Southwest Quinoa Salad

This cold Southwest Quinoa Salad is one of my family’s favorite easy quinoa salad recipes. We enjoy it all summer long!

Swim season starts next week for my three kids. And once school is out, we’re at the pool every day, with swim meets 2-3 times each week. To keep us from eating too much junk food (and to save money), we pack our meals whenever we can. Cold salads hit the spot! They travel well, and by planning ahead, our swim meet dinners are packed with healthy protein and vegetables.

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This salad tastes great warm, but if you let it sit in the fridge for a while to chill, the quinoa soaks up the yummy dressing and is even better.

I love salads with lots of different textures and fresh flavors, and the colors in this meal just say summer to me!

Let your kids help chop the vegetables. If they’re older (like my tweens and teen), this recipe is easy enough to prepare on their own.

If you keep a home garden, you can fill this quinoa salad with just-picked tomatoes, green onions, and cilantro. Even better!

Check out my easy way to make quinoa in a rice cooker!

More Quinoa Recipes

• Strawberry Pecan Quinoa Salad
• Tex Mex Quinoa Bowl
• Balsamic Quinoa Salad

Check out my easy way to make quinoa in a rice cooker!

4.5 from 4 votes

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Southwest Quinoa Salad

This cold Southwest Quinoa Salad is one of my family's favorite easy quinoa salad recipes.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword quinoa, salad recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Servings (change # to adjust recipe measurements) 6

Author Gina Lincicum

Ingredients

Salad

• 1 1/2 cups quinoa prepared according to package directions
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup frozen corn, thawed
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 1 cup tomatoes, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

Dressing

• ¼ cup olive oil
• 2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 Tbsp cumin
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Cook quinoa per package instructions, then let cool. While quinoa cooks, prepare other ingredients.

2. In large bowl, combine vegetables and cooled quinoa.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together dressing ingredients. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Pour dressing into salad and stir to distribute.
5. Serve warm or let chill before serving.

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Gina Lincicum

Gina has been blogging at MoneywiseMoms.com since 2008, sharing strategies to help busy moms balance the family budget. She is passionate about helping families get a healthy dinner on the table, have frugal fun, and pay off debt. She lives in Northern Virginia and has three tweens (two are identical twins), who help with posts on favorite family board games, Mid-Atlantic travel, and tech topics.

Latest posts by Gina Lincicum (see all)

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