Quinoa Black Bean Salad

Quinoa Black Bean Salad bursts with confetti-colored vegetables and beans in a fluffy quinoa base. Cumin, pickled jalapeños and lime also give this vegan salad surprisingly intense flavor. 

I have been making this salad for well over a decade and never tire of it. It is an adaptation of a recipe from Epicurious. This salad is great as a side dish with fish or chicken, but it also easily stands alone as a light lunch, brunch or dinner entree. In addition, it is a make-ahead salad and holds very well, like this Date and Feta Slaw, making it an ideal dish for a potluck, picnic or BBQ. 

For the best tasting quinoa black bean salad, you need light, dry, fluffy quinoa that can absorb all of the flavorful dressing without becoming heavy or soggy. The key to fluffy quinoa in this dish (or any other quinoa recipe) is twice-cooking the quinoa: First, you cook the quinoa in salted water. Then, you drain the quinoa and steam it for a bit longer with a kitchen towel to absorb excess moisture.

Ingredients for Quinoa Black Bean Salad

Quinoa

Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) is the seed of a flowering plant in the amaranth family. The Incas of South America once considered quinoa a sacred food and a source of strength. Recently, it has gained popularity in modern times and has a reputation as a superfood in the US and other western nations. Unlike most plant-based foods, quinoa is a complete protein, and contains all 9 essential amino acids. It packs 8 grams of protein per cup. Quinoa is also an excellent source of fiber as well as important nutrients, including folate, magnesium, manganese, zinc, lysine and iron.

Quinoa must typically be rinsed multiple times to get rid of a bitter-tasting compound, called saponin, that coats the tiny seeds. That is a tedious process and I was delighted to discover quinoa brands that are pre-rinsed. My choice is Terrasoul Superfoods Organic White Quinoa, which is pre-rinsed, ready to go and delicious.

Black Beans

You can use canned black beans or you can cook dried black beans. The result is equally tasty but obviously the canned beans save a ton of time. Just be sure to rinse canned beans thoroughly before using them.

Corn

Similarly, you can use fresh corn cut from the cob or frozen corn, with little difference in the quality of the finished salad.

Cumin

Don't skimp here with that stale old ground cumin in your spice drawer that expired 3 years ago. I grind my own cumin in an electric spice grinder. Burlap and Barrel's Wild Mountain Cumin is the best I've ever tried. You can tell it's special when you open the jar up and smell it. Fresh and intensely flavored. Wow!

• pre-rinsed quinoa
• black beans
• red wine vinegar
• corn
• red bell pepper
• pickled jalapeno chiles
• cilantro
• lime juice
• sea salt
• ground cumin
• extra virgin olive oil

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions for Quinoa Black Bean Salad

Use no-rinse quinoa. If you cannot find no-rinse quinoa, place the quinoa in a bowl and rinse with water 5 times, rubbing the seeds between your fingers, and draining in a sieve between rinses. 

Heat 2 cups of water in a medium saucepan until boiling. Add 1 teaspoon sea salt and the quinoa and cook for 10 minutes.

Drain cooked quinoa in a sieve.

Add 1 inch of water to the same saucepan and heat to boiling. Place the sieve of drained quinoa on top of the saucepan (the sieve should rest on the edges of the pan and the quinoa should not touch the water).

Place a clean kitchen towel over the sieve and then cover the pan. Steam the quinoa an additional 10 minutes.

Remove the lid and the kitchen towel. The cooked quinoa should now be light, dry and fluffy. Turn the quinoa out into a large bowl and allow to cool to room temperature. Note: The quinoa, cooked this way, would be an excellent non-rice accompaniment to this Goan Shrimp Curry or this Turmeric-Black Pepper Chicken with Asparagus.

While quinoa is cooking, place the black beans in a small bowl and toss with the red wine vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside. 

Place the corn in a small microwavable bowl with a little bit of water. Cover and microwave for 2 minutes. Drain corn and set aside to cool.

Make the dressing. In a small bowl, combine the lime juice, salt, ground cumin and extra virgin oil olive. Whisk until emulsified and set aside.

When quinoa is cooled, add the black beans, corn, red bell pepper, pickled jalapeños and cilantro. Toss well.

Add dressing and toss well again. Taste the salad and add additional salt and black pepper if needed. Serve at room temperature.

Variations

This Quinoa Black Bean Salad recipe can be adapted in many ways:

• Use white, red or black quinoa, or a combination.
• Leave out the cilantro if someone in your family doesn't like it.
• Add chopped or sliced avocado to the finished salad.
• Toss halved grape or cherry tomatoes into the finished salad.
• Add chopped nectarines to the finished salad.
• Top the salad with toasted almonds.

Equipment

A steamer is essential to this dish. My steamer is an All-Clad and they make several fine versions, including this All-Clad E414S564 Stainless Steel Steamer.

Storage

This Quinoa Salad Black Bean tastes great right when it's made, 2 hours later and also the next day. If not using immediately, cover and store in the refrigerator. The salad should be brought to room temperature before serving.

Recipe