nourishing, and can either be served as a side-dish or as the main-entree for a light and tasty plant-based meal. You’ll find this salad to be satisfying thanks to the healthy fats from the avocado, the fiber from the variety of vegetables, quinoa, and black beans, and a good dose of plant-based protein and complex carbohydrates from again, the quinoa and black beans.
Ingredients for Quinoa Salad Recipe
- Quinoa – A naturally gluten-free grain that’s a good source of complete protein and complex carbohydrates
- Sweet bell pepper – any color will work
- Red onion – may substitute yellow onion
- Grape or cherry tomatoes – may substitute diced tomato of any variety
- Black beans
- Cilantro – In addition to cilantro, we like to add a little fresh basil if we have it on hand
- Corn – fresh (cooked), canned, or frozen
- Avocado – diced
- Feta Cheese or cojita cheese – optional, omit for dairy-free and vegan
For the Chili-Lime Vinaigrette:
This vinaigrette also makes for a tasty marinade for chicken or fish.
- Avocado oil or olive oil – we like Primal Kitchen Foods oils
- Lime juice – you’ll need about two small to medium limes for this recipe
- Ground cumin
- Garlic powder – may substitute one clove garlic, minced
- Chili powder – add a pinch of cayenne pepper for a little heat if you please
- Fine salt
How Do You Make Quinoa Black Bean Salad
- Make the quinoa: first rinse 3/4 cup uncooked quinoa in fine mesh strainer under cold water. In a medium saucepan over high heat, bring 1 1/2 cups water and the quinoa to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover with a lid and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until all water is absorbed. Remove from heat, let it sit for 5 minutes covered, then fluff with a fork. Set aside to cool. This step can be done a day or two in advance.
- Make the vinaigrette: In a small bowl or mason jar with cover, combine the lime juice, oil, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder and salt. Whisk or shake to combine well. Set aside.
- Make the salad: Once quinoa is cooled, in a large bowl combine the quinoa, bell pepper, onion, tomatoes, black beans, cilantro, corn, and avocado. Add the vinaigrette to the bowl and toss to coat. Add additional salt to taste.
- Garnish with additional cilantro and lime wedges.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days
Colorful, nutrient-rich, and full of flavor
With all of the colorful vegetables as well as the quinoa and black beans, Quinoa Black Bean Salad with corn is rich in fiber, vitamins (like vitamin a and c), and antioxidants. A depth of flavor is added with fresh cilantro and a simple chili-lime vinaigrette that’s made with oil, fresh lime juice and a mix of spices (cumin, chili powder, garlic powder).
How to serve Quinoa Black Bean Salad
In addition to bringing this Quinoa Salad with Black Beans to a summer potluck, picnic, or barbecue for everyone to rave about, it’s also great when served alongside of grilled chicken, fish, or steak for an easy weeknight and perfect-for-summer meal. Best of all, leftovers make for a delicious lunch the next day.
How to Meal Prep This Quinoa Salad Recipe
This recipe is great for meal prep because it holds up well even after a few days. In fact, this is one of those salads that tastes even better the next day after all of the flavors have time infuse together. To make Quinoa Black Bean Salad ahead, you’ll want to hold off on adding the avocado until just before eating but beyond that, simply follow the recipe as written and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Make our Instant Pot Shredded Chicken and add that to the salad for a boost of protein.
If you’re making this recipe to bring to a gathering and just want to partially prep the salad you can do any of the following a day or two in advance: cook the quinoa, make the dressing, and chop the vegetables (except for the avocado).
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Chili-Lime Quinoa Black Bean Salad with Corn
Tossed in a simple chili-lime vinaigrette this quinoa black bean salad is full of flavor and fresh vegetables. It’s the perfect summertime salad whether your serve it up at a backyard barbecue or as a weeknight dinner with your favorite grilled protein.
Ingredients
For the Salad:
- 3/4 cups uncooked quinoa
- 1 1/2 cup water
- 1 medium bell pepper, diced
- ½ medium red or yellow onion, diced
- 1 cup grape tomatoes, sliced or halved
- 1(15-ounce) canned black beans, drain and rinsed
- 1 cup loosely packed cilantro, stems removed and roughly chopped
- 1 cup frozen corn, thawed (may substitute canned corn or grilled corn off the cob)
- 1 medium avocado, cubed
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta or Cotija cheese, optional (omit for dairy-free and vegan)
For the Vinaigrette:
- 1/3 cup avocado oil or olive oil
- 2 limes, juiced (about ¼ cup)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- Pinch of cayenne (optional – add for more heat)
Instructions
- Make the quinoa: first rinse 3/4 cup uncooked quinoa in fine mesh strainer under cold water. In a medium saucepan over high heat, bring 1 1/2 cups water and the quinoa to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover with a lid and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until all water is absorbed. Remove from heat, let it sit for 5 minutes covered, then fluff with a fork. Set aside to cool. This step can be done a day or two in advance.
- Make the vinaigrette: In a small bowl or mason jar with cover, combine the lime juice, oil, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder and salt. Whisk or shake to combine well. Set aside.
- Make the salad: Once quinoa is cooled, in a large bowl combine the quinoa, bell pepper, onion, tomatoes, black beans, cilantro, corn, and avocado. Add the vinaigrette to the bowl and toss to coat. Add additional salt to taste.
- Garnish with additional cilantro and with lime wedges if desired.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days
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Nutrition Information
- Serving Size: 3/4 cup (1/10 of recipe)
- Calories: 200
- Fat: 11 g
- (Sat Fat: 1 g)
- Sodium: 250 mg
- Carbohydrate: 21 g
- (Fiber: 6 g
- Sugar: 2 g)
- Protein: 5 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Dietary
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The photos in this blog post were taken by Rachel Cook of Half Acre House.
Delicious! 🥰
Thank you for your feedback and 5-star review Jo! We are so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe!
This is delicious! Do you happen to know how many Weight Watchers points this would be per serving?
Happy to hear you loved this recipe. And we do not have Weight Watcher Points on our recipes but we do provide the nutrition information so maybe there’s a WW Points calculator you could use to come up with the points.
Sorry, missed filling in the 5 stars. Although, I’d give it more if possible.
Saw this on Facebook and made it immediately. It is delicious! I need this kind of food everyday!
We are so happy you found this recipe and enjoyed it Sherry! Thank you for your feedback and 5-star review!
Very fresh and delicious 😋
Thank you so much for this feedback and 5-star review! We are so happy you enjoyed this recipe!