Southwestern Quinoa Salad
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Published Jun 26, 2019, Updated Oct 25, 2021
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This spiced up Southwestern Quinoa Salad with roasted sweet potatoes, black beans and avocado makes for a quick and easy meal or flavorful side dish.
For whatever reason Isaac and I have been on a serious Mexican kick lately. We’ve been loving old favorites like my Quinoa Fiesta Bake and these Taco Salad Bowls, but I’ve been whipping up a few new recipes like this southwest quinoa salad as well. We’ve already made the quinoa salad multiple times because it’s crazy good, super easy and makes for an awesome make-ahead lunch option. If you like this quinoa salad, I have a full roundup of quinoa salad recipes.
If you’re a fan of fresh Mexican food, you’re going to LOVE this! You can prep everything on Sunday and have lunch for a couple days. If serving it for lunch, it’s got plenty of protein and healthy fat to hold it’s own, but as a volume eater I like serving it over a bed of greens.
It’s also a great as a side dish —perfect for parties (you could even bring tortilla chips for dipping) or served alongside roasted chicken or blackened seafood.
It’s basically a Mexican take on my favorite Roasted Sweet Potato, Kale and Quinoa Salad. Roasted sweet potatoes and quinoa are still involved, I just nixed the kale and added a bunch of other goodies like bell pepper, beans, avocado, cilantro and spicy seasonings. Mark this down in history because you’ll almost never see me take kale out of recipe!
Ingredients in Southwestern Quinoa Salad
- quinoa
- sweet potato
- bell pepper
- black beans
- corn – I like using frozen to keep things easy
- red onion
- fresh cilantro
- avocado
- olive oil
- lime juice
- spices: chili powder, cayenne, cumin, black pepper, sea salt
How to Make Southwest Quinoa Salad
Start by prepping your sweet potato. Chop it into bite sized chunks, toss in olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes at 400º. As your sweet potatoes are cooking, cook quinoa according to package directions.
In a large bowl, combined the cooled sweet potatoes, quinoa, bell pepper, black beans, red onion, cilantro and avocado. Add in the cup olive oil, lime juice, chili powder, cayenne, cumin, black pepper and sea salt. Gently toss the salad to combine. You can serve it right away or let it chill in the fridge a few hours before serving so all of the flavors can marinate. Top with queso fresco if you’re feeling fancy!
Love Quinoa Salad Recipes? Try These:
- Roasted Broccoli Quinoa Salad
- Greek Quinoa Salad
- Chickpea Quinoa Salad
- Spinach Quinoa Salad
- Quinoa Tabbouleh
- Carrot Quinoa Salad
- Quinoa Salad with Corn and Avocado
- Sweet Potato Kale Quinoa Salad
Southwestern Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed and drained
- 1 large sweet potato, chopped into bite size chunks
- 1 red or orange bell pepper, cored, seeded, and diced
- 1 cup black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup thawed frozen corn
- 1/4 cup minced red onion
- 1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
- 1 avocado, chopped
- 1/4 cup + 1/2 Tablespoon olive oil
- juice of 1 lime
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
- pinch of cumin
- ground black pepper, to taste
- 1/2 sea salt + more to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Toss sweet potato chunks with 1/2 Tablespoon of olive oil, season to taste with salt and pepper, and arrange evenly on a baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven until the sweet potatoes are tender, about 25-30 minutes. Allow sweet potato chunks to cool.
- Meanwhile, cook the quinoa according to package instructions. Allow quinoa to cool.
- In a large mixing bowl combine quinoa, roasted sweet potatoes, corn, bell pepper, black beans, red onion, cilantro and avocado. Add 1/4 cup olive oil, lime juice, chili powder, cayenne, cumin, black pepper and sea salt. Gently toss the salad to combine. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if necessary. Serve salad right away or chill in the fridge a few hours before serving. Add a sprinkle of queso fresco or feta cheese when serving, if desired.
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Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
That looks delicious. Thanks for sharing your recipe. Have a terrific week.
Thanks Cascia!
Delicious Brittany! I love all your salad recipes so I’ll be having me this one too. (Although as it’s currently -5 here in Scotland, I might wait a few month until it’s warmer 😉 ) Pinned!
