Colorful Cumin Quinoa Salad
Quinoa has become a new staple in our house since recently trying it for the first time. By the way, in case you were wondering, it’s pronounced keen-wa.
There have to be hundreds of quinoa salad recipes where it’s mixed with a variety of ingredients. So far, we haven’t been disappointed. This salad is very similar to the Bell Pepper and Black Bean Couscous Salad that Hubby loves so much. The spices are a bit different, and we both really enjoyed this salad, especially the sweetness from the mango!
One Year Ago: Spicy and Sweet Pretzel Party Mix
Two Years Ago: Overnight Cinnamon Rolls
Three Years Ago: Chocolate Cupcakes and Stuffed Chicken Burgers
Colorful Cumin Quinoa Salad
Yield: 4
Ingredients:
1/2 cup dry quinoa
1/2 ripe but firm mango, peeled, pitted, and diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1 cup black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup scallions, chopped
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp cumin, or more to taste
Kosher salt, to taste
Directions:
Cook quinoa according to package directions. You should end up with roughly 1 cup of cooked quinoa.
In a medium bowl, combine the warm cooked quinoa, mango, red bell pepper, black beans, avocado if using, scallions, and cilantro.
In a small bowl, whisk together the lime juice, oil, cumin, and salt. Pour dressing over the salad and stir to combine. Adjust seasonings to taste.
Refrigerate salad for at least 4 hours before serving for best flavor. Serve cold or at room temperature.
Recipe adapted from Healthy Food for Living
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
I love everything about this! Thank you so much for sharing this.
i have a few questions regarding freezing smoothies. I have been told that every day you have a smoothie in the fridge, nutrients are lost. Is this true with freezing as well? Can I expect to have the same exact nutrition in a two day old smoothie as in one prepared five minutes ago? And lastly, how would thaw a smoothie that has been frozen? It seems like putting them in the fridge overnight to thaw would defeat the objective of trying to retain nutrient quality. Any thoughts?
beantownbaker — September 26th, 2013 @ 8:45 am
I’m not sure about what happens to the nutrients when you freeze a smoothie…
To thaw it out, I just put it in the fridge overnight. I freeze smoothies for convenience.
What is the calorie count per serving
Like it
Gotta try the smoothies.