I know we just celebrated Buddha’s birthday last week for the Holiday Recipe Club but you know we couldn’t pass up Cinco de Mayo. Now the required ingredients for this installment were dulce de leche, tomatoes, and chorizo, but since I’m trying to be extra-healthy these days, I decided to make a fun Mexican quinoa salad with chorizo, black beans, corn, tomatoes, cilantro, and of course, avocado. Yes, lots of good stuff happening here.

You should know that I was a chorizo-virgin before this. Crazy, I know, but since I’ve never had it before, I took advantage of this and tried out the soy chorizo from Trader Joe’s. I was definitely a bit skeptical trying out a soy-product but the Trader Joe’s guy was very confident that I would like it.

Was he right?

Absolutely.

Once I took that first bite to try out the chorizo, the one thing that kept going through my mind was, “Where was this my entire life?!” I mean it’s like crumbled sausage infused with Tapatio! Ahhhhh, amazing! And it’s made of soy, which means it’s high in protein, low in calories, and contains no cholesterol. Yes, it is a godsend.

Now just imagine tossing this tapatio-infused crumbled sausage that’s super healthy with some more healthy goodies like quinoa, my new obsession, and a super flavorful lime vinaigrette with added chile powder and cumin. Drooling yet?

There’s just so many flavors and textures in every bite, and the added spiciness from the chorizo just sends you to the moon.

I don’t mean to toot my own horn but I think this just might be my best creation yet.

One year ago: Strawberry Banana Orange Muffins

Soy Chorizo Quinoa Salad (inspired by Kalyn’s Kitchen):

Yields 4 servings

  • 3/4 cup quinoa, rinsed
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 (12-ounce) package soy chorizo, casings removed
  • 1 cup black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 cup corn kernels
  • 2 roma tomatoes, diced
  • 3 green onions, sliced
  • 1 avocado, diced
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

For the dressing:

  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon chile powder
  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Combine the rinsed quinoa and 1 1/2 cups water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.

Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until all water is absorbed, about 15-20 minutes.

Remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes before fluffing with a fork.

In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, cumin, chile powder and pepper, to taste; set aside.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the chorizo and cook until dry and crisp, about 5 minutes, making sure to crumble the chorizo as it cooks.

Add the chorizo, black beans, corn, tomatoes and green onions to the cooked quinoa and gently toss to combine.

Stir in the avocado, cilantro and prepared dressing.

Serve cold.

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