Southwest Quinoa Salad (2024)

Filled with black beans, corn, avocado, and veggies, and tossed in a zesty chili lime dressing, this southwest quinoa salad is a quick and easy recipe that works well as a light main course, colorful side dish, or easy meal prep idea.

I don’t know about you, but I love hearty bean and grain salads. Not only do they keep for days in the fridge, but they are so versatile as they can be enjoyed hot or cold, for lunch or dinner, on their own, or as part of a larger meal.

Since quinoa is a high-protein grain, it’s a great base for this southwest quinoa salad recipe as it helps to boost the protein content of the dish and provides some healthy fats and fiber at the same time. Paired with veggies and the chili lime dressing, this easy quinoa salad recipe is the perfect addition to a picnic, BBQ, potluck, or family dinner, and works equally well as a make-ahead meal for healthy weekday lunches.

Why You’ll Love It

• Quick and Easy to Make – Ready in 30, this southwest quinoa salad recipe is super quick to prepare.
• Full of Flavor – The zesty chili lime dressing ensures this salad is full of flavor.
• High in Fiber – The combination of quinoa, black beans, veggies, and avocado ensures this healthy quinoa salad has over 7 grams of fiber per serving.
• Great for Meal Prep – This southwestern quinoa salad keeps well in the fridge for several days making it a great make-ahead meal.

Ingredients + Substitutions

• Quinoa – To add some plant-based protein to the salad. You can use white quinoa, red quinoa, or tri-color quinoa blend.
• Black Beans – To add some more plant-based protein and fiber to this southwestern quinoa salad. I used canned black beans, but you can cook dry black beans if preferred. If you don’t like black beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, or chickpeas will also work.
• Corn – The recipe calls for frozen corn, however, you can use cooked fresh corn or canned corn if needed.
• Red Bell Pepper – To add some veggies and color to the salad. The recipe calls for a red bell pepper, however, yellow or orange bell peppers will also work.
• Red Onion – To add more color and flavor. If you’re not a fan of red onions, green onions will also work well.
• Avocado – To add some healthy fats and creaminess to the salad.
• Cilantro – To add some freshness and brightness. If you don’t like cilantro, you can swap it for parsley or omit it completely.
• Olive Oil – To make the dressing, avocado oil will also work well.
• Lime Juice – To balance the dressing.
• Garlic – To flavor the dressing.
• Honey – To add a touch of sweetness to the dressing. If you don’t like honey, you can use maple syrup instead or omit it completely.
• Spices – A mixture of ground cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper to season the dressing.

How to Make Southwestern Quinoa Salad

1. Cook the quinoa. Add the uncooked quinoa to a pot of boiling water, season with a pinch of salt, and cook for 15 minutes until tender. Strain the cooked quinoa in a fine mesh colander and then run under cold water until cooled.
2. Chop the veggies. While the quinoa is cooking, chop the bell pepper, red onion, and avocado, thaw the corn, and strain and rinse the black beans.
3. Make the dressing. In a small bowl or jar, add the dressing ingredients: olive oil, lime juice, honey, garlic, cumin, chili powder, salt, and black pepper, and whisk to combine.
4. Mix the salad. In a large bowl, add the quinoa, black beans, corn, bell pepper, red onion, avocado, and cilantro, toss to combine, cover with dressing, and toss again until everything is well coated.
5. Serve and enjoy. The southwest quinoa salad can be served immediately or stored in the fridge for several days.

You can find the detailed instructions in the recipe card below.

Variations and Tips for the Best Quinoa Salad

• Cook the quinoa in broth. To add extra flavor to a quinoa salad, cook the quinoa in chicken broth or vegetable broth instead of water. To ensure the salad is gluten-free, use certified gluten-free broth.
• Season it well. Quinoa has a rather bland and neutral taste, so don’t skimp on the salt and pepper when seasoning the salad. You can add additional cumin, chili powder, and spices to this southwest quinoa salad if you want to make it extra tasty.
• Make extra dressing. This zesty lime dressing is so tasty you’ll want to make extra. Plus, additional dressing can be used to brighten the salad when eating leftovers.
• Add more fresh veggies. You can increase the vegetable content of this salad by adding extra bell pepper, red onion, and corn, or add additional fresh vegetables such as cherry tomatoes, cucumber, or arugula.
• Add shredded chicken. To increase the protein content of this southwest quinoa salad, add some leftover chicken to the mix.
• Add the avocado when serving. If making this salad a day or several days ahead of time, don’t add the avocado until you are ready to serve. This will ensure your avocado remains green and creamy and doesn’t brown in the fridge.
• Serve it warm. While this recipe is designed to be a cold quinoa salad, you can serve it warm too! Instead of cooling the quinoa after cooking, add it to the bowl warm, then sauté the bell peppers and onion, warm the beans, and grill the sweet corn before adding them to the bowl, then top everything with fresh cilantro, avocado, and the dressing and serve the salad warm.
• Serve it with tortilla chips. While this is designed to be served as a salad, it works well as a chunky dip too! You can serve it with a big bowl of tortilla chips as a snack or appetizer.

Serving Suggestions

This southwest quinoa salad can be enjoyed on its own as a healthy vegan meal and is also a great addition to a BBQ, potluck, or party as it can easily feed a crowd. While it works well with anything off the grill, I think it pairs particularly well with a flavorful grilled chicken recipe such as:

• Grilled Cilantro Lime Chicken
• Honey Mustard Chicken Thighs
• Lemon Garlic Chicken Thighs
• Lemon Pepper Chicken Thighs
• Honey Lime Chicken Skewers

More Easy Quinoa Salad Recipes:

• Quinoa Chickpea Salad
• Mediterranean Quinoa Bowl

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