Southwest Quinoa Salad

Name: Southwest Quinoa Salad
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 2 ½ tbsp lime juice (freshly squeezed, +½ Tbsp as desired); ¼ tsp maple syrup (+¼ tsp as desired); ½ tsp ground cumin; ¼ tsp (optional, See Chef’s Notes); ⅛ tsp allspice (rounded); 2 cups organic quinoa (cooked and cooled, See Chef’s Notes); 1 cup black beans (home cooked or BPA-free canned, drained, See Chef’s Notes); ½ cup avocado (+¼ cup as desired, chopped, tossed in squeeze of extra lime juice, See Chef’s Notes); ½ cup organic corn (frozen or BPA-free canned, drained); ½ cup organic salsa (mild or medium, See Chef’s Notes); ¼ cup red bell pepper (diced); ¼ cup cilantro (optional, chopped); 3 tbsp green onion (+1 Tbsp as desired, just the green portion, chopped)

Dreena Burton

4 years ago

Yields4 ServingsPrep Time20 minsTotal Time20 mins

Ingredients

2 ½ tbsp lime juice (freshly squeezed, +½ Tbsp as desired)

¼ tsp maple syrup (+¼ tsp as desired)

½ tsp ground cumin

¼ tsp (optional, See Chef’s Notes)

⅛ tsp allspice (rounded)

2 cups organic quinoa (cooked and cooled, See Chef’s Notes)

1 cup black beans (home cooked or BPA-free canned, drained, See Chef’s Notes)

½ cup avocado (+¼ cup as desired, chopped, tossed in squeeze of extra lime juice, See Chef’s Notes)

½ cup organic corn (frozen or BPA-free canned, drained)

½ cup organic salsa (mild or medium, See Chef’s Notes)

¼ cup red bell pepper (diced)

¼ cup cilantro (optional, chopped)

3 tbsp green onion (+1 Tbsp as desired, just the green portion, chopped)

Directions

To a large bowl, add the lime juice, maple syrup, cumin, salt, and allspice. Whisk together.

Add quinoa, black beans, avocado (if serving soon after mixing, see note), corn, salsa, red pepper, cilantro, and green onions. Mix gently to combine fully.

Taste, adding extra lime juice and sweetener if desired (as well as any additional seasoning; see notes for salsa and salt).

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Chef's Notes

Quinoa
White quinoa is (1) more readily available in stores (2) generally more affordable, and (3) milder in taste and texture. If you prefer another variety, feel free to use it here.

Black Beans
A 14–15oz can of black beans is about 1 ⅓ cups. Feel free to use the full amount in the salad. Or, if you cook beans from scratch, opt for 1 cup. This is a flexible recipe; you can tinker with the ingredients a little, and then add extra seasoning to adjust after!

Avocado
If making this salad ahead of time, do not add the avocado, as it will oxidize and turn brownish. Instead, toss together all the ingredients except the avocado. Chill salad, and then work in the avocado/lime juice before serving.

Salsa
If you don’t love spice or for kiddos, use a mild salsa.

Salt
Start with about ¼ tsp of sea salt, then adjust to add extra later if needed. You may want a little more depending on the brand of salsa that you use.

Serving suggestions
This is a fabulous potluck and summer salad; double the recipe for a large crowd. Serve as is, with tortilla chips to snack on, or paired with roasted potatoes and vegetables.

Storage
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Recipe reprinted from Plant-Powered Families by Dreena Burton.