This vibrant and fresh Mexican quinoa salad – essentially a party in a bowl, if you will. Loaded with quinoa, bell peppers, red onions, black beans, and combined with a fresh cilantro lime dressing. This bold flavored dish will enhance any meal.
This is a dish for those of us who like a lot of stuff in our salads. We're talking no greens and maximum fun: bell peppers, red onion, black beans, and quinoa. All of these make for a heartier salad that's packed with texture.
And if you have left over cilantro, pair it with homemade guacamole.
This Mexican Quinoa Salad Is:
- Fresh and colorful
- Cold and perfect for the warmer weather
- Healthy and hearty
- Flavorful
- Easy to make
Tell Me About This Mexican Quinoa Salad
- Texture: With the crunchy bell peppers and red onion, soft black beans and hearty quinoa, this recipe is destined for textural greatness. It may seem like there's a lot going on, but it all works together perfectly.
- Flavor: The dressing is just 5 ingredients, and I bet you have them all handy: olive oil, juice and zest of a lime, honey, pinch of salt and pepper. There's nothing to take away from the fresh ingredients – the dressing compliments it perfectly.
- Ease: This recipe is really simple, it's a 2-step recipe! Combine the ingredients and toss with the dressing. Except for pre-cooking the quinoa, there's hardly any prep!
- Time: Prep will take you about 5-10 minutes and the dressing comes together in just a minute!
Choosing The Right Ingredients
- Bell Peppers: Any color works– just use what you have on hand.
- Red Onion: The red onion adds the perfect amount of flavor without being too overpowering.
- Black Beans: I find that using black beans work best in this recipe, but you could also use pinto!
- Quinoa: You can use any type of quinoa that you like, I prefer to use RiceSelect. Cooking quinoa doesn't take much work at all— you can learn how in this post.
- Cilantro Lime Dressing: There's just 5 ingredients for the dressing— olive oil, juice and zest of a lime, honey, pinch of salt and pepper. This dressing is packed with flavor and the quinoa soaks up all the delicious flavor.
Mexican Quinoa Salad Is A Perfect Make Ahead Recipe
Besides the fact that it's healthy and delicious, we also need to discuss the make-ahead factor of this salad.
This Mexican quinoa salad is even better after the flavors develop on days 2 and 3. So when you don't feel like making anything for dinner, or figure out what you want for lunch, this is already magically prepared in the refrigerator.
Oh, one last thing: we're breaking the rules and eating this salad with a spoon. Using a spoon gives you more opportunity for maximum stuff in every bite.
Mexican Quinoa Salad
Description
Ingredients
Quinoa Salad
- 3 cups cooked quinoa
- 1 cup red bell pepper, chopped
- ¾ cup red onion, finely chopped
- 1 15-ounce can black beans, strained and rinsed
Dressing
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 lime, juiced and zested
- 3 Tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 Tablespoon honey
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients together and toss together.
- Make the dressing: Whisk together the ingredients and pour over the salad. Toss together until everything is evenly coated.
- Cover and store for up to 1 week in the refrigerator. This salad tastes even better on days 2 and 3 after the dressing soaks into the quinoa.
Notes
- Make Ahead Recipe: This Mexican quinoa salad is even better after the flavors develop on days 2 and 3. So when you don't feel like making anything for dinner, or figure out what you want for lunch, this is already magically prepared in the refrigerator.
- Bell Peppers: Any type of bell peppers can be used. I prefer to use red bell peppers but it's totally up to you!
- The measurements for this are general guidelines– feel free to add more/less of the ingredients to your liking.
Sherry says
This looks delicious! I am going to make it for a church potluck tomorrow. Thank you for sharing!
I have a quick question, is there cilantro in the recipe? I’m not seeing it. I’m going to pick some up anyway. I love cilantro and think that it would be delicious in this recipe.
Have a great day!
Christina says
Hi Sherry. Yes, I apologize. There is! It's in the cilantro lime dressing– I just updated the recipe. I typically use 3 Tablespoons of chopped fresh cilantro but you can adjust up or down based on your love for cilantro!
Sherry says
Great! Thanks for getting back with me so quickly. I’m making it right now so that it’s ready for tomorrow. 😁