Quinoa salads are at the top of my list when it comes to meal prep because they actually get better as they sit in the fridge. I've been making variations of this southwest quinoa salad for years. It's great for a light and easy lunch or a side dish for grilling. And I love that it is a good source of plant-based protein and is packed with fiber.
Just like my quinoa and asparagus salad, this salad is made with real, wholesome ingredients, comes together in about 35 minutes, and is great for meal prep, a meatless meal, or a side dish!
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"I was looking for an idea for something to serve with sea bass and this popped up. Super easy, delicious and could be served with other things…" - Carol
Southwest Quinoa Salad: Recipe at a Glance
- 🧂Taste: Light and mild southwest flavor with a hint of lime.
- 🕰️Total time: Roughly 35 minutes. Or use pre-cooked and cooled quinoa and it's ready in 15 minutes.
- 🥛Dietary Notes: Gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian.
- 🍽️ Servings: 10 side servings
- 💚 What makes this different: Flavorful, but light. I've tested this recipe many times to be flavorful but not overly spicy. We don't like super spicy things around here, so this salad has a nice balance with garlic, cumin and cilantro. But, if you like spice, it's easy to customize!
Build a balanced meal with this southwest quinoa salad.
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Why I Love This Southwest Quinoa Salad
- Loaded with nutritious quinoa - Quinoa is a good source of fiber, plant protein, and packed with nutrients like magnesium and zinc.
- Good source of fiber and protein - Each serving contains 7g of fiber and 7g of protein.
- Great for meal prep - I love prepping this salad for the week so I have something easy and nutrient-packed to enjoy for lunch. My healthy cold broccoli salad is another favorite of mine for prepping for the week ahead.
- Feeds a crowd - Along with my cucumber radish dill salad and Asian cabbage salad, this is one of those salads that is perfect for summer cookouts and potlucks because it travels well and can sit out longer than mayo-based salads. It also fits many different dietary needs.
Ingredients
- Quinoa - I use white quinoa because it has the mildest flavor and softest texture. But you can use any color, or tri-colored quinoa. Note that if you use red or black quinoa, it will have a stronger flavor and a slightly crunchier texture.
- Red pepper - Any sweet pepper will work, but I prefer using a red bell pepper.
- Sweet corn - I use frozen corn and just let it thaw while I'm making the rest of the salad. But either frozen corn or canned sweet corn can be used.
- Lime juice - Use real lime juice, not the stuff from a bottle. Fresh lime juice will give you the best, fresh flavor. Plus, you need some lime zest, so you'll need fresh limes anyway 😊
- Extra-virgin olive oil - Either extra-virgin olive oil or avocado oil will work in the dressing.
A complete list of ingredients can be found in the recipe card below. The above are some specific notes to help with selecting ingredients.
🤍Sara's clean food tips: For the dressing I like to use a good quality extra-virgin olive oil (I've been loving Ellora lately and I know Atlas is a good brand) because you can really taste the difference. For honey, I like using raw honey as it's less processed and contains more nutrients than conventional honey.
Variations
- Make it spicy - Add ½ of a jalapeno, finely chopped or minced, to the lime vinaigrette. Or, if you like pieces of jalepeno, you could add chopped jalepeno directly into the salad.
- Add extra protein - For added protein, throw in about a pound of cooked, chopped chicken (I like adding chicken especially when meal prepping for the week).
- Swap the cilantro - If you're one of the unlucky ones who thinks cilantro tastes like soap, or you just don't like it, you can swap the cilantro with fresh parsley (parsley is also great in my vegan Mediterranean bowls).
How to Make Southwest Quinoa Salad
- Step 1: Cook quinoa according to package directions. After quinoa has cooked, spread quinoa out on a cookie sheet and place in freezer to allow it to cool. While the quinoa is cooking, chop up all the veggies and cilantro. In addition, drain the beans, take the corn out of the freezer to thaw (if using frozen corn), and set these aside.
- Step 2: Make the zesty lime dressing. Add dressing ingredients to a mason jar, cover and shake. If you don't have a mason jar, you can whisk ingredients together in a small bowl.
- Step 3: Add cooked and cooled quinoa, black beans, chickpeas, onions, peppers, corn, and cilantro to a large mixing bowl.
- Step 4: Pour dressing over salad ingredients and mix everything together. Lastly, add diced avocado right before serving.
Sara's Tips & Notes
- Cooking quinoa: I've found that using slightly less water than the directions call for helps to make fluffy (and not soggy) quinoa. And let the quinoa sit and steam in the pan (covered) for 5 minutes after cooking to absorb any leftover liquid.
- Cooling the quinoa: You want the quinoa to be cold before mixing it into the salad. The quickest way to do this is to spread cooked quinoa on a cookie sheet and place in the freezer for a few minutes.
- Prep the quinoa: To make this salad even quicker, pre-cook the quinoa and let chill in the fridge overnight so it's cold when you're ready to make the salad.
- Chopping veggies: Make sure to finely chop the bell pepper and onion. I find that smaller pieces help to distribute the flavor and crunch more evenly.
- Let the salad chill: After assembling the salad, chill in the refrigerator for about 1 hour to allow the flavors to meld.
- Add avocado before serving: Add the avocado right before serving to prevent browning. If you have leftovers, no worries. The avocado may brown slightly, but it will still taste good!
