Originally published last year, I wanted to republish this one because it’s so easy to make and it would add some great color to your meals this time of year.
If you are a fan of quinoa (pronounced keen-wah), you should give this black quinoa salad recipe a try! It’s incredibly refreshing and I love the colors!
Black quinoa has a nuttier and more of a roasted flavor than regular quinoa. It’s actually a seed. And it’s unique because quinoa is a complete protein! It expands like rice when it’s cooked and becomes a fluffier grain.
Black Quinoa Salad
Author: Heather
Recipe type: Salad
Ingredients
- Black quinoa, 1 cup dried (will be more when you cook it)
- 2 ripe mangoes, diced
- 1 red pepper, de-seeded and diced
- 1 orange pepper, de-seeded and diced
- 1 avocado, diced
- Optional: cilantro, spinach
Dressing:
- Fresh lime juice, ½ cup (I used two limes)
- Red wine vinegar, 3 Tablespoons
- Olive oil, ¼ Cup
- Cayenne powder ¼ teaspoon (this had a slight bite, if you want less, use less)
- Cumin, 1 Tablespoon
- Salt, ½ teaspoon
- Pepper, a few dashes
Instructions
- Rinse quinoa. Although most commercial quinoa these days has already been rinsed before you buy it – an extra rinse can’t hurt. Especially if you’re buying from a bulk bin. Because it is such a fine grain, I like to use a flour sack towel, over a colander to rinse and drain it (I use the same thing to strain my homemade chicken broth). Grab the tops of the flour sack and squeeze the liquid out.
- Cook quinoa. I prefer to cook quinoa in the rice cooker. It’s so easy. Just rinse it and toss it into the rice cook with a quinoa to water ration of 1:2 (for this recipe 1 cup quinoa, 2 cups water). Cook your quinoa.
- While quinoa cooks, dice all your ingredients. It’s like a rainbow. . .ahhhh.
- Once quinoa has cooled, add all the diced ingredients (if you are making ahead, you can hold off on avocado, so it doesn’t turn color or get mushy).
- Mix together dressing ingredients, pour into quinoa.
- Stir and serve. This salad can be served immediately, but I like chilling it in the fridge beforehand.
Recommended: Take it to a potluck. You will be a rockstar.
Have you cooked with black quinoa before? What’s your favorite black quinoa salad recipe?
Leave a Reply