Southwest Quinoa Salad {vegan}

This Southwest Quinoa Salad is a perfect mix of vegetables, grains and flavor and a nice variety compared to your typical lettuce salad. 

Although the summer is winding down now (yikes!) we still have plenty of 80 degree days left here in Michigan to enjoy the great outdoors.

I am definitely trying to spend as little time as possible indoors which is why I made this salad that takes only 20 minutes to make.  

And yes, another post on an ancient grain.

 I can’t help myself.  

They are filled with fiber and so many excellent nutrients AND pair so well with a variety of vegetables.  

You really can’t go wrong. I had my husband in mind when I created this southwest quinoa salad for his love of all things Mexican flavored.

And yes, he gave it two thumbs up!

Dietitian’s Dish

Let’s talk beans.  Black beans (as well as all beans) are an excellent source of fiber with 7 grams of fiber for each 1/2 cup.  Beans are also high in protein which is especially great for vegetarians who are trying to meet their protein needs easily.  

I personally rarely use dry beans since they take a bit more time than I am willing to spend in the kitchen.  So I purchase canned beans and look for low sodium options when available.  

But regardless if you can find low-sodium options, I suggest always draining and rinsing beans before cooking with them.

Studies show that draining and rinsing canned beans can reduce the sodium by 40-50 percent!

Southwest Quinoa Salad

A southwest flavor salad full of veggies and whole grain!

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Ingredients

  

• 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1/2 can black beans drained and rinsed
• 1 cup corn
• 1 cup red pepper finely chopped
• 1/3 cup green onions finely chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro chopped

Dressing

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 garlic clove minced
• juice from 1 lime

Instructions

 

• Cook quinoa according to package directions.
• Combine black beans, corn, red peppers, green onions and cilantro in a large bowl.
• Add cooled quinoa to the vegetable mixture.
• Whisk dressing ingredients together in a small bowl then pour over vegetable quinoa mix.
• Serve immediately or cooled.

Notes

If you're serving this for a party you may want to double or triple the batch.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

For those of you with kiddos or are teachers, hope you are enjoying the last few weeks of August before school starts (if it hasn’t started already), I know my kids and I will be!

Here are a few more of my favorite salads…

Creamy Broccoli Salad with Dried Cranberries

Quinoa Salad with Dried Cranberries and Almonds 

Kale and Feta Salad {with homemade honey vinaigrette dressing}

Burrito Salad via The Lean Green Bean

This Southwest Quinoa Salad first appeared on Chocolate Slopes.

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