I feel ya! It’s actually pretty chilly here too right now. Thank you for pinning. 🙂
It looks delicious!!
I make the one with kale all the time, so will definitely give this one a whirl! Thanks.
Please do and let me know what you think of it. 🙂
Just made this as a side to turkey burgers and it is AMAZING! The colors and the flavors are incredible. It’s 75 degrees out in Kansas City and this salad just made it feel like summer!
Is the salad very spicy hot? My husband loves the hot stuff but I don’t so was just wondering how hot it really is. Love all of these salads!!
There’s certainly a great deal to find out about this
subject. I really like all the points you have made.
Please we can offer you Quinoa and other products in bulk from India and Peru.
If you have any interest, please revert.
Thanks and regards,
Ernest Pecku
We made this tonight, and it was a hit! We would up the spices next time, and mix with olive oil before dressing the quinoa. Thank you for another, great dish!
Made this last night, easy and delicious!! Ate some today for lunch, even better the second day. If using for meal prep, how many days will it last?
Yay! I’m so excited that you enjoyed it, Laura. It should last at least 3-4 days in the fridge.
One of the easiest and yummiest recipes ever!!
Ahh that makes me so happy to hear, Leanne! Thanks for coming back to leave a comment + star rating, I really appreciate it. <3
Love you and your recipes but I honestly wouldn’t make it again. Husband agrees. It’s not bad but it’s not going back on the menu. Maybe would be good with something?
Oh no! So sorry to hear that this recipe wasn’t a hit with you. What didn’t you like about it? Did you change anything about the recipe?
made this last week, doubled it cause there’s 4 of us in the house. My mother in law and i have added it to our lunch every day and LOVE IT!!!!Tasty & filling, also easy to make, thank you . this will be made on the regular! (Also you know its good when I take time to writ a comment :))
THANK YOU !!
YAY!! I love hearing that, Monique. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment and star rating, it means the world to me! <3
This dish is awesome. I made it with butternut squash instead of sweet potatoes because that was what I had on-hand. Loved it! Super easy.
Ahh yay!! So glad you enjoyed this salad, Emily! Thanks for trying it and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. It means the world to me. <3
Such a yummy side dish! I made it for my family with salmon and everyone loved it! Another GREAT recipe.
This was delicious! My daughter said it was the best meal she has ever eaten! I did not have sweet potato so I substituted roasted carrots. Worked just fine. Love this recipe. Will definitely make again.
Ahh that makes me so happy to hear, Ana!! I’m so glad this dish was a hit. Thanks for trying it and for coming back to leave a comment and star rating. I so appreciate it. <3
I’m on a roll with making salads and this one was so good! It will be even better when it’s been in the fridge(quinoa wasn’t completely cooled). Looking forward to having it tomorrow! Thanks again, I just love your recipes.
YUM!
Delicious! I made this for dinner but am looking forward to having it for lunch tomorrow too. I added the avocado to the top as a garnish instead of mixing in for those in my family who don’t care for avocado (can you imagine?)
Yay!! I’m so glad you enjoyed this quinoa salad, Shannon. I guess that means more avocado for you. 🙂
So good! I made this today and LOVE IT! I cannot think of anything I would change. I had more corn, red onion, and black beans than the recipe called for so I made breakfast burritos with it.
Yay!! So glad you enjoyed this salad recipe, Kerry! Thanks for making it and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. I so appreciate it. <3
Made this last night to go along with our fish and shrimp tacos, and it was perfect! Even my father-in-law, who literally had no idea what quinoa was, liked it.
Ahh that makes me so happy to hear, Stacy!! I’m so glad this salad was a hit. Thanks for making it and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. I so appreciate it. 🙂
this was amazing! I am on a lime kick right now and loving any recipe with lime juice. This was delicious!
I love quinoa salads! This one is probably my favorite… ever!
Thank you so much for all of these amazing recipes.
Ahh that makes me so happy to hear, Jessica. I’m so glad this salad is a hit!! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment + star rating. I so appreciate it. <3
Easy, healthy and flavorful! Perfect side dish for a BBQ!
Made this for dinner tonight. Cooked the quinoa in broth for extra flavor. It was delicious, everyone loved it (kids ate it deconstructed). Served with grilled chicken sausage and it was perfect!
