10-minute black bean quinoa salad recipe! A vegan quinoa salad with black beans, mango, cherries, and a cumin lime dressing. Perfect for a summer side dish!
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Happy summer eatin, Rhubarbarians!
Here's a super quick summer salad for you that's perfect for a light meal or side dish. Black bean quinoa salad!
This one is bright and refreshing, loaded with summer mango and cherries and tossed in a cumin lime dressing. And comes together in just 10 minutes. Huzzah!
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An easy summer salad or side dish
We're pretty ga-ga for our quinoa salads around here. They are just so versatile and easy! To keep this super simple, make sure you have some cooked quinoa on hand.
Just toss some quinoa with some summery fruit, some aromatics, and a delish dressing and you've got yourself a dish that please a crowd!
This mango quinoa salad recipe makes enough for 4 small servings or 2 large. In our opinion, it is satisfying enough to eat as a full meal, but is also light enough to eat as a side dish.
We also love this recipe because you can adapt it easily and make it your own. Add a protein of your choice, corn, bell pepper, olives, maybe even a spicier chile pepper. So many possibilities!
Have you tried our southwest quinoa salad with avocado dressing?
Make the dressing
For the dressing, you'll need (full instructions in the recipe card below):
- avocado oil or olive oil
- lime juice
- chile powder
- cumin
- minced garlic
Just whisk these ingredients together until emulsified OR shake them in a mason jar with a tight fitting lid.
We find that this is the perfect amount of dressing, but you could pour half on the salad and taste before pouring the rest. The quinoa needs a lot of dressing! You do you!
Make ahead and meal prep options
As mentioned in the recipe card below, this salad is best when it sits covered overnight in the fridge. The flavors marry together and the quinoa soaks up all the dressing. No soggy salad, we promise!
So, this is the perfect make ahead salad. Leave the cilantro, avocado, and lime slices for serving.
For meal prep: If eating as a full meal, double the recipe so that it makes 4 large servings. Divide it into 4 meal prep containers with cilantro, avocado, and lime slices on the side or in a separate container and toss it all together right before serving.
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Storing and freezing
Black bean quinoa salad leftovers will store very well in the refrigerator for up to 4 days! (Did you see the meal prep option above?)
I don't recommend freezing this salad after everything is tossed together. Some of the ingredients will not freeze well and/or will turn mushy once defrosted. You CAN, however, freeze quinoa well, and make the salad with defrosted quinoa!
FAQs
- Is this spicy with the jalapeno? We don't think so! But if you're sensitive to spicy foods, just leave out the jalapeno.
- Red quinoa or white quinoa? Either one is great! We used white quinoa because that's what we had.
- How do I cook quinoa? Check out this method from The Kitchn!
Have another question? Let me know in the comments and I'll get back to you ASAP!
Have you tried our summer glow salad with blueberries and cherries?
Recipe
Black bean quinoa salad with mango and cherries
Ingredients
FOR THE SALAD
- 3 cups cooked quinoa
- 1 14.5 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup mango chunks
- 1 cup halved sweet cherries
- ¼ cup minced red onion
- 1 tablespoon minced jalapeno
- 1 large handful of cilantro, chopped
- salt and pepper
- avocado and lime slices for serving (optional)
FOR THE DRESSING
- 4 tablespoon avocado oil or olive oil
- 8 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
- 2 teaspoon chile powder
- 2 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon minced fresh garlic
Instructions
- Combine the quinoa, beans, mango, cherries, onion, and jalapeno in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Whisk together the oil, lime juice, chile powder, cumin, and garlic in a bowl. Or shake them up in a mason jar with a tight fitting lid. Once the dressing is emulsified, pour the dressing over the salad. Season very generously with salt and pepper to taste.
- Right before serving, toss in as much fresh cilantro as you'd like (I like one large handful of leaves, chopped). Top with avocado and lime slices (optional).
- The salad can be served immediately, but is even tastier if left covered in the fridge overnight and served cold.
Notes
Nutrition
If you make this recipe, please let us know on social media or in the comments below! Leave a star rating in your comment or tag us on Instagram with #Rhubarbarians
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