Quinoa salad is an excellent main course for a quick lunch or healthy dinner. You can even make it for meal prep and bring it as a lunch box meal, picnic meal, or potluck. You can combine it with legumes to make quinoa chickpea salad or quinoa lentil salad. It goes well with fruit, like in mango quinoa salad, with fresh herbs, like in quinoa tabbouleh, and with leafy greens, like in kale quinoa salad. But today, we share with you our favorite quinoa salad. It’s colorful and crunchy, quick and easy to assemble, and takes inspiration from beloved Southern flavors. We hope you’ll love it as much as we do!
Quinoa
You can use any color quinoa. We use white quinoa here, but red or black quinoa works equally well.
Black beans
You can use canned black beans or cook dried black beans at home. Here’s a quick guide on how to cook black beans. You can substitute chickpeas, kidney beans, or lentils for black beans.
Cucumber
Cucumber adds crunch and freshness. We use English cucumbers, but American and Persian cucumbers are also excellent. You can substitute radishes or thinly sliced zucchini for cucumber.
Tomatoes
We rely on cherry tomatoes to add a bright red color and a juicy, sweet taste. Substitute other small tomatoes for cherry tomatoes, or use diced vine or Roma tomatoes. Substitute green or red bell pepper for tomatoes.
Corn
The sweet flavor and crunchy texture of corn are a perfect flavor match with tender and nutty quinoa. You have three options for corn: canned corn kernels, frozen corn, or boiling corn on the cob for 5 to 10 minutes and slicing the kernels yourself. Here, we use corn on the cob. Substitute yellow bell pepper or diced mango for corn.
Red onion
Substitute shallot, spring onions, or white onion for red onion.
Avocado
Add avocado last, shortly before serving the salad. Substitute crumbled feta cheese for avocado.
Jalapeños
Jalapeños are optional. You can add thinly sliced raw jalapeños or pickled ones. We recommend them if you like a bit of heat. Substitute poblano pepper for less heat or serrano pepper for more heat.
Cilantro
Cilantro or fresh coriander is the cherry on top in this easy quinoa salad, and it has a strong flavor affinity with all the other ingredients. If you can’t stand cilantro’s taste, you can omit it or replace it with fresh flat-leaf parsley, chives, or a teaspoon of dried oregano.
Dressing
Extra virgin olive oil: substitute avocado oil. Maple syrup: substitute honey. Lime juice: substitute lemon juice. Ginger Garlic Sea salt or kosher salt.
Add the quinoa to a medium-sized pot with plenty of boiling water (at least 3 cups for 3/4 cup of quinoa) and cook for 10 to 12 minutes. Tip: Rinsing the quinoa removes saponins, the bitter quinoa coating that can make your quinoa bitter. Taste to check for doneness, then drain it in a fine-mesh sift. Put the sift over the pot to allow the quinoa to steam off and drain while you chop the vegetables. Tip: The easiest and best way of cooking quinoa is to boil it like pasta in plenty of water, then drain it in a fine-mesh sift when cooked. This method is the most consistent and yields the best, fluffiest quinoa. Quinoa-to-water ratios are inaccurate and can change depending on your brand of quinoa, often resulting in overcooked and mushy quinoa.
2. Mix the salad
To a large mixing bowl, add drained and rinsed black beans, chopped cucumber, quartered cherry tomatoes, corn kernels, chopped red onion, chopped cilantro, thinly sliced jalapeños, and cooked quinoa. You can optionally add diced avocado or crumbled feta, but only if you serve the salad shortly after making it. Whisk extra virgin olive oil, fresh lime juice, maple syrup, grated ginger, garlic, and salt in a separate bowl. Pour the dressing over the salad, then toss until well combined. Garnish with more cilantro or thinly sliced scallions, and enjoy. Refrigerator: Keep the salad in an airtight container for three days. Freezer: This recipe is not suitable for freezing.
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