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?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
Made this today and it is amazing! Love it! My only question is if you should refrigerate the dressing separately instead of tossing it together beforehand? Are the leftovers still as good if already tossed together?
You can keep them separate or leave them as is. I actually prefer the latter because the flavors really meld as they sit in the fridge overnight.
What a GREAT salad! I made it for company last night and I have to tell you … it’s tops!!! The only alteration I made was I used the whole can of black beans instead of just one cup. Loved the dressing. Loved the orange segments. Loved the whole recipe. Thanks so much for posting it.
I’ve heard people say they don’t always have good luck with their Quinoa prep. I have good luck always so if I share what I do .. maybe it will help. I buy a 4 lb (1815 gram) bag of “truRoots” Quinoa from Costco. I use 1 2/3 Cup of water, 1 Cup of Quinoa, 1/2 tsp salt. I bring it to a boil, give it a bit of a stir, cover the pot, turn the heat down to simmer and and cook for 15 minutes. Take it off the heat. Take off the lid (the water will be gone) and give it a bit of a fluff up and leave it to cool. It should be perfect! Hope this helps.
I loved this salad!! I had it warm last night for dinner and cold for lunch! It makes great leftovers!!
Would this be fine in the fridge for a couple of hours before serving? I have a huge group coming this weekend and need to make a lot of recipes.
Yes, that should work just fine.
Can you freeze this after it is all cooked
Unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried freezing this myself – there were no leftovers left to freeze! I recommend using your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
This salad looks delicious, not sure what cilantro is or if I can get it here in the UK but will have a look for it as I’d love to make this! If I can’t find it would it spoil the salad if I left it out? Or is there something else I could use instead?
It should be fine to omit. But if you can find parsley in your area, that would be a great substitute!
You may know cilantro as coriander 🙂
Coriander leaves, Chinese or Mexican parsley are other names for cilantro, which is Spanish for parsley. Hope this proves helpful.
Just made it and it’s amazing! I made 2 cups cooked quinoa because it sort of disappeared with all the rest of the ingredients. The extra cop of quinoa made it look just like the picture! Great combo of flavors – loved it!
Just discovered your blog via Pinterest. I’m in love! I’ll be back, lots! 🙂
Made it earlier today and it is terrific. Can not stop eating it!
This was delicious! So quick and filling. Will definitely make again Thank you for posting!
I made this today and it was delicious! I added some Lawry’s garlic salt, black pepper, and feta…sooo good!!! Flavor combo is great but will reduce the amount of dressing next time…I don’t think it needed as much. Tasty dressing for sure!
The flavors here are fantastic. I love the combination of flavors. Enjoy your vacation!
Wow, beautiful and colorful salad! Yummm.
Yum, refreshing and colorful! I especially love the idea of the orange pieces. Thank you for sharing!
Cannot wait to try this! Enjoy your vaca!
What a lovely colors & the flavors, wonderful. Thanks,,,
I am making it this weekend!!
Gorgeous, I could eat this every day of the week. Love the orange vinaigrette!
Have so much fun on your trip, and try not to work too much! I know it’s easier said than done, but you’ll be so glad you did! This salad looks awesome, so refreshing and perfect for summer!
This looks delicious! I love the idea of adding oranges to the mix to freshen things up!