I’m a huge fan of “refrigerator salads.” Or salads that hold up well in the fridge so you can make them in the beginning of the week and have something wholesome to eat from all week long. This Smoky Quinoa and Black Bean Salad is the perfect example. It has tons of color, flavor, texture, and nutrients, so it doesn’t get boring quickly. You can serve it as a side dish, eat it alone as a snack or in a larger portion as a light meal, or even stuff it into a wrap with some spinach for a quick lunch. Keeping this salad on hand gives you a lot of options!
Want more quinoa recipes? Check out my quinoa archives!
Smoky Quinoa and Black Bean Salad
P.S. I got my quinoa at Aldi, which was only $3.49 for a one pound bag (organic!). If you don’t have an Aldi near you, look for stores that have quinoa in bulk bins, which are often less expensive than pre-packaged. Also, my red and yellow bell peppers were on sale, but if you can totally use green bell peppers if you can’t find red or yellow for a decent price.
Smoky Quinoa and Black Bean Salad
Servings 4 (about 1.5 cups each)Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa ($1.40)
- 1/4 cup olive oil ($0.52)
- 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar ($0.10)
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp ground cumin ($0.02)
- 1/8 tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
- Freshly cracked black pepper ($0.05)
- 1 15oz. can black beans ($0.59)
- 2 bell peppers (preferable red, yellow, or orange) ($1.98)
- 2 green onions ($0.25)
Instructions
- Rinse the quinoa well using a wire mesh sieve to prevent the small granules from washing away. Allow the excess water to drain away and then place the rinsed quinoa in a sauce pot.
- Add 1.75 cups water to the sauce pot with the quinoa, place a lid on top, and bring it up to a boil over high heat. Once it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, turn the heat off and let it rest for 5 minutes, without removing the lid. Finally, fluff with a fork and allow the quinoa to cool (I placed mine in the refrigerator for faster cooling).
- While the quinoa is cooking, prepare the dressing. In a small bowl whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, smoked paprika, cumin, garlic powder, salt, and freshly cracked pepper. Set the dressing aside.
- Rinse and drain the black beans. Dice the bell peppers, and slice the green onions.
- Combine the beans, bell peppers, green onions, and cooled quinoa in a large bowl. Pour the dressing over top, and stir until everything is evenly mixed and coated in dressing. Taste and adjust the salt if needed. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to eat. Make sure to stir the salad well before serving.
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Equipment
Nutrition
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Step By Step Photos
It’s really important to rinse quinoa before you cook it because quinoa has a natural substance on its surface that can taste bitter. Because quinoa is so small, you’ll probably need a wire mesh sieve for this job. If anyone has any other techniques that don’t use a sieve, feel free to share them in the comments! :)
Once rinsed, place the quinoa in a pot. The directions on the package say to use 2 parts water to 1 part quinoa, but the quinoa already has some water in it from being rinsed, and using slightly less than a 2:1 ratio helps make sure the quinoa is nice and fluffy instead of sticky and mushy. So, I used 1.75 cups water to my 1 cup quinoa. (picture is before adding the water)
Place a lid on the pot and bring it up to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, turn the heat off and let it rest (with the lid still in place) for five more minutes. Finally, remove the lid and fluff it with a fork. Let the quinoa cool (I put mine in the fridge to help it cool faster).
While the quinoa is cooking and cooling, prepare the dressing. In a small bowl stir together 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, 1/4 tsp cumin, 1/8 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp salt, and some freshly cracked pepper. Set the dressing aside.
Rinse and drain one 15oz. can of black beans. Dice two bell peppers (preferably red, yellow, or orange), and slice two green onions. Place the black beans, bell peppers, and green onions in a large bowl.
Add the cooled quinoa to the bowl with the beans and vegetables and pour the prepared dressing over top.
Stir until everything is evenly mixed and coated in dressing. Taste the salad and adjust the salt if needed. Serve the Smoky Quinoa and Black Bean Salad immediately, or refrigerate until you’re ready to eat. If stored for later, make sure to give it a stir before serving.
