Quinoa Black Bean Salad

Ingredients:

  • 2 ½ cups cooked and cooled quinoa (3/4 cup or 138 g dry quinoa yields ~2 ½ cups or 460 g cooked)

  • 2 cups cherry tomatoes, quartered (1 pint yields ~2 cups or 315 g)

  • 1 cup orange or red bell pepper, finely diced (1 medium bell pepper yields ~ 1 cup or 115 g)

  • 1/3 cup finely diced red onion (1/2 small onion yields ~1/3 cup or 50 g)

  • 1 (15-oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed (or ~1 ½ cups homemade)

  • 3 ears fresh corn*, kernels removed (3 ears yield ~1 ½ cups or 225 g corn kernels // or sub 1 ½ cups frozen corn, thawed)

  • 1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro

  • 4-5 Tbsp lime juice (2-3 limes yield ~4-5 Tbsp or 60

  • 75 ml juice, depending on how juicy they are)

  • 2 Tbsp olive oil

  • 2 tsp maple syrup (or honey if not vegan)

  • 1 ¼ tsp sea salt (adjust to taste)

    FOR SERVING optional

  • 1 medium avocado, finely diced

  • 1/4 cup pepitas (or our Chili Lime Roasted Pepitas!)

Instructions:

  • If you don’t already have cooked quinoa, prepare it at this time. In a small saucepan, combine 3/4 cup (138 g) dry quinoa and 1 ½ cups (360 ml) water (this will make ~2 ½ cups cooked quinoa — adjust amounts if altering default number of servings). Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and continue cooking for ~12-15 minutes until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is fluffy and has expanded. Remove from the heat, stir, and set aside (covered). The quinoa will get even fluffier as it sits!

  • In a large mixing bowl, combine the cherry tomatoes, bell pepper, red onion, drained and rinsed black beans, corn, and cilantro. Toss to combine.

  • Add the cooked and cooled quinoa (it’s okay if it’s not completely cooled) along with the lime juice, olive oil, maple syrup, and salt and mix well. Taste and adjust as needed, adding more salt for overall flavor, lime juice for brightness, olive oil for richness, maple syrup for sweetness, or cilantro for herbiness.

  • Serve at room temperature or chilled. Optionally, garnish individual servings with diced avocado and pepitas. Leftover salad (without avocado/pepitas) keeps well in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days. Not freezer friendly.