Have you jumped on the quinoa train yet? This salad just might be your ticket to climb aboard and love the ride.
It is so absolutely simple and delicious, not to mention refreshingly light and healthy. The hearty black beans, sweet corn and fresh cilantro compliment the delicate nature of the quinoa perfectly.
As I found out after doing a bit of looking online, quinoa is not technically a grain but can be substituted for many grains, like rice and couscous. It is high in protein, iron, potassium and other vitamins and minerals and is a good source of fiber. There’s a lot to love about quinoa, I’m telling you!
Health benefits aside, these little tender morsels cook up to be fluffy and light but still hold a bite to their texture. This was one of my first forays into quinoa and I know I’ll be using it over and over again based on the success of this salad. My husband, the ultimate skeptic about any food that starts with the letter “Q”, gave this two thumbs up.
Served with grilled chicken or pork, this would make a tasty and easy summer meal, not to mention a great take-along to your next BBQ.
As a note, quinoa can be found at most grocery stores and health food stores near the other grains, usually (I found it reasonably priced at Trader Joe’s).
One Year Ago: Simple Skillet Lasagna
Two Years Ago: Chopped Cobb Salad with Blue Cheese
Black Bean and Sweet Corn Quinoa Salad
Printable Version with Picture
Printable Version
INGREDIENTS:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
1 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup frozen sweet white corn
2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
DIRECTIONS:
In a medium pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. When shimmering and hot, add the onions and saute for 4-5 minutes, stirring often. Add the garlic and stir for a minute or two until the garlic is fragrant, being careful not to burn the garlic.
Add the quinoa and cover with broth. Stir in cumin, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and let simmer for 20 minutes (or until all the liquid is absorbed).
Stir in the frozen corn and black beans. Cover and let the pot sit off the heat until the corn and beans are heated through, about 5-6 minutes. Stir in the cilantro. Serve warm or chilled – it is delicious both ways!
Recipe Source: slightly adapted from The Dish on Delish
{ 31 comments… read them below or add one }
I love black beans, corn AND quinoa, so this sounds like a perfect dish for me!
I agree with Jessica- I love all of the ingredients in this dish! If you and your husband love it, then I know my family will, too! I can’t wait to try this recipe!
Sounds good – you should make a note though: Quinoa is covered in a bitter substance so you should always rinse it well before cooking.
Oh thank goodness! I have a whole package of Quinoa waiting for me to figure out what do with it. I will be using this recipe pronto!
You are right on the money with quinoa, it is a marvelous alternative to the ubiquitous rice. Coincidentally, I’m polishing off a squash/quinoa dish I made last fall and just took out of the freezer. Nice work.
Oh yummy, I will make this tonight. I always have a big container of quinoa salad in my fridge in the summer. For lunch today I am finishing off the last of a Chicken Bacon Club Quinoa salad (rotisserie chicken, bacon, onions, spinach, tomatoes, fresh chives, garlic, fresh basil, quinoa, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Delicious!!) Thanks for another great recipe.
Also- if you are new to quinoa, I love it as a breakfast food with yogurt and cinnamon. Mmmm. I buy bags of quinoa at Costco.
even if i didn’t love quinoa, which i do, i’d enjoy this salad. in fact, i can envision myself eating it with tortilla chips or wrapped in a tortilla with pepperjack cheese. is that wrong?
This is one of my favorite Quinoa dishes. We make it all the time. We love serving it as a side with any Mexican food…but we also love adding it to the filling of our tacos making them more Quinoa Bean burritos.
Another one of my favorite Quinoa dishes is this Quinoa Chili recipe. It’s amazing! http://feedyourfamily.blogspot.com/2008/06/quinoa-chili.html
Are you kidding me? I wouldn’t put anything with this on the plate–this WOULD be my meal! LOL–I’ll have to try this. I’ve been saving quinoa recipes but haven’t tried any yet. Can’t wait.
PS There’s no picture with the “printable recipe w/ picture” link.
We are riding the quinoa train at our house . . . great recipe . . . I will have to try it out . . . I have quinoa, quinoa, quinoa that needs some attention . . .
