Southwest Quinoa Salad

Southwest Quinoa Salad will warm the taste buds of all your guests. Made with healthy carbs and ancient grains, protein, fiber-packed beans, fresh bell peppers, and corn, this spicy salad is filling and nutritious.

new and improved Southwest Quinoa Salad

Hi Ovenhuggers!  It’s high time I reposted OvenHug’s Southwest Quinoa Salad recipe.  It was originally published last summer (Party Sized Confetti Colored Southwest Quinoa Salad Recipe) in July.  This quinoa salad recipe is the recipe I look up the most often on OvenHug.  I make it to every family gathering and occasion under the sun.  Since it is a favorite of ours I want to share it with you!

As I was prepping this quinoa salad for tomorrow’s Persian New Year party I realized I don’t really follow my own recipe.  Over the last 8 months, I have switched it up enough that a revised recipe post is due.  When I search for the old recipe it is for the dressing.  For the rest of the salad, I am on auto-pilot.

I use a combo of lemon and lime juices but either one is great as the base of the dressing

My girls and Bob like it spicy so there is definitely an extra kick in this one.  I cut down the ingredients list making this recipe more practical and easy to make anytime, anywhere.  It’s a rare day that we don’t have cans of black beans and corn in the cupboard, and red bell peppers and cilantro in the fridge.  I buy Costco-sized lemon juice and olive oil so we are set there.  Our spice collection is fairly well stocked.  I wind up needing more cumin often since I sprinkle that stuff everywhere.

simple main ingredients list: red bell pepper, corn, black beans

The dressing is the key.  What makes the dressing special is all the spices that go into it.

I realize that if you don’t cook Mexican as often as we do, using chili powders and Mexican spices can be daunting.  Once you have a feel for it you can mix and match the spices in the dressing recipe to suit your tastes.  Here is a quick spice guide:

chipotle chili powder – our girls love chipotle flavor; this powder has a smoky flavor  – I would categorize this one as medium spicy

ancho chili powder – a mildly fruity flavor – I would say its medium heat

cayenne red pepper powder – this one is pure heat – Ava asks for it in this salad; use it gradually and only if you like it hot!  I’ve started adding it to our quinoa salads recently

fresh jalapeno pepper – if you want to really go over the top with the heat, chop up some fresh jalapeno!  I only do this on occasion – it’s a bit much even for our taste buds.  Be careful of the seeds if you are using them – the seeds are the hottest part.  You definitely don’t want to cut one up and go anywhere near your eyes or nose…yes I have made this mistake!

Here’s a visual to help see how I’ve simplified the original recipe:

Ingredients from last summer’s quinoa salad recipe post

*Revised recipe alert:   I only use black beans (no pintos), red bell peppers (no orange and yellow), and cilantro (no chives).  I also have cut out using any red onion.  Our picky eater in the family has steered me away from adding chives and fresh onions however we are still fans of cilantro and lots of it.

If you have the time and want to make your salad more colorful, go ahead and grab a variety variety of bell peppers – the orange and yellow have a mild taste and don’t change the over all flavor of the salad much:

Our gals favor red bell pepper so I keep that one kind in the house and use it in this salad.

One step worth noting is that it is important to try to drain, rinse, and dry the beans.  They hold up better in the salad this way.  Strategy: lay out some paper towels on a baking sheet and let them dry for about an hour while I’m cooking the quinoa and chopping the bell pepper.

[mv_create key=”77″ thumbnail=”https://ovenhug.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/IMG_0002-2-680×510.jpg” title=”Southwest Quinoa Salad” type=”recipe”]