Quinoa Salad

This quinoa salad combines crunchy vegetables, tender black beans, protein-rich quinoa, and bold, tangy cilantro lime dressing into a colorful, bright, and nutritious recipe.

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.

Quinoa is excellent for salads because it’s rich in protein and has a neutral flavor that goes well with most vegetables.

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!

Quantities are in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.

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.

1. Boil the quinoa

Rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh sift under running water.

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.

Make ahead: If you make quinoa salad for meal prep, don’t add avocado or feta until you are ready to serve the salad.

Refrigerator: Keep the salad in an airtight container for three days.

Freezer: This recipe is not suitable for freezing.

More salad recipes

SALAD AS A MEAL: Chickpea pasta salad, creamy pasta salad, white bean salad, Mediterranean salad, Israeli couscous salad, lentil salad, and Greek chickpea salad.

SALAD AS A SIDE: Coleslaw, tabouli, Asian cucumber salad, creamy cucumber salad, broccoli salad, carrot salad, green bean salad.

Check out our compilation of 45 best salad recipes for even more salad ideas.

Salads

Chickpea Pasta Salad

30-Min Meals

Mediterranean Salad

Salads

Broccoli Salad

Sides

Coleslaw