Name: Southwestern Quinoa Salad with Black Beans
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Cuisine: Southwestern
Ingredients: Salad; 3/4 cup of dry quinoa; 1 veggie bouillon cube; 3/4 cup diced bell pepper – I used a mix of red and green peppers; 1/2 cup diced tomatoes; 1/2 jalapeño pepper – finely diced; 2 tbs minced red onion; 2/3 cup of corn – I used frozen that I thawed; 1 15 oz can of black beans – I used low sodium – drained and rinsed; 2 tbs cilantro – minced; 2 oz feta cheese – diced; Dressing; 1/4 cup olive oil; 2 Tbs fresh lime juice; 1/2 tsp minced garlic; 1/2 tsp cumin; 8 twists of black pepper from a pepper mil; pinch of salt.

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This southwestern quinoa salad is packed with fresh, colorful, crunchy vegetables, black beans, quinoa and tossed in a zesty lime cumin dressing. It’s a healthy, delicious salad that everyone will love.

I’ve been kind of obsessed with the southwestern quinoa salad recently.

I went to a new restaurant with friends and had this salad. It was so good – I knew I wanted to recreate it and share it on the blog.

I love that it’s packed with colorful, healthy vegetables and has a large amount of protein from the black beans and quinoa. It has a zesty lime and cumin dressing that really works well with all the flavors in this salad.

Steps for making this recipe:

Start by cooking your quinoa according to the package instructions. Once the quinoa is ready, turn it out onto a baking pan or dish to cool slightly. This will help it remain light and fluffy.

While the quinoa is cooking, chop up all your veggies and add them to a large serving bowl. Add in the corn and black beans and toss to combine.

Next, add in the cooked quinoa, feta cheese, cilantro and the dressing – toss to combine and you’re ready to serve.

A couple of notes about this recipe:

This southwestern quinoa salad holds up really well for a couple of days. I usually make a large batch on Sunday and then pack it up in separate containers so it’s ready to grab and go in the morning when I’m running out the door.
You can serve this as a main dish or a side dish.
This is a crowd pleaser – so make a big batch to bring to your next potluck.
If you don’t like cilantro you can switch it out for minced parsley.

Looking for other quinoa salads – try one of these:

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If you make this recipe and enjoy it, please come back and leave a comment and a rating. I’d love to hear from you!

Southwestern Quinoa Salad with Black Beans

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★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews

This southwestern quinoa salad is packed with fresh, colorful, crunchy vegetables, black beans, quinoa and tossed in a zesty lime cumin dressing. It’s a healthy, delicious salad that everyone will love.

Author: Geraldine
Prep Time: 10
Cook Time: 15
Total Time: 25 minutes
Yield: 4 servings 1x
Category: Salad
Cuisine: Southwestern

Ingredients

Scale

Salad

3/4 cup of dry quinoa

1 veggie bouillon cube

3/4 cup diced bell pepper – I used a mix of red and green peppers

1/2 cup diced tomatoes

1/2 jalapeño pepper – finely diced

2 tbs minced red onion

2/3 cup of corn – I used frozen that I thawed

1 15 oz can of black beans – I used low sodium – drained and rinsed

2 tbs cilantro – minced

2 oz feta cheese – diced

Dressing

1/4 cup olive oil

2 Tbs fresh lime juice

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon cumin

8 twists of black pepper from a pepper mil

pinch of salt.

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Instructions

Cook quinoa according to package instructions – mine took 15 minutes to cook. At the start of cooking the quinoa, as the water begins to boil, I added one veggie bouillon cube.

When the quinoa is done cooking, pour it out onto a baking sheet to let it cool slightly. This will help the quinoa to remain light and fluffy.

While the quinoa is cooking, prep the veggies.

Dice bell peppers, tomatoes, red onion and jalapeño pepper and add to a large bowl.

Add black beans and corn to the bowl. Stir to combine the veggies and black beans.

Add slightly cooled quinoa to the veggies and stir to combine.

Make the dressing by whisking all the ingredients together.

Add cilantro, feta cheese and dressing to the quinoa mixture and toss gently to combine.

Notes

I removed the seeds from the jalapeno since I don’t like things too spicy. Leave them in if you want the extra heat.

If you make this recipe and enjoy it, please come back and leave a comment and a rating. I love hearing from you!

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 of 4 servings
Calories: 555
Sugar: 5.7g
Sodium: 394mg
Fat: 7.1g
Saturated Fat: 2.9g
Carbohydrates: 95.4g
Fiber: 19.7g
Protein: 30.8g