Black Bean Quinoa Salad
A light and healthy quinoa salad tossed in a refreshing orange vinaigrette, chockfull of protein and fiber!
Greetings from Cabo! After a very emotional departure with Butters, a 4AM wake up call, and spending 10 hours at the airport, we finally made it! So please forgive me if this post is a bit erratic and short. The gorgeous beach view and the last 3 glasses of margaritas are a bit distracting.
Now I should tell you that I clearly did not plan for this trip at all. I tried to – I really did. I even planned a strict “diet” for months prior to the trip, but that didn’t pan out as I hoped as Jason and I gorged on chicken and waffles, Korean BBQ crinkle fries, and tater tot breakfast skillets.
So like the caprese avocado salad I posted the other day, this was one of the last and final attempts for clean eating before our trip. And I must say, it was the most glorious protein-rich salad I could ask for. Loaded with tons of fresh veggies and a refreshing orange vinaigrette, I gorged on this for 3 days straight!
And honestly, if all quinoa salads were like this, dieting would never be an issue.
Black Bean Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa
- 2 large navel oranges, cut into segments
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
- 1 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
- ½ cup canned corn kernels, drained
- ⅓ cup chopped red onion
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
For the orange vinaigrette
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
- Zest of 1 orange
- 1 tablespoon sugar
Instructions
- In a large saucepan of 2 cups water, cook quinoa according to package instructions; set aside.
- To make the vinaigrette, whisk together olive oil, apple cider vinegar, orange juice, orange zest and sugar in a small bowl; set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine quinoa, oranges, bell pepper, jalapeno, black beans, corn, onion and cilantro. Pour the vinaigrette on top of the salad and gently toss to combine.
- Serve immediately.
Did you make this recipe?
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Firstly I thought it is looking delicious just in the pictures.
But, wow, it is too tasty when I tried at home even with some items skipped.
Will be reading more recipes and will leave my review too.
Amanda, UK.
I made this tonight and it was so good. Only change I made was, I cooked the quinoa in chicken stock instead of water.
Fabulous. The oranges make it so refreshing
This recipe was great. Would I be right in assuming you can make additional dressing to refrigerate and use day the next day? Thanks
I made this recipe without the dressing. I cooked the quinoa in chicken broth and sauteed the onions, peppers, corn and black beans. I then added the cooked quinoa and when it was done, I added the cilantro. It was delicious!! Definitely making it again.
NOT HARD TO MAKE, AND DELICIOUS. I USED REGULAR VINEGAR, SKIPPED THE JALAPENO AND USED A GREEN PEPPER. YOU CAN EXPERIMENT BUT IT’S A GREAT BASIC QUINOA SALAD RECIPE.
This is really yummy! I love quinoa and am always looking for new recipes, I will definately make this again!
Thanks Heather!
Do you let the quinoa cool before you add the dressing and other ingredients or do you serve it warm?
Either-or should be fine!
Made this last night for a potluck dinner and it was delicious! Doubled the recipe, and still have some left for today. The doubled dressing completely absorbed without being wet as some were saying. I will leave out the sugar next time in the dressing though, I like it a bit more acidic. With the sweetness from the oranges and juice I don’t think it’s needed. Perhaps a pinch of salt instead.
Made it. Used 1 orange only. Very sweet. Too sweet.
Leave sugar out next time if I make it again
Made this exactly as written, except I didn’t have cilantro so added some coriander. I agree that the colors of this salad are just beautiful, but I wish I didn’t use colored quinoa. Next time, using just the white. I also love the orange vinaigrette and will use for other salads. Yum.
As for the salad; it is DELICIOUS, but too moist and I didn’t even add two whole oranges. Hmm, any suggestions. Believe me, I am exacting, so ti wasn’t that I used two much of the liquid ingredients and there was no leftover cooking liquid in the quinoa. I guess I will not add all the dressing next time because I am definitely makeing this again. I love it.
I loved this. Doubled the recipe for a potluck picnic. Added a big can of mandarin oranges in addition to a large orange. I actually think the salad was better the next day after all the flavors mingled with the dressing!
Is the nutritional information based on the entire salad or is it broken down into a serving size?
The nutritional information is for each serving.
Have my quinoa ready, a saucepan of beans simmering away with an orange etc., added 3 big whole Jamaican Allspice peppercorns, should give an extra special flavour.
Do you think I could sub fresh basil for cilantro?
Yes, absolutely.
What did u make the quinoa with? Just plan water or did u use vegetable broth? Just wonder what would be the best taste.
Thank you for sharing!
You can use water or chicken/vegetable broth – it’s completely up to you, although I personally prefer the latter.
Your recipes all look and sound delicious and I hope to be making a lot of them, even though I HATE to cook.
I know this is late, but, what happened to Butters?
Butters had a blast with his caretaker and his Australian Shepherd friend – thank you for asking! 🙂
Amazing colors!
this is so good!!! and it’s such a pretty salad…all the colors really make it appealing to the eye. I added lime to mine and didn’t really need all of the dressing. I follow your blog and have made several recipes! thanks so much!!!
My first time to cook/make quinoa salad, it was a huge success!!! With some modifications since I don’t have two of the ingredients in my pantry. Anyway, after rinsing the quinoa I cooked it with a can of low sodium chicken stock. Here’s my substitutions:
black beans – used garbanzo beans.
Orange – clementines
fresh cilantro -flat leaf parsley
I omitted the jalapeño pepper for the kiddos. But I added a pinch of freshly chopped mint leaves to boost the flavor a notch. Lastly, I also added 3/4 tsp of fine sea salt and freshly grounded black pepper to the vinaigrette.
Even with all my changes, I really love the recipe! Thank you so much for sharing it.