This Vegan Southwest Quinoa Bowl with Black Beans is healthy, delicious, and easy to make in only 30 minutes. This high-protein vegan salad made with quinoa, beans, kale, and a creamy avocado and lemon dressing is great for lunch, dinner, or meal prep.
Less than thirty minutes stand between you and this Southwest Quinoa Salad recipe with black beans and kale! This bowl is healthy, delicious, and easy to make for a light lunch or main dish with plenty of protein and fiber. This nutritious salad recipe will become a staple in your meal rotation. Try topping it with Coconut Bacon.
Jump to:
Massage kale leaves together with avocado and lemon, and top with cooked quinoa, black beans, corn, red onion, red bell pepper, and tomato for a quick meal. This nutritious vegan Southwest Quinoa Bowl is a versatile option for the main meal, meal prep, or to bring to a picnic.
If you want a refreshing and filling salad for lunch, this vegan Southwest Quinoa Bowl with kale and beans is a great choice. Another delicious salad you'll love is this Roasted Beet and Kale Salad, Tepary Bean Salad, or this colorful Quinoa Chickpea Salad. You may also enjoy this Cilantro Lime Rice (Rice Cooker).
Another salad that makes a great main course is Southwest Salad with Cilantro Jalapeno Cashew Dressing; you can use the dressing in that recipe to jazz up this salad even more! Try this Vegan Chickpea Tuna Salad and this Tofu Salad Sandwich for more make-ahead meals. This salad also makes the perfect side dish! Serve it as a side to these Lentil Black Bean Burgers.
What Is Quinoa?
- A tiny ancient gluten-free grain with a fluffy texture and slightly nutty flavor, quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) is now known as a superfood.
- It was the Incan civilization's staple food. Quinoa is a good source of plant protein and iron, lysine, magnesium, and potassium.
- There are many varieties, the most common of which are red, white, and black quinoa. For this Southwestern quinoa salad recipe, I've selected a tri-color quinoa, a mixture of all three.
Why You'll Love This Southwest Quinoa Bowl Recipe
- This bowl is a powerhouse of nutrients, offering protein, fiber, and healthy fats in every delicious bite.
- This quinoa salad is flavorful and satisfying, blending earthy kale, creamy avocado, black beans, and lemon juice.
- Perfect for busy weeknights, this quick and easy recipe comes together in under 30 minutes.
- You can customize this southwest quinoa bowl by adding more vegetables, switching up the beans, or even adding dried herbs and spices.
- It's great for meal prep. Make a big batch of this southwestern quinoa salad and enjoy it throughout the week!
This quinoa salad was absolutely delicious! I used spinach cause I didn't have any kale around and it was still perfect with the black beans, avos, and corn!
- Mirlene
Ingredients
Here are the simple ingredients you'll need to make this easy quinoa salad recipe with kale and black beans:
- Tajin Classic Seasoning is a mildly spicy Mexican seasoning made of dried lime, sea salt, and dried ground chili pepper. It gives this salad a little extra kick.
- Sweet Corn - You can use fresh or frozen corn. Thaw frozen corn quickly under running water in a colander. Roasted corn is delicious, too!
- Quinoa - I used tricolor quinoa; you can use any type you like.
- Avocado - chopped, is used instead of oil to massage the kale. It works wonderfully with lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Try it; it makes the simplest dressing ever! Avocado adds healthy fats and creaminess.
- Kale - I used curly kale; use whichever type of kale you prefer.
- Hemp hearts add lovely texture, flavor, and nutrients.
A complete ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Substitutions and Variations
- Vegetable broth - use water instead, or vegan un-chicken broth.
- Kale - use spinach, lettuce, or beet greens instead.
- Lemon juice - you can use fresh lime juice instead.
- Black beans - try chickpeas, cannellini beans, tepary beans, or lentils instead.
- Corn - try peas instead.
- Orange bell pepper or red bell pepper - use any bell pepper you like.
- Red onion - try white onion or sliced green onions.
- Fresh cilantro - try fresh parsley instead.
- Roma tomato - use cherry tomatoes or chopped heirloom tomatoes.
- Hemp hearts - use pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds.
- Tajin seasoning -add sea salt, red pepper flakes, and lime zest instead. Or use a mix of ground cumin, chili powder, and smoked paprika.
- Add heat - stir in chopped seeded and de-veined serrano pepper, jalapeno, or chopped roasted Hatch chile.
- Quinoa - try amaranth, farro, brown rice, wild rice, teff, or sorghum.
- Add artichoke hearts or hearts of palm, chopped beets, or shredded red cabbage.
How To Make This Vegan Southwest Quinoa Bowl With Black Beans
Making this vibrant Vegan Southwest Quinoa Bowl with fresh ingredients is easy.
- Step 1: Rinse the quinoa thoroughly under cold water before cooking to remove its natural coating, saponin, which can affect the taste.
- Step 2: Heat the vegetable broth in a medium saucepan to boil. Carefully add the quinoa and cook for 15 minutes on low to low-medium heat at a simmer, keeping the lid slightly ajar. Stir occasionally until the liquid is mostly absorbed, then remove from heat.
