Description
This Easy Vegan Mexican Quinoa Salad is full of delicious flavor and a variety of textures while offering nutritious ingredients. It is simple to prepare and uses mostly pantry ingredients you likely have on hand like dry quinoa and canned black beans. It has a Southwestern flavored dressing that makes this quinoa salad so addictive. This quinoa salad holds up well in the refrigerator making it an excellent meal prep option.
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa (cooked in the Instant Pot with 1 cup of water)*
- 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 red or orange bell pepper, stem and seeds removed, diced
- 4 green onions, diced
- 1/2 red onion, finely diced
- 1 cup packed fresh cilantro, large stems removed, leaves chopped
Dressing
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 limes, juiced
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
Instructions
- Cook the quinoa in the Instant Pot*. While the quinoa cooks prepare your dressing and other ingredients.
- In a large mixing bowl combine the cooked quinoa with the black beans, red bell pepper, onions and cilantro. Whisk the dressing well and pour overtop the salad. Stir well to combine. Enjoy immediately or store in an airtight container (or separate smaller airtight containers for lunch on-the-go). Salad lasts in the refrigerator for up to five days.
Notes
*Use two cups of water if using the stovetop to cook the quinoa. Use my stovetop method for perfectly cooked quinoa. Either way this yields about 3 cups of tightly packed cooked quinoa. The cooked quinoa measures 4 cups when fluffed with a fork and not packed tightly into the measuring cup. This recipe uses 1 cup of uncooked quinoa which for me yields 4 cups of fluffy unpacked cooked quinoa.
In the Instant Pot put the quinoa and water in the pot and cook on Manual high pressure for one minute. Then, press off and allow it to naturally release for 15 minutes. Remove lid and fluff with a fork. Allow to slightly cool before adding to the salad.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 20
- Category: Side Dish or Entree
- Method: Instant Pot or Stovetop
- Cuisine: Mexican
Keywords: Mexican quinoa salad