Recipe FAQs
Oh yes! Quinoa is an extremely nutritious food! It's a good source of numerous vitamins and minerals. It's also known for being one of the only plant foods this is a complete protein (meaning it contains a balanced amount of all amino acids.)
Yes, quinoa is naturally gluten-free!
I do not recommend it. Frozen quinoa is pretty "wet" when it thaws and won't result in light and fluffy quinoa. That said, in a pinch, you can still use it.
Hot quinoa will make the salad watery. Spreading it on a cookie sheet and placing in the freezer for a few minutes is the quickest way to cool it down before adding to the salad.
I recommend using slightly less water than the package directions call for. In addition, make sure you let the quinoa sit, covered, for about 5 minutes after cooking to allow any additional liquid to get absorbed.
How to Store & Meal Prep
How to store: Leftover southwest quinoa salad should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge and will stay fresh for up to 5 days.
How to meal prep: If you're meal prepping for the week, assemble the salad as is and store in meal prep containers for easy grab-and-go lunches. Wait to add the avocado until just before serving.
Tip: The salad may dry out the longer it sits. If this is the case, drizzle a little extra-virgin olive oil (or avocado oil) and fresh lime juice over the top.
More Recipes with Quinoa
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Eat Clean.Be Well!
-Sara
Southwest Quinoa Salad
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Equipment
- 1 small sauce pan (for cooking the quinoa)
- 1 large mixing bowl
Ingredients
Ingredients for the Salad
- 1 cup dry quinoa
- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (same thing as garbanzo beans)
- 1 cup frozen sweet corn, thawed
- 1 red pepper, chopped
- ½ cup chopped red onion
- ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 avocado (for serving)
Ingredients for the Lime Dressing
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil (or avocado oil)
- 1 tbsp. lime zest
- 1 tbsp. honey
- ½ tsp. garlic powder
- ½ tsp. ground cumin
- ¼ tsp. salt
Instructions
- Cook quinoa according to the package directions. After quinoa has cooked, spread quinoa out on a cookie sheet and place in the freezer for 5-10 minutes to allow quinoa to cool.1 cup dry quinoa
- While the quinoa cooks, chop the veggies, drain and rinse the beans, take the corn out to thaw and chop the cilantro.1 can black beans, drained and rinsed, 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed , 1 cup frozen sweet corn, thawed, 1 red pepper, chopped, ½ cup chopped red onion , ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- In addition, prepare the dressing. Add dressing ingredients to a mason jar, cover and shake. If you don't have a mason jar, you can whisk ingredients together in a small bowl.¼ cup fresh lime juice, ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, 1 tbsp. lime zest, 1 tbsp. honey , ½ tsp. garlic powder, ½ tsp. ground cumin, ¼ tsp. salt
- After quinoa has cooled, transfer quinoa to a large bowl and add in the black beans, chickpeas, corn, peppers, onion, and cilantro. Pour dressing (shake or mix dressing again before adding to salad) over salad ingredients and mix until combined. Taste and add in additional salt or fresh lime juice if desired.
- Place salad in fridge for about 1 hour to chill and allow flavors to meld. Chop a fresh avocado and add to salad right before serving.1 avocado
- Enjoy!
Notes
- When cooking the quinoa, I've found that using slightly less water than the directions call for helps to make fluffy (and not soggy) quinoa.
- I recommend finely chopping the bell pepper and onion. Smaller pieces help to distribute the flavor and crunch more evenly.
- Dice the avocado and add to the salad right before serving. If you have leftovers, no worries. The avocado may brown slightly, but it will still taste good. Or, if you plan to enjoy throughout the week, add avocado when serving.
Nutrition
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Adrienne says
This is my idea of the perfect lunch! I have made this all month and added goodies from the garden as they are ready. It is filling, fresh and totally delicious!
Sara Ecklin says
Ooh, love the idea of adding fresh goodies from your garden!
pamela says
loved the freshness of this salad, i also kept the avocado separate and ate as a base for grilled lime garlic shrimp. super yummy.... later in the week made again using couscous [ out of quinoa] and it turned out just as yummy , will stay in my rotation.
Sara Ecklin says
Thanks for sharing about the couscous... such a good tip! And happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe 🙂
Ann says
I was looking for something I could meal prep for the week and this salad was perfect. Lots of flavor! Both my husband and I loved having it for lunch this week.
JD says
This quinoa salad was a breeze to put together on a weekday and delicious as well. Thank you!
Sara Ecklin says
Thanks so much for sharing!
Rita says
Fab salad. I like to leave the avocado in a separate serving dish. That way people can choose to add to their plate or not. What’s more I then can store it separately and use it for other dishes including making a bit of spread for avocado toast or guacamole.
Sara Ecklin says
Ooh, love the idea of saving some avocado for toast or guac. Thanks for sharing and glad you love this salad as much as we do!
Carol Bell says
i was looking for an idea for something to serve wuth sea bass and thus popped iup. Super easy, delicious and could be served with other things...grilled chicken, hallouni, etc.
Sara says
Thanks for sharing! And yes, this would go great on the side of so many protein options!
Julie Cotton-Goulet says
So quick and easy and the flavour is amazing. Very fresh.
Sara says
Yes, I love how easy and fresh this salad is. So glad you enjoyed it!