- Step 3: Once it's off the heat, let the cooked quinoa sit for another 5 minutes. Then, let it cool to room temperature. Set aside 1 cup of the cooked quinoa for the salad. Refrigerate the rest of the quinoa for another use.
- Step 4: Massage the kale with avocado, lemon juice, and sea salt for a minute or two until the kale leaves soften.
- Step 5: Place the quinoa, massaged kale, black beans, corn, tomato, bell pepper, and red onion in a bowl. Top with Tajin seasoning, cilantro, and hemp hearts if desired. Enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Rinse the quinoa before cooking it! A very fine mesh sieve comes in handy.
- Use fresh ingredients to make the best vegan southwest quinoa bowls.
- For meal prep, prepare the ingredients in individual containers. Start with the avocado and kale mixture, then add the rest of the ingredients.
How To Serve This Southwest Quinoa Bowl
- Layer all the ingredients in a large individual bowl for each person. A bowl works best rather than a plate to keep everything together.
- Top with Tajin seasoning if you like. This salad is delicious with this chili and lime seasoning on top!
- This salad would be excellent with baked sweet potatoes or tortilla chips on the side.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, double or triple the ingredients. The cooked quinoa serves six to eight people.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Prepare the ingredients in a mason jar or glass container for meal prep. Start with the avocado and kale mixture, then add the rest of the ingredients. Mix everything right before serving, reserving the hemp seed for the topping. Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Related Vegan Recipes
If you try this recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating and let me know how it goes in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
Recipe
Easy Vegan Southwest Quinoa Bowl with Black Beans
EQUIPMENT
- wooden spoon
- mini strainer
- lemon squeezer
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup tri-color quinoa rinsed, or regular quinoa, rinsed
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 2 cups kale stemmed
- 1 avocado, chopped roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice from ½ medium lemon, add more if needed
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup canned black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 cup frozen corn, thawed rinse in a colander to thaw
- 1 large Roma tomato chopped
- ¾ cup orange bell pepper, chopped or red bell pepper
- ¼ red onion chopped
- Tajin Seasoning optional
- Cilantro optional
- 1 tablespoon hemp hearts optional, for topping
INSTRUCTIONS
- Rinse the quinoa well. Boil 2 cups of vegetable broth. Add the rinsed quinoa and simmer for 15 minutes with the cover on. Take off the heat and let sit for 5 minutes with cover on, and fluff. Save 1 cup and the rest cool to put in the fridge for later use.1 cup tri-color quinoa, 2 cups vegetable broth
- While the quinoa is cooking, massage kale with avocado, lemon juice, and sea salt. This takes about 2 minutes.2 cups kale, 1 avocado, chopped, 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Place quinoa, massaged kale, black beans, corn, tomato, bell pepper, and red onion in bowl. Top with Tajin seasoning, cilantro, and hemp hearts if desired.1 cup canned black beans, 1 cup frozen corn, thawed, 1 large Roma tomato, ¾ cup orange bell pepper, chopped, ¼ red onion, Tajin Seasoning, Cilantro, 1 tablespoon hemp hearts
NOTES
- Feel free to improvise with the fresh vegetables you have available.
- Feel free to experiment with other grains, such as amaranth, farro, brown rice, wild rice, teff or sorghum.
- Prepare in advance for meal prep or to bring to a gathering, and double or triple the vegetables. There will be enough quinoa for 6 to 8 servings.
- For meal prep, prepare the ingredients in a mason jar or glass container. Start with the avocado and kale mixture, then add the rest of the ingredients. Mix everything right before serving, reserving the hemp seed for the topping.
NUTRITION
Resplendent Kitchen offers nutritional information for recipes contained on this site as a courtesy. Although resplendentkitchen.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information from online calculators, these figures are estimates.
Mirlene says
This quinoa salad was absolutely delicious! I used spinach cause I didnt have any kale around and it was still perfect with the black beans, avos, and corn!
Emily says
Thank you for trying our southwest quinoa salad recipe, Mirlene! We're so happy to hear you enjoyed it. The combination of flavors in this dish is really delicious and we're glad you gave it a try. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us!
Holley says
This bowl is packed with everything I love! Full of flavor and so filling! YUM!
Emily says
Thank you for trying out this recipe and leaving such a positive review, Holley! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. The combination of flavors in this bowl is really fantastic and I'm happy to hear that it left you feeling satisfied. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us.
Kris says
Such a delicious medley of flavors! Thank you for another winner!
Emily says
Thank you, Kris, for leaving such a positive review. We're so happy you enjoyed it!
Elaine says
It has been a while since I cooked with quinoa, so I guess it is time to fix that. This bowl looks incredible!
Emily says
Thank you, Elaine, I hope you enjoy it!
Anjali says
I made this for lunch today and it was super filling and delicious!! This is going to become one of my go-to recipes for lunch for sure!
Emily says
Thank you for trying our recipe, Anjali! We're so glad you enjoyed it and that it will become one of your go-to recipes!
Brian says
This is a delicious dish which is also extremely healthy, filling, and colorful. I could eat this multiple times a week and not get bored (and I get bored easily).
Bonus: It's also quite inexpensive.
Emily says
Thank you for trying out our recipe, Brian, and for leaving such a positive review. We're so happy to hear that you enjoyed it!