An easy, flavorful southwestern quinoa salad with black beans, grape tomatoes, jalapeño, red onion, cotija, fire roasted corn, avocado, and lime vinaigrette. This grain salad is naturally gluten free and vegetarian, and can be prepared up to 24 hours in advance. Serve as a summer side dish or main course.
Recipe by Laura / A Beautiful Plate on July 19, 2018
Prep time: PT60M
Cook time: PT20M
Total time: PT80M
Rating
4.56 stars (9 reviews)
Keywords
avocado, black beans, cheese, cilantro, corn, jalapeno, lime, quinoa, red onion, southwest quinoa salad, tomato
Ingredients
3 cups cold water
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1½ cups Bob’s Red Mill Organic Quinoa (rinsed (or roughly 4 cups cooked and cooled quinoa))
zest 1 lime
¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice (roughly 2 limes) (plus more for serving)
¾ teaspoon ground cumin
1 garlic clove (grated with a microplane or pressed)
3 tablespoons (45 mL) avocado oil (or other neutral oil)
½ teaspoon kosher salt (plus more if needed)
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ small red onion (finely diced (about ½ cup))
1 heaping cup (6 ounces) grape tomatoes (quartered)
1 (15 ounce) can black beans (rinsed and drained well)
½ cup frozen fire-roasted corn (thawed and drained)
½ jalapeño pepper (seeds and ribs removed, and finely diced)
⅓ cup crumbled cotija cheese
½ cup fresh cilantro leaves (roughly chopped)
1 ripe avocado (pitted, peeled and diced)
kosher salt (as needed)
Categories
Main Course Salads
Cuisine
Mexican
Steps
Prepare and Cook the Quinoa: Combine the water and salt in a medium saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. Bring to a boil. Add the quinoa, cover, and simmer over low heat until the liquid is absorbed and the quinoa is tender, about 17 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat, fluff with a fork, cover, and allow to sit for an additional 10 minutes. Spread the cooked quinoa in a thin layer on a baking sheet (set on a cooling rack) and allow to cool completely. If prepping ahead of time, transfer the cooled quinoa to a large container and refrigerate for 2 to 3 days until ready to use.
Prepare the Vinaigrette: Combine the lime zest, lime juice, cumin, and grated garlic in a small mixing bowl. Slowly pour in the avocado oil, whisking continuously until emulsified. Add the salt, black pepper, and diced red onion to the dressing. Stir to combine. Allow the mixture to sit for 5 to 10 minutes (allowing the mixture to sit helps cut the sharpness of raw garlic and onion).
Assemble: In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooked (and cooled) quinoa, grape tomatoes, black beans, fire-roasted corn, jalapeño, and onion-vinaigrette mixture. Stir until well combined. Gently fold in the crumbled cotija cheese and cilantro. Season to taste with salt and pepper, adding more lime juice as desired. Cover and refrigerate the salad for at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours in advance. *Note: While you can serve this salad immediately, it tastes best when it is allowed to sit and marinate for at least 30 minutes or longer).
Just before serving, fold in the diced avocado and a generous squeeze of fresh lime juice, as desired. Serve chilled or at room temperature. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge and kept for up to 3 to 5 days.
Nutitrion
Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 308 kcal
Carbohydrates: 36 g
Protein: 10 g
Fat: 15 g
Saturated Fat: 3 g
Cholesterol: 12 mg
Sodium: 641 mg
Sugar: 3 g
Unsaturated Fat: 10 g
Reviews
Maren - Eating Works on 2020-07-07 (5 stars): This sounds like a great filling salad. I made a guacamole with roasted red peppers and I think that would also taste great with this filling salad. Thanks for sharing!
Joanne Weber on 2019-06-17 (5 stars): I just made this with Parmesan cheese and omitted beans because I didn’t have any. It’s in the fridge right now, but I did taste it and it’s quite flavorful. I had some quinoa and wanted to try something new. It’s a pretty flexible recipe which is what I like. Thank you for sharing! Glad I found your blog????
