Hot or Not? This Tex-Mex Quinoa Salad Makes a Hearty Side Dish Warm or Cold

This is a fresh take on quinoa that we think you’ll love. Served hot or cold, this quinoa salad includes fresh tomatoes, red onion, corn, black beans, cotija cheese, fresh lime, and avocados. But customize this hearty dish with whatever you have on hand.

A Few Tips for This Recipe

• I chop up the entire cilantro, stem and all. The flavor is a bit extra zingy that way. However, you can remove the cilantro leaves and use those.
• Consider zesting your lime before you juice it. If you want that extra lime kick, this will make your taste buds happy.
• If you don’t have or can’t find cotija cheese, feel free to substitute parmesan or goat cheese crumbles.
• Consider grilling the corn and then removing it from the husk. That charred flavor will fit perfectly in this salad.

Can You Make This Salad Ahead of Time?

If you want to make the quinoa salad ahead of time, follow all of the steps except cutting up the avocado and cilantro. Chop up those two ingredients right before serving and fold in to mix.

How to Make Tex Mex Quinoa Salad

This salad recipe looks intimidating at first because it has quite a few ingredients but it is super easy to make. The trick is to get the quinoa cooking and then prep all of the other ingredients.

1. Follow the instructions and get the quinoa cooking. (Use vegetable stock instead of water for added flavor. )
2. Dice the onion, tomatoes, and avocados.
3. Juice the lime.
4. Break apart the cheese into small pieces.
5. Roughly wash, dry and chop the cilantro.
6. Drain the quinoa and then add it to a large mixing bowl.
7. Add in all of the ingredients with the quinoa.
8. Stir to combine all of the ingredients.
9. Serve warm or cover and chill in the refrigerator for two or three hours and serve cold.

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Tex-Mex Quinoa Salad

Yield: 8 servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

This Tex-Mex quinoa salad is loaded fresh tomatoes, red onion, corn, black beans, cotija cheese, fresh lime, and avocados.

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Ingredients

• 1 c quinoa
• 2 c water
• 1 lime
• 2 T olive oil
• 2 medium tomatoes
• ½ small purple onion
• 1 (14 oz) can of black beans
• 1 (14 oz) can of corn
• 1 bunch of fresh cilantro
• 2 avocados
• ¼ c cotija cheese
• 2 T lime juice
• ¼ t salt (more or less to taste)
• ¼ t pepper

Instructions

1. Wash and dry all of the vegetables.
2. Cook the quinoa per the instructions on the package.
3. While the quinoa cooks, dice the avocados, tomatoes, and onion.
4. Drain the black beans and corn.
5. Break the cheese into small bite-size chunks and set aside.
6. Roughly chop the cilantro and set aside.
7. Juice the limes and add the juice to a large mixing bowl.
8. Except for the quinoa, add everything to the bowl with the lime juice and stir to combine.
9. Drain the quinoa when it is done.
10. Add the quinoa to the mixing bowl and gently fold it into the mixture.
11. Serve immediately or chill in the fridge for three or four hours and serve cold. You may need to add a few drops of water and give it a stir if serving cold.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 204Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 4mgSodium: 137mgCarbohydrates: 20gFiber: 7gSugar: 2gProtein: 6g

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