Southwest Quinoa Salad

Colorful and delicious, Southwest Quinoa Salad relies on kitchen staples plus a few fresh herbs and vegetables to create a crowd-pleasing and protein rich side dish for easy entertaining.

Go-To Salads for Any Season

The recipe for this colorful salad came into my kitchen in the best way possible. It was shared by a member of the family. My sister-in-law sent it to me when she began working in the catering business, a decade or so ago. At the time I was trying to figure out quinoa. Honestly, it is not my favorite grain (or is it a seed? or pseudocereal? I still haven’t figured it out.) I did not have much experience using it.  Still it cooks quickly and provides a lot of protein so I was trying to learn. 

Southwest Quinoa Salad has a lot of curb appeal. Its southwest character works well with the  big, sharp Texas influences in my home cooking. It includes corn, a favorite salad ingredient of mine from way back. To that it adds bits of sweet red bell pepper, earthy black beans, tart fresh lime juice and a handful of cilantro. It goes together quickly and relies on mostly pantry ingredients. The addition of a few fresh herbs and bits add color and let it stand out as an intriguing selection on the picnic table. 

I gave it a trial run and found it was a welcome addition to my summer rotation of salads. It goes great with burgers, barbecue or ribs. In fact, it is a good side dish most anytime. Alongside Corn Salad with Pecan Dressing and Moroccan Chickpea and Barley Salad it has become one of my three go-to dishes, the ones I grab the ingredients for and start making as I work out the rest of my meal plan, when I find out company is coming or I need to share a meal. 

North Main Annex

These days, my sister-in-law is still in the business of making fabulously tasty and inventive salads. In fact she opened her own deli, café and catering business, North Main Annex Gourmet Catering & Deli, a few years back. She renovated the historic Post Office Annex in Evansville, Indiana and followed her dream to pursue a second career in the culinary arts. Having established her business in late 2019, shortly before the pandemic shutdowns, it has been a struggle. Still, through it all, Narda has taken the challenges in stride. Along the way she has improvised solutions, adapted and grown. Fortunately her innovative spirit and love of sharing food with friends and neighbors motivated her to hang in there. These days, North Main Annex is finally seeing that dedication and hard work pay off.   

If you are ever in Evansville, IN stop by the North Main Annex for breakfast, lunch or snack time. Chef Narda makes some amazing cookies, bars and other treats. She is an inquisitive and resourceful chef, using “good recipes, old and new” and has a few Evansville specialties on her menu rotation. She also offers a fantastic catering service. At North Main Annex Chef Narda always has something delicious in the works.  

Southwest Quinoa Salad

Course: SaladsCuisine: SouthwestDifficulty: Easy

Servings

8

servings

Prep time

5

minutes

Cooking time

15

minutes

Total time

20

minutes

This colorful and delicious salad relies on kitchen staples plus a few fresh herbs and vegetables to create a crowd-pleasing and protein rich side dish for easy summer meals.

Ingredients

• 2 cups water

• 1 cup quinoa

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 1/4 cup lime juice

• 3 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

• 2 teaspoons ground cumin

• 1 teaspoon finely minced jalapeno

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 1/4 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed

• 1 cup diced red bell pepper (1 pepper)

• 1 can (14 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed

• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

• 2 Tablespoons toasted pine nuts (optional)

Directions

• Place water and quinoa in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat.
• Cover and reduce heat. Simmer for 10 minutes. Turn heat off, leaving the covered saucepan on the burner for another 4 minutes. Remove the cover, fluff the quinoa with a fork and allow to cool.
• Place quinoa in a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, lime juice, vinegar, cumin and jalapeno and salt. Pour over the quinoa and stir. Toss in the corn, bell pepper, beans. Top with toasted pine nuts, if desired.
• Serve and enjoy!