For some reason our grocery store only sells one brand of organic quinoa and it’s outrageously priced. This is the second quinoa salad recipe I’ve seen and I made one before subbing couscous which turned out fab. I think I’ll try the same sub here. It looks great!
The flavors and ingredients in this dish are incredibly appealing to me, so I will be making it soon!
Beans, grains, pulses… Yums!
Jotting down the recipe now!
Need to get a hold of some black beans asap this salad look so very good!
Can you use red quinoa in this dish?
Cindy – I wish I knew the answer to this question but I’m not familiar with red quinoa since I’ve never cooked with it before. You might try googling whether or not you can substitute red quinoa for the “regular” kind.
I shouldn’t admit this, but because I am an addict to good food, I shall. I have made this 3 times. Count them THREE since you posted, what like 10 days ago. Genious, this dish. I love it so much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Tami – You know I love your guts…and I’m glad your guts like this salad.
Mmm, this looks delicious. I have used quinoa a bunch, but not enough. I will be making this soon, especially since I just froze TONS of fresh corn cut off the cob.
Looks great! I linked back to it in my blog…hope this helps! http://bit.ly/9ikJoT
This salad was SO good! I made it yesterday for Sunday dinner at my mom’s house and everyone there agreed. I doubled the recipe but still only used two cans of black beans, and I thought it was perfect. This is definitely going to be a recipe I make again and again!
I have never made quinoa before, but I have been hearing about it a lot lately. Then my son was assigned the letter Q for an ABC parade at school, which meant I had to produce a dish that started with the letter Q. I knew you would be my go-to gal, as usual, and this recipe did not disappoint. My son’s teacher even asked for the recipe. I really enjoyed it and I will be making it again. Yummy!
I realized I have never commented on this recipe and we make it ALL THE TIME! It was actually the very first recipe I ever made off of your site. I am trying to do a few vegetarian meals a week (although my husband thinks a meal without meat is not a meal unless it’s pizza). On Wednesday nights my husband eats at the hospital, so we had this as our main dish last night. My son LOVES this salad. We eat it warm so it’s more of a meal than salad. My two year all says “more quinoa salad with jelly beans please”. I wont correct what he calls black beans cause if calling them jelly beans makes him love black beans then power to him! Just wanted to say that we make this all the time and it’s fantastic as leftovers for lunches! Thanks Mel! We sure love you around these parts!
Has it really been almost a year since I saved this recipe?! Sheesh! Well, I FINALLY got around to making it and it’s incredible! I love it! Thanks, Mel! (Wow, I ended every single sentence with an exclamation point. I can’t help it. Your recipes make me effusive.
)
I first tried this salad last summer, and have made it over and over since! It’s my go-to for when I haven’t been grocery shopping, because it consists of pantry staples. I’ve tried similar recipes, but the broth in this one really makes a difference. When my kitchen IS fully stocked, I usually add a bell pepper, a jalapeno, some lime juice, and serve with a dollop of Greek yogurt and some salsa verde. Yum!
I printed this out the day you posted it, but never got around to making it until tonight. Can I just say Y.U.M. I couldn’t believe how flavorful it was! I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised though, I’m pretty much in love with every recipe I’ve tried on your blog. Thanks so much for sharing it!
Just made this tonight so I could take it for lunch tomorrow at work. It smelled so good I had to eat a bowl right away! I love it! So yummy and flavorful! Can’t wait to make it again and share it with friends.
We are having 10-15 friends over this weekend and are grilling burgers. How far will this go as a side dish? Should I double the recipe?
Tiffany – yes, I would double it for that many people.
I doubled this recipe and we loved it, it was a little spicy with the cayenne pepper and the ground pepper. I did not have freshly ground pepper so that might have made a difference. I think next time I will lessen the cayenne and the pepper and add a little at a time. I also added 1/2 of a lemon to the doubled recipe and it was really good.
This will be going on my favorite list it was amazing. Thanks Mel.
{ 5 trackbacks }