This southwest quinoa salad is one of our favorite side dishes to serve at a BBQ or potluck. Packed with flavor, this tasty salad has crunchy red bell pepper, sweet corn, and black beans. The flavors of chili and lime make the perfect dressing.
Quinoa is a great base for salads because it’s nutritious and it soaks up the flavors of the dressing and seasonings. Quinoa is gluten-free, rich in fiber and a great source of protein in vegetarian recipes.
While I love making this salad to serve at a party, I also like to make a batch of this quinoa salad on Sunday and then eat it for lunches during the week. You can divide it into individual meal prep containers for grab and go lunch portions.
QUINOA SALAD RECIPE INGREDIENTS:
- Olive Oil & Garlic: I sauté a little fresh garlic in olive oil to flavor the quinoa as it cooks.
- Quinoa: You can make this salad with white or red quinoa. All quinoa has a nutty, earthy flavor. This flavor is stronger in red quinoa and milder in white quinoa. Red quinoa also has a chewier, almost crunchy texture. For more about quinoa, see How to Cook Quinoa and Instant Pot Quinoa.
- Vegetable Broth: Cooking the quinoa in vegetable broth instead of water flavors the quinoa as it cooks. I recommend using low sodium vegetable broth to limit the amount of salt in the finished dish.
- Corn: I usually use canned corn for ease, but fresh boiled corn on the cob or grilled corn on the cob would be delicious. Just slice the kernels off the cob and add them to the salad.
- Black Beans: Full of protein and fiber, they are delicious in this salad.
- Red Bell Pepper: For color and crunch.
- Green Onions: Their mild onion flavor works perfectly here.
- Fresh Cilantro: Adds fresh flavor and goes well with the other salad ingredients, but if you don’t care for it you can leave it out.
- Chili-Lime Dressing: For the dressing, you’ll need lime juice, olive oil, honey,
HOW TO MAKE QUINOA SALAD
- First, rinse the quinoa. Quinoa has a bitter outer coating called saponin that can be easily removed by rinsing the quinoa under running water. Place your quinoa in a fine-mesh sieve and rinse for one minute.
- In a medium saucepan, sauté the minced garlic in the olive oil. Then add the quinoa to the pot along with the vegetable broth and cover the pot. Simmer the quinoa in the broth until all of the liquid has been absorbed, 12-16 minutes.
- While the quinoa cooks, prepare the salad dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients.
- In a large bowl, combine the quinoa with the corn, black beans, chopped bell pepper, green onions, and cilantro. This quinoa salad is delicious and served as is, but it’s even better with chopped avocado or Guacamole on top. We also love it with a spoonful of Salsa or Pico de Gallo.
STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS:
Store quinoa salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. This salad is perfect for making ahead because the ingredients hold up well in the dressing and the flavors develop over time. If you’re preparing it for meal prep lunches, you can portion out individual servings and store in smaller containers.
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