Mexican Quinoa Salad

Quinoa is fast becoming a staple in this house. Not only is it a complete protein, it is also loaded with fiber, iron, and calcium. And best of all quinoa is gluten free!

This salad tastes like summer. The inspiration for this salad is the abundance of red bell peppers and cilantro in my garden. I paired my peppers with fresh roasted corn and black beans.

The sauce for this salad is simply apple cider vinegar and olive oil. It perfectly enhances the flavors of the season in this salad.

I used half black quinoa and half plain quinoa, in an effort to increase the color appeal of the salad, but any quinoa will work.

Serve this salad hot or cold!

Mexican Quinoa Salad

serves 4 entree salads

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa

1 1/2 cup water

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 medium sweet onion, diced

1 1/2 cup fresh corn, roasted and removed from cob

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

2 tablespoon olive oil

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper

Cilantro, garnish

lime wedges, optional

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan add quinoa and water. Cook uncovered until water is boiling, cover and cook on low heat for 20 minutes; or until no water remains.
2. In a deep saute or large saucepan add olive oil, heat oil on high heat until oil shimmers. Add onion and red bell peppers, cook until soft; around 4 minutes. Then, add in corn and black beans and reduce heat to medium.
3. Pour apple cider vinegar over the veggie mixture and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
4. When quinoa is done, add it to the veggie mixture and stir to combine.
5. Remove from heat, either serve immediately or chill for an hour and serve cold.
6. Just before serving add cilantro and squeeze a little lime on top.

Tags: Gluten free, quinoa, Salad, summer, vegan