Yay! So glad this salad was a hit! Thanks for making it and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. I appreciate it, Amalia. 🙂
Excellent recipe and I found them to b very healthy.
Thank you
Samudrika
So yummy! Thank you!
My husband and I loved this recipe! Question… your instructions call for shallot, but the ingredients do not have that on the list, how much shallot should I add? Thanks!!!
Hey Julie – Sorry for the confusion. It should say red onion instead of shallot. I just updated the post. 🙂
I made this last night and I it was a hit with my whole family. I’ve been trying to get my kids to eat quinoa for ages and they finally liked it! Thanks!
I’m so glad this was a hit with your fam! Thanks for the review, Amara. I so appreciate it!
This was amazing! I didn’t have any sweet potatoes and wanted to make it more into a meal so I added a chicken breast instead and added a teaspoon of honey! Also, if anyone is big on calories like me, I only used one and half tablespoons of olive oil in the mix rather than the full 1/4 and it was great!!! Also added a little balsamic vinegar but not necessary as it was great without it as well! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
So glad you loved this salad, Isabel. Thanks for making it and for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it!
I made this last night for my family and it was a huge hit! I’m hoping to make a double recipe and was wondering what the best way to store leftovers would be?
So glad this recipe was a hit! You could easily store the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge. It should last about 5 days. 🙂
Used what I had… leftover sweet potatoes, black beans, and charred the corn a little in a pan before adding. Used some leftover orange juice along with the lime for the dressing. It was yummy! Added the last of my broccoli sprouts too.
Yay!! So glad you love this salad and were able to make it work with the ingredients already on hand. Thanks for the review. I appreciate it!
Music is so obnoxious, I had to turn the volume off. I would like to join this site, but not is this music is always blasting.
Delicious salad and easy to make. Everyone liked it. Thanks for another great recipe!
So glad you enjoyed this salad, Christina! Thanks for making it and coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it!
This was delicious! I made it for lunches for the week and used salsa as the dressing instead of adding more olive oil. I also chopped up some hard boiled eggs for extra protein. Will make again!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Kayla! Love the addition of the hard boiled egg. Thanks so much for the review and star rating. I so appreciate it!
Your welcome any day in my life, I love the recipes. Thank you for keeping on your list. Carol Moore
This is one of my all time summer favorite salads! Perfect on a bed of spinach, topped with a black bean burger, or if you’re feeling extra fancy seared scallops. My husband requests this salad at least once a week. Its also a great dish to bring to a summer potluck. You will not regret adding this to your weekly meal plan.
Yay!! So glad this quinoa salad was a hit, Emma! And yum for adding a black bean burger or scallops, that would be be delish! Thanks for the review!
Another easy peasy delicious salad from EBF! My picky 6 y/o and husband LOVED it. Simple, delicious, and nutritious. This is will be on repeat this summer. Thank you!
Yay!! So glad this quinoa salad was a hit, Samantha! Thanks so much for trying it and coming back to leave a review. I really appreciate it!
We absolutely love this recipe!! I find myself making it at least once a week!!
Ah yay! This makes me so happy to hear, Melissa. So pumped you’ve been loving this salad. Thanks for the review!
This recipe was a hit with my family! We are eating clean and also have a vegetarian in the family. It’s sometimes hard to find good recipes that have both requirements. This one did not disappoint, my husband called it the new potato salad for summer bbqs! (LOL)
Yay! I love to hear that! So glad this one worked out for the whole family. Thank you for leaving a review and comment as well, I so appreciate it!
This is definitely a colorful, delicious, and healthy recipe! I’ll try this over the weekend and add lion’s mane mushroom powder from https://naturesrise.com for extra protein and health boost
Easy to make with fantastic taste. The only thing I altered slightly was the addition of a tablespoon of maple syrup to the marinade my daughter needs a little sweetness. She loved it.
Aw yay! I am so glad that this salad is a hit, John! Thank you so much for coming back and sharing your review + star rating, I really appreciate it!
Thanks Brittany for this recipe. I just made it and it is delicious.
Of course! I am SO glad you are loving this salad and it turned out amazing for you, Silvia. Thank you for taking the time to share your review + star rating, it means so much to me!