This website is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
This healthy, refreshing, and vegan Southwest Quinoa Bowl works great as a lunch, light dinner, or even for a picnic. It’s made with simple ingredients like red bell pepper, jalapeño, red onion, cilantro, black beans, avocado, and lime juice. Adding fresh lime juice and fresh cilantro brightens up this vegan summer quinoa salad, making it light and flavorful.

The quinoa recipe is oil-free, vegan, and gluten-free!
Ingredients for Vegan Quinoa Salad
Simple ingredients for a simple salad!
- Quinoa
- Fresh or frozen corn
- Black beans
- Cherry or grape tomatoes
- Red onion
- Red bell pepper
- Jalapeno
- Fresh cilantro
- Fresh lime juice
- Avocado
- Plus dried oregano, garlic powder, and salt

How to Make Southwest Quinoa Bowl
Cook ½ cup of quinoa according to the instructions on the package, and let it cool. While it’s cooling, prep all of your other ingredients. The frozen corn can be thawed by placing it in a colander and running warm water over it. Use your hands to break up any large frozen chunks. Then let it drain before adding it to the salad.
Finely dicing the red onion and jalapeño ensures you don’t get a giant piece of one while you’re eating the quinoa salad. Add all of the ingredients to a large bowl and stir gently to combine. If serving now, add the diced avocado, otherwise wait to add it when you’re ready to consume.
Storage
The lime juice will only temporarily help the avocado from turning brown, if prepping ahead of time wait on adding the avocado until ready to serve. Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Tips
- Fresh or canned corn can be used instead of frozen corn.
- The beans can be interchanged with any other cooked bean.
- If you don’t like cilantro, it can be left out.
- The stems of the fresh cilantro have a lot of flavor, use them too but finely chop them so you don’t have large pieces.
- Deseed the jalapeño to decrease the heat.
- I think the salad tastes better served immediately, but if you’re prepping this ahead of time, wait to add the avocado until ready to serve.
Quinoa
Quinoa has a nutty, earthy flavor, and white or tricolor quinoa works well in the salad. I haven’t tested the recipe using only red or black quinoa, but it should work too. Red quinoa has a chewier and even nuttier flavor compared to white quinoa. Black quinoa has an earthier flavor with a slight sweetness. Actually, the tricolor quinoa is just a mixture of white, red, and black.

More Summer Recipes
As always, I hope you enjoy this southwestern quinoa bowl with avocado and black beans!
Originally posted on August 20, 2020, updated on July 23, 2021.
Print
Southwest Quinoa Bowl
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 3-4 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This refreshing southwest quinoa bowl uses simple ingredients, fresh lime juice, and cilantro to brighten up this summer salad, making it light and flavorful.
Ingredients
- ½ cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
- 1 cup fresh or frozen corn, thawed if frozen
- 1 can (15 ounces) black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
- ¼ cup red onion, finely diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 jalapeno, finely diced
- ¼ cup cilantro, finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1 avocado, diced
Instructions
- Cook the rinsed quinoa according to the instructions on the package.
- Fluff the quinoa and let it cool to room temperature, then mix in the rest of the ingredients.
- Stir gently to combine, then taste and adjust seasonings to suit your preferences.
Notes
If prepping ahead of time wait on adding the avocado until ready to serve.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 20-25 mins
- Category: main course
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: quinoa salad with black beans, quinoa salad with avocado, vegan quinoa salad
Sara
Lovely recipe, I made it for a picnic last weekend and the family loved it!
★★★★★
Allie
Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed the recipe!