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.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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!