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
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
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.
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!
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. 🙂
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 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!
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. 🙂
So yummy! Thank you!
Excellent recipe and I found them to b very healthy.
Thank you
Samudrika
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. 🙂
Easy, healthy and flavorful! Perfect side dish for a BBQ!
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