Southwest Black Bean Avocado Quinoa Salad

This Southwest Black Bean Avocado Quinoa Salad combines quinoa, black beans, tomatoes, red onions, avocado and cilantro with a zesty three-ingredient lime dressing. Serve it warm or chilled. This one is great as a healthy side dish for barbecues! 

I’ve always been interested in the history of recipes and how they travel throughout a culture. When someone tells me about a dish they love, I ask them a million questions. I want to know where they first experienced it, and who made it. Was it at a barbecue? A family holiday? A dinner out? What was it served with? And so on. Increasingly, people are finding recipes online. But, I still think there is so much value in trying a dish made by your family, friends or favorite restaurant, then sharing it with others when you get the chance. It seems to me that these dishes still have a lot of sticking power! I love it when I can associate a great recipe with a person that’s important to me.

I sampled this incredible salad with quinoa, black beans and avocado at a barbecue. Our friends and neighbors brought it over, and seemed a little nervous about it bringing a healthy quinoa salad. But, it was devoured, and within days I set out to recreate it per their instructions. I loved how zesty the simple cumin and lime dressing was, and it seemed to have the perfect combination of quinoa, diced avocado, black beans, purple onion, and  tomatoes! I let it chill out in the fridge before serving it as a side dish for two weeknight dinners, AND bringing a single serving for my lunch at work three days in a row. I diced up chicken and threw it in with the salad, and it was a super simple and satisfying lunch! 

I hope that you enjoy this Southwest Black Bean and Avocado Quinoa Salad! I’m so glad our friends brought it over, because it’s going to be a staple in our house from here on out!

Serve this 

Southwestern Black Bean and Avocado Quinoa Salad

Yield: 6

Author: Michelle

This quinoa salad with avocados, black beans and tomatoes has an incredible, zesty lime dressing and is so healthy!

5 from 1 rating

Print Leave a Review Pin Recipe

Ingredients

 

½x1x2x

Quinoa Salad

• ▢ 1 tbsp olive oil
• ▢ 1 cup quinoa, rinsed per package instructions
• ▢ 1.75 cups water
• ▢ 15 ounces black beans, canned, rinsed
• ▢ 1.5 avocados, peeled, seeded and cubed
• ▢ 1 cup cherry tomatoes, diced
• ▢ 1/2 red onion, diced
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic, diced
• ▢ 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
• ▢ 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped*

Dressing (reserve for later)

• ▢ juice of 1.5 limes
• ▢ 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• ▢ 1/2 tsp cumin
• ▢ sprinkle of salt and pepper

Instructions

 

• In a medium sized pot, add olive oil and heat on medium for 1-2 minutes. Add quinoa and toast for 2-3 minutes, stirring lightly. Pour in water and turn burner to heat heat until water starts to boil. Give a quick stir, then cover and simmer on LOW heat for 15-20 minutes until the water is completely absorbed and the quinoa is fluffy when stirred.
• In a small bowl, add dressing ingredients and stir to combine. Taste and adjust add more lime juice or olive oil to taste. Make sure all your add-ins are ready to go.
• Add black beans to cooked quinoa, stir, and remove from heat. Let sit for 5-10 minutes.
• Add avocado, tomatoes, red onion, garlic. red pepper and stir well to combine.
• Finally, add dressing and cilantro, stir again.
• Serve slightly warm or chilled. We prefer it chilled.

Notes

• *I add up to 1/2 cup chopped cilantro, but I would consider my family to love cilantro in an excessive sort of way. Adjust up or down for your tastebuds.

Serving: 8

Did you make this recipe?Please leave a review or share a photo on Instagram.

If you love this recipe, I think you’ll also like my Sweet and Spicy Sriracha Fish recipe, or these Crispy Sweet Chili Shrimp Tacos!

[mv_create title=”Quinoa Recipes on Blackberry Babe” key=”295″ type=”list” layout=”hero”]