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Mexican Quinoa Salad – Quinoa Salad with corn, black beans, grape tomatoes, and zucchini, then topped with a creamy avocado dressing. Great warm or cold, so it is perfect for a picnic or barbecue.
Anytime I can fit Mexican/Southwest flavors into a dish, I am going to do it! This is a Southwest Quinoa Salad that is loaded with flavor and a great dish to make for just about any time.
Avocado is one of our favorite ingredients, so quinoa salad with avocado is a must. And there it is tossed with a creamy avocado dressing that just brings it all together. So easy to make, you can make it ahead of time, and it will definitely disappear quickly.
Mexican Quinoa Salad Ingredients
- Quinoa
- Chicken Broth
- Black Beans
- Corn
- Zucchini
- Tomatoes
- Green Onions
- Cilantro
- Jalapeno
- Cumin
- Paprika
This quinoa salad is super versatile and you really can mix up what vegetables you add! This is tossed with a creamy avocado dressing to bring it all together and it adds so much flavor!
Avocado Dressing Ingredients
- Avocado
- Cilantro
- Parsley
- Garlic
- Red Wine Vinegar
- Lime Juice
- Honey
- Crushed Red Pepper
- Salt & Pepper
- Olive Oil
How To Make Mexican Quinoa Salad
- The first step is to rinse your quinoa. You want to run it under cold water until the water is clear. Quinoa can be kind of bitter if you skip this step.
- Bring the chicken broth to a boil, add the quinoa and cook as directed on the package.
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl combine all the veggies and seasonings for the salad. Mix until it is well combined.
- To make the dressing pulse together all of the dressing ingredients, expect the olive oil in a food processor. Scrape down the sides if necessary.
- Once it is nice and smooth, slowly stream in the olive oil.
- Add the cooked quinoa to the veggies, tossing to combine.
- Pour in the dressing and stir until well coated.
- Can be served warm or cold.
Storage
This is great served cold, so you can make ahead and just store covered in the fridge until you are ready to serve. It will last for 2-3 days in the fridge.
This Southwest Quinoa Salad is loaded with flavor and a great way to get veggies into your family with flavors they know and love already!
More Easy Side Dishes Recipes
- Air Fryer Asparagus
- Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
- Roasted Butternut Squash
- Creamy Polenta
- Lemon Herb Potato Salad
- Corn Fritters
- Greek Salad
- Cranberry Apple Coleslaw
Mexican Quinoa Salad with Creamy Avocado Dressing
Ingredients
Salad
- 1 cup uncooked Quinoa
- 1 1/4 cups Chicken Broth, or however much liquid your Quinoa calls for
- 1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 1/2 cups frozen corn, thawed
- 1 small zucchini, sautéed
- 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
- 3 green onions, finely chopped
- 1/4 fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
Creamy Avocado Dressing
- 1 avocado, pitted
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 lime, juiced
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Rinse quinoa under cold water until the water runs clear.
- Bring the chicken broth to a boil, and quinoa and cook as directed on the package.
- In a large bowl combine all the veggies and seasonings for the salad.
- In a food processor, pulse together all of the dressing ingredients, except for the olive oi.. You might need to scrape down the sides a couple times.
- Once smooth, slowly stream in the olive oil.
- Combine the cooked quinoa with the veggies, and then stir in the avocado dressing. Stir until well coated.
- Can be served warm or cold.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Quinoa’s fun to play around with and I love the ingredients you tossed in there. Creamy avocado dressing makes me swoon! Yum!
Loving this Quinoa salad and the flavor profiles are making my mouth water! Delish!!
Love this! I still haven’t tried quinoa, I’m very behind the times. But I know will like it and I know I will love this. That avocado dressing… yum!
What a bright and flavorful salad! I can’t wait to try this dressing.
Ooh I want this now! Looks awesome – I’ve pinned it to make soon 🙂
This sounds so good and healthy too! I love mexican anything, but make it healthy and I’m totally on board!
This is perfect for my new obsession with quinoa. It looks great and is even better that you added avocado. You cannot go wrong with that.
Oh yummy! Definitely going to keep this in mind for our next cookout =)
What a seriously delicious salad! Hope you had a fantastic 4th!
This Mexican Quinoa Salad looks so yummy & colorful. This is a great recipe for quinoa. I never thought of pairing quinoa with avocado. Thanks.