Southwest Quinoa Salad (Gluten Free)
So I hear you are getting tired of rice, looking for a way to use quinoa, or maybe you want a new way to prepare salad. Or you just want a quick and easy meal that won’t hurt you at some point. Well you couldn’t possibly get better than this salad…great tasting, and gluten free!
Ingredients:
- Salad
- 1 cup quinoa
- 2 cups water
- 1 1/2 cups black beans, cooked and drained OR 1 15 oz. can black beans, drained
- 1 1/2 cups frozen corn OR 1 15 oz. can corn, drained
- 1 cup tomatoes, de-seeded and diced
- 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
- 2 scallions, finely chopped
- 1 avocado, chopped
- 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
- Dressing
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1 1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
Directions:
Wash quinoa and drain using a fine mesh strainer. Add quinoa and water to a medium pot and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered until fluffy and tender (about 15 minutes). Remove pot from heat and keep covered for 5 minutes. Fluff with fork and allow to cool. To assemble the bowl, fill bowl with quinoa, black beans, corn, tomatoes, bell pepper, scallion, avocado and cilantro. Prepare dressing in a small bowl and pour over quinoa salad.
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mmm this looks absolutely delicious Michele!
Gorgeous salad Michelle. Everything so yummy and bold pops of flavor!!!!
You can never go wrong with the classic Southwest salad!
Michelle, I love the Southwestern take on a traditional Quinoa Salad. This will surely be a hit for dinner guests! Stumbled this, gladly. Amazing photos, as usual! :)
I love everything in this salad! From quinoa to the veggies, want it! This is spring in a bowl.
I love the idea of adding Maple Syrup to the dressing! I’m sure it just makes the whole salad sing!
It does add a lovely flavor to the salad, thanks!
Absolutely delicious. I added a bit more lemon than called for, and it’s amazing. The avocado makes it creamy. I can’t wait to have it for leftovers!
I just made this tonight and it was delicious! Even my young kids LOVED it! I accidentally omitted the corn because I thought we had a can in the pantry but we didn’t. It was awesome as is but would be even better with corn! I used the maple syrup instead of agave nectar, too, and left out the cilantro because we’re not big cilantro fans. Will definitely be making this again!
Thank you Moni for all your suggestions.
Mixing a wild rice with the quinoa makes for an interesting combination. Generally I’ve used any type of fine diced raw veggie, tossed with a light vinaigrette, no real recipe needed, just cook it properly and mix to your hearts content! Also cooking veggies (onions, carrots etc) with your quinoa, or rice adds flavor to the grain. Adding curry is good too.