Mexican Quinoa Salad
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It’s easy to make a delicious, healthy, and gluten free Mexican Quinoa Salad for a side dish or entree using this simple recipe. This salad is filled with black beans, tomatoes and bell peppers, and it’s made in just 29 minutes!
This Mexican quinoa salad is gluten free and great for those on a vegan or vegetarian diet. It’s super easy to make, packed with flavor and totally gorgeous! You’ll definitely impress your friends if you take this salad to a party or BBQ.
It can be served warm or cold, which makes it perfect to take to a party or on a picnic. Seriously, when was the last time you went on a picnic? You should probably whip up this salad and go have a picnic in the park tonight!
I also love meal-prepping this salad on Sunday or Monday and eating it for lunch throughout the week. A little fresh lime juice squeezed on top really brightens up the leftover salad!
How to make Mexican Quinoa Salad
- Cook the Quinoa. Add two cups of water and one cup of quinoa to a medium pot on the stovetop. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside. The quinoa can also be prepared in an Instant Pot. Click the link for the step-by-step instructions. Quinoa can be found in red, white or brown varieties. It can also be found labeled as “tri-color” which is a blend of all three. Any of the varieties will work for this recipe. I used the tri-color quinoa because I like the variety of colors and textures in the salad.
- Cook the vegetables. Add olive oil to a large skillet on the stove over medium-high heat. Cook mined onion, red peppers, jalapenos and garlic. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Prepare the dressing. In a large bowl, whisk olive oil, apple cider vinegar and lime juice together. Add fresh cilantro, cumin, salt and pepper. Whisk to combine well.
- Toss the salad together. Add the cooked veggies to the bowl with the salad dressing. Add halved cherry tomatoes, black beans and the cooked quinoa. Stir everything together. Top with diced avocado.
How to make it spicy
Want to spice up your salad? No problem! Here are a few additions you can make to create a spicy Mexican quinoa salad.
- Add 1 teaspoon chili powder, chipotle powder or crushed red pepper flakes to the dressing with the cumin, salt and pepper.
- Drizzle 2-4 tablespoons of your favorite hot sauce on top of the salad.
- In addition to the sautéed jalapenos, top the salad with an additional fresh sliced jalapeno or serrano pepper.
Optional additions of meat and cheese
A pound of ground turkey or ground beef can be cooked with the onions and bell peppers. Add the cooked meat and veggies in with the quinoa, tomatoes and black beans.
Grilled chicken can also be tossed in with the salad or served on top. I highly recommend this Fajita Grilled Chicken recipe to pair with this Mexican Quinoa Salad.
You can also top it with seafood. Chili Lime Garlic Grilled Shrimp or Chipotle Honey Glazed Salmon are both great options for topping this salad.
If you’re not on a vegan or dairy free diet, you can also add cheese to the salad. I love a little crumbled queso freso or cotija cheese right on top!
Storage and reheating
You can serve this Mexican Quinoa recipe hot or cold. If serving this salad directly after preparing the quinoa and cooked veggies, the salad will be warm. That’s totally fine and it’s delicious like this.
You can also refrigerate the Mexican quinoa salad and serve it cold. It’s great for making ahead of time to serve as a side dish at a BBQ or Mexican dinner.
It’s also great for meal prep. Divide the quinoa salad into four separate containers and eat it for lunches throughout the week. I would recommend adding the avocado on top right before serving, if possible. This will keep it from browning on top of the salad in the refrigerator.
This salad will keep in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
What to serve it with
This Mexican quinoa salad is a great side dish substitute for Mexican Rice. You can serve it as a side with tacos, chicken skewers or enchiladas.
Try it with any of these delicious Mexican main dishes!
- Grilled Chipotle Lime Chicken Fajita Skewers – these skewers are a Bond family favorite! The marinade is so flavorful, they’re easy to make, healthy and gluten free! I promise you’re going to love this recipe!
- Slow Cooker Beef Barbacoa – one of the most popular recipes on the blog! You can add this delicious Beef Barbacoa to tacos, burritos or tostadas. Served with corn tortillas, this recipe is gluten free.
- Carnitas Tostadas – speaking of tostadas, just one look of these Carnitas tostadas and your mouth will start watering!
- Vegan Tacos with Grilled Vegetables – looking for a vegan and gluten free main dish to serve with this salad? These delicious Vegan Tacos topped with roasted veggies, chimichurri sauce and fresh avocado are where it’s at!
More quinoa recipes
For more fresh and healthy quinoa recipes, check out these popular dishes!
Mexican Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa, uncooked
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- ¼ cup red onion, minced
- ¼ cup red bell pepper, minced
- ¼ cup jalapeno, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons lime juice, fresh squeezed
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 15.5 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 avocado, diced
Instructions
- In a small pot on the stovetop, bring the quinoa to a boil with 2 cups of water.
- Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, remove from the heat and set aside.
- In the meantime, heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large skillet on the stove over medium heat, add the onion, bell pepper and jalapeño.
- Cook for 3-4 minutes, then add the garlic and cook for an additional minute. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Whisk the ½ cup olive oil, apple cider vinegar, lime juice, cilantro, cumin, salt and pepper together in a large bowl.
- Add the cooked onion, peppers and garlic, then add the tomatoes, black beans and cooked quinoa.
- Toss everything together, place in a serving bowl and top with the diced avocado.
Notes
- Spice up the salad! To add spice to the salad, mix in 1 teaspoon chili powder, chipotle powder or crushed red pepper flakes to the dressing with the cumin, salt and pepper. You can also drizzle hot sauce on top of the salad or add fresh sliced jalapenos or serrano peppers on top.
- Refrigeration: this salad can be served warm or cold and will keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Nutrition Facts
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