Southwestern Quinoa Salad with Lime Dressing and Cotija Cheese

This Southwestern Quinoa Salad with Lime Dressing and Cotija Cheese is healthy, fresh and delicious and studded with good for you veggies! It’s nice and light and perfect for spring!

When Tom and I are out of town we can always count on Joan and Jill to watch the house. They take in our mail, bring up our trash cans and make sure no shenanigans are going on while we’re away…they’re the best!

So as a little thank you, every so often I pop over to share something I’ve baked up for the blog. Most of the time, it’s a dessert or some other type of sweet treat. But this past week when I made this quinoa salad, I thought they might enjoy it, so I dropped some off. The next morning, I got a text from Joan saying they absolutely loved it and that she must get the recipe. So here it is Joan!

The quinoa is the star of this salad. If you’re not familiar with quinoa, it has a mild flavor with a light crunch and it’s packed with nutrition. It’s a “complete protein” which means it provides all 9 essential amino acids necessary for good health. The one cup of quinoa in this recipe contains 8g of protein, 5g of fiber, iron, magnesium, folate and heart-healthy omega 3 fatty acids. It doesn’t get any healthier guys!

I’ve added some chopped orange pepper, grape tomatoes, fresh corn, black beans and scallions to this recipe and tossed it all in a light lime dressing with a bit of cumin to spice it up. I also topped it with a little sprinkle of one of my faves, cotija cheese.

Step-By-Step Instructions

The first step is to bring 2 cups vegetable broth to a boil. Add quinoa and reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes until the broth is absorbed and the quinoa is tender. Remove from the heat and fluff with a fork.

The next step is to make your dressing by whisking together all of the ingredients.

Last up is to assemble your salad by combining your quinoa, black beans, orange pepper, tomatoes, corn and scallions in a large bowl. Toss with the dressing. Sprinkle with the cotija cheese.

This salad takes less than 30 minutes to prepare, it’s great for meal prep and perfect for spring.

Please let me know if you give the recipe a try. And if you have any questions about the recipe, just drop a comment below. Enjoy!

Southwestern Quinoa Salad with Lime Dressing and Cotija Cheese

Author: Mary Ann Dwyer

Servings: 4 servings

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This Southwestern Quinoa Salad with Lime Dressing and Cotija Cheese is healthy, fresh and delicious and studded with good for you veggies! It's nice and light and perfect for spring!

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Ingredients  

Salad

• 1 cup white quinoa, rinsed (I use Bob's Red Mill)
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup orange pepper, chopped
• 1 cup grape tomatoes, quartered
• 1 cup fresh corn, about 2 ears, cooked and cut from the cob
• 1/3 cup scallions, chopped
• 1 cup cotija cheese, crumbled

Dressing

• 3 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. fresh oregano, finely chopped (or 1/2 tsp. dried)
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

Instructions 

• In a 2 quart saucepan, bring 2 cups vegetable broth to a boil. Add quinoa and reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes until the broth is absorbed and the quinoa is tender. Remove from the heat and fluff with a fork. Set aside to cool.
• In a small bowl, whisk together all the dressing ingredients.
• In a large bowl, combine quinoa, black beans, orange pepper, tomatoes, corn and scallions. Toss with the dressing. Sprinkle with the cotija cheese.

Notes

I used black beans for this recipe, but you could substitute pinto beans if you'd prefer.

This salad if nice and light. I think the amount of dressing is spot on, but if you like more dressing you can always double the recipe for the dressing.

I would not omit the Cotija cheese in this recipe. If you've never tried it, it's super delicious. It's crumbly and salty and goes perfectly with this salad.

Keyword: Cotija cheese, quinoa, summer, Vegetarian

Cuisine: Mexican

Course: Salad, Side Dish