Mexican Quinoa Salad with Avocado

This picnic-worthy Mexican Quinoa Salad gets tossed in a vegan and gluten-free cilantro lime dressing and then loaded with black beans, corn, tomatoes, and avocado.  You can meal prep this side or main dish ahead of time for a quick and easy lunch or dinner recipe, too!

Want a few other healthy quinoa salad recipes?  You might also enjoy this Thai Peanut Quinoa Salad and this Sweet Potato Broccoli Quinoa Bowl.

Mexican Quinoa Salad

Once the weather starts heating up, salads and smoothies consume the menu at our house.

And quinoa salads always make a frequent appearance.

Not only are recipes like this Mexican quinoa salad super quick and easy to throw together (especially when you make this Instant Pot Quinoa!)…

But they meal prep easily…

Can be served hot OR cold…

And always get rave reviews from friends and family.

Making them the absolute PERFECT picnic or potluck dish for your summer festivities.

Ingredients

There are only a few simple and easy to find ingredients that you will need for this Mexican Quinoa Salad.

• Quinoa – Cooked quinoa is used as the base of this recipe.  You can either make Instant Pot Quinoa or cook it on the stovetop or in a rice cooker.
• Cilantro Lime Dressing – A homemade salad dressing is made and seriously takes this recipe over the top!
• Corn – Canned or frozen corn can be used interchangeably, or you can cook up some fresh corn kernels.
• Beans – Canned black beans are used and compliment the other Mexican flavors nicely.  Feel free to use whatever beans you have on hand, though!
• Tomatoes – Cherry or grape tomatoes are cut in hafl and then mixed into this salad.  Other tomato varieties can be used but they normally do not tend to hold their shape as nicely.
• Onion – A red onion is added for a pop of color and pungency.  You can also use white, yellow, or sweet onion instead.
• Avocado – This soft and creamy addition adds a great mouthfeel to this salad and is mixed in just at the end so it does not turn brown.

How to Make

This Mexican quinoa salad recipe is so quick, easy, and simple to throw together.

It’s also a great lunch to meal prep for a busy week or make ahead for a family picnic or potluck dinner.

1. Place ¼ cup cilantro and remaining dressing ingredients in a high-speed blender, such as a Nutribullet, or a small mini-prep food processor.

2. Blend dressing for 20-30 seconds, or until emulsified.
   

3. Combine quinoa and dressing in a large bowl.  Toss to completely coat the quinoa.

4. Mix in corn, beans, tomatoes, and red onion. 

5. Refrigerator for 30 minutes or up to overnight.

6. Top salad with diced avocado and remaining cilantro before serving.

Cilantro Lime Dressing

The large majority of the flavor in this Mexican quinoa salad comes from the homemade cilantro lime dressing.

Here are the ingredients and some substitution ideas that you will need for it:

• Cilantro – Fresh cilantro is absolutely necessary!  Do not try substituting with dried cilantro.
• Lime – Fresh lime juice is also pretty crucial.  However, you can try a different variation with lemon or orange juice.
• Oil – A mild and neutral-flavored oil such as olive or avocado oil are best to use.
• Spices – A blend of cumin, paprika, salt, and pepper are added in to really amp up the Mexican cuisine flavors.
• Sweetener – Agave nectar or honey are used to add a touch of sweet.  You can opt to leave these out if you are avoiding sugar.

Homemade Salad Dressing

There are 3 ways you can prepare homemade salad dressings:

1. Whisk them together in a bowl – Everyone has a whisk and a bowl!  The dressing will not emulsify quite like the other methods, though.
2. High-speed blender, such as a Vitamix – A great method since it emulsifies and blends the ingredients together nicely.
3. Mini Prep Food Processor – My preferred method for this cilantro lime dressing so you can control how finely you chop the cilantro pieces.

While you can always buy a store bought cilantro lime dressing, I find making your own at home really delivers a great freshness to the salad.

If you make this dressing ahead of time, you can refrigerate it and store it for up to 2-3 days before using in your salad.

Meal Prep

If you’d like to meal prep this recipe for the week, you totally can!

This is the general process I would follow for meal prepping:

1. Cook your quinoa.
2. Prepare the salad dressing.
3. Mix the salad dressing and quinoa together.
4. Add in the corn, beans, and red onion.
5. Reserve the tomatoes, avocado, and additional cilantro to add in when serving.

Storing

This Mexican Quinoa Salad stores wonderfully in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days.

You can also freeze this quinoa salad without the avocado and additional cilantro for up to 2-3 months.

5 from 5 votes

Mexican Quinoa Salad with Avocado

This picnic-worthy Mexican Quinoa Salad gets tossed in a vegan and gluten-free cilantro lime dressing and then loaded with black beans, corn, tomatoes, and avocado.  You can meal prep this side or main dish ahead of time for a quick and easy lunch or dinner recipe, too!

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Course Dinner, lunch, Side Dish

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword mexican quinoa salad

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings 6 servings

Calories 382 kcal

London Brazil

Ingredients

• 4 cups quinoa cooked
• 1 cup corn drained
• 1 cup black beans rinsed and drained
• 16 oz. cherry tomatoes cut in half
• ¼ cup red onion finely diced
• 1 large avocado diced

Cilantro Lime Dressing

• ¼ cup olive oil
• ½ cup cilantro divided
• 3 Tbsp. lime juice fresh
• 2 Tbsp. honey or agave nectar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cumin
• ½ tsp. black pepper
• ½ tsp. paprika

Instructions

1. Place ¼ cup cilantro and remaining dressing ingredients in a high-speed blender, such as a Nutribullet, or a small mini-prep food processor and blend for 20-30 seconds, or until emulsified.

2. 
In a large bowl combine quinoa and dressing. Toss to completely coat the quinoa.

3. Mix in corn, beans, tomatoes, and red onion. Refrigerator for 30 minutes or up to overnight.
4. Top salad with diced avocado and remaining cilantro before serving. Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts

Mexican Quinoa Salad with Avocado

Amount Per Serving

Calories 382 Calories from Fat 153

% Daily Value*

Fat 17g26%

Saturated Fat 2g13%

Sodium 341mg15%

Potassium 747mg21%

Carbohydrates 51g17%

Fiber 10g42%

Sugar 9g10%

Protein 11g22%

Vitamin A 789IU16%

Vitamin C 25mg30%

Calcium 51mg5%

Iron 4mg22%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.