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This is the first recipe I’ve made on this site. I did it for a 2 person serving size and used the written instructions at the top., and not the step by step photos (until it was too late). The quantity of water indicated for the boiling of the quinoa is for the 4 serving size, so of course my half cup of quinoa came out all mushy. Now I know to watch what actually changes when I adjust the serving size, and read below the photos, but you should really put the “just under 2:1 ratio of quinoa to water” information in the written section.
I don’t have a sieve so I rinse mine in a french press, haha. The only downside is it’s a bit hard to scrape all the quinoa back out. But it works okay.
What a great idea!! :D
Mouth watering! The smell of my lunch every day makes waiting for noon nearly impossible. I have just printed this recipe out for my colleague who loved the tiny bite I spared for her.
That was fantastic. I made Espetadas and cooked them on a charcoal BBQ and then served on top of this salad. So very good. Thank you very much. First BBQ of the season in NZ and I know I will be making this several times over summer.
I have some leftover cooked quinoa that I could use for this– about how much cooked quinoa would be equal to the one cup when uncooked?
One cup of uncooked quinoa makes 3 cups cooked☺️
Because you moved at the same time I did, I’m just catching up. But I also have a request. Any advice on how to find the good and cheap and quality and variety grocery stores when you move? Asking about grocery shopping is one of my go-to get-to-know-you’s, but I’d love more suggestions. (Sadly there is not an Aldi within 100 miles of me.)
I really think that getting to know the grocery options in a new area is seriously one of the hardest things ever! The only way I know is to go check them all out. :( It takes time, for sure. There is an app that I use sometimes, called Flipp, that consolidates the sale flyers from stores in your area so you can see them all in one place, so that might help too.
Excellent recipe. Do you think cheese would be a good addition? If so, which type?
Hmmm, I think I like this one without cheese. I feel like that would be too heavy with this light salad.
Tried it with some feta and it was quite tasty!
I served this warmed up over spiralized courgettes / zucchinis and a sprinkle of spicy cheese was pretty good.
SO GOOD! I forgot green onions at the store, but I had some cilantro, so I threw that in along with some fresh tomatoes from our garden. Such a great, filling yet healthy salad – another winner of a recipe!
This recipe is soooo delicious! I love how flavorful, yet light of a dish this is. I love fresh cherry tomatoes with just about everything, so I put some in. It was great! I am going to try a little cilantro with it tonight.
Wow–except for the garlic and cumin, this is a totally American dish ( a variety of wild onion did grow in North America when the first colonists came)–a South American grain paired with wonderful American veggies, including the paprika perrpers. It was our delicious dinner last night
Oh my gosh! Welcome Beth to TN. I have been following you for years and now you are in Nashville, I can’t believe it. I live about 12 miles from downtown Nashville.
I hope you like the city and all it has to offer. There are many international markets around Nashville area. Most international markets are located on Nolensville road. Please check them out. I visit a lot of them.
Please check out the International Food Crawl for September 2, http://www.nashvillefoodcrawl.com. You will get to sample many different cuisines in this food crawl. Again, welcome to our great state of TN. Resident here for 63 years.
Awesome, thank you! I can’t wait to check out that festival!
Just had this (plus rotisserie chicken) for lunch. So tasty and comforting. The quinoa soaks up the sauce and the taste ends up being perfectly strong but balanced. It is a little high on fiber (8 grams out of a total daily 20-25), but I think it will be okay.
Looks amazing and healthy!! Can’t wait to try..
Seems to be really good! Could you please suggest more recipes with Quinoa? My daughter loves it!
Hey:
I live in Nashville. Check out K&S world market on Charlotte. This is the best international market in Nashville. It is the only place in Nashville where you can pick live fish out of a tank or live crabs at times. It smells funky but this place is fantastic.
Enjoy Nashville.
A few people have told me about that place, so I definitely need to check it out! I can’t wait!