This Southwest Quinoa Bowl is healthy, delicious, and easy to make! This high protein gluten-free, vegan salad is excellent for lunch or dinner or meal prep. The avocado kale salad makes a great base for toppings and is ready in thirty minutes.
Jump to:
I am excited to share this recipe for this Southwest Quinoa Bowl with you! What led me to share this recipe is that it's been a favorite all summer long. I can't keep it all to myself!
This high protein vegan salad bowl is full of fresh flavors, wholesome ingredients, and it doesn't take long to make. It's as easy as assembling the ingredients in a mason jar or glass container. This gluten-free salad is sure to become a go-to!
What is quinoa?
A tiny ancient gluten-free grain with a fluffy texture and slightly nutty flavor, quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) is known as a superfood these days. 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; red, white, and black are the most common. For this recipe, I've selected a mixture of all three, called tri-color quinoa. To learn more about quinoa, here is an informative article.
Equipment
- small saucepan
- wooden spoon
- cutting board
- chef's knife
- fine small sieve
- small bowl
- large bowl
- lemon squeezer
Ingredients
- tri-color quinoa, or regular
- vegetable broth
- kale
- avocado
- lemon juice
- sea salt and black pepper
- black beans
- corn
- Roma tomato
- orange bell pepper, or red bell pepper
- red onion
- quartered artichoke hearts (optional)
- Tajin Classic Seasoning (optional, highly recommended) - a mildly spicy Mexican seasoning made of dried lime, sea salt, and dried ground chili pepper
How to make
Refer to the recipe below for all the details. Here's a brief overview:
- First, you will rinse the quinoa before cooking it on the stovetop, unless you have some that you previously prepared. It is essential to rinse the naturally occurring protective coating called saponin off the quinoa; otherwise, it will taste bitter. The purpose of the saponin is to keep the seed safe from birds and insects. It's worth the extra effort to rinse. I once forgot, and I won't do it again, it makes that much difference.
- Place the quinoa in a small bowl filled with water. Swish the quinoa with your fingertips and pour the water out, keeping a small fine sieve to catch any quinoa that falls out. Then put the quinoa in a small saucepan with vegetable broth, cover, and a boil. Once it is boiling, turn the heat down to low, keep the lid on, and cook for 15 minutes. Once done cooking, let the quinoa sit for an additional five minutes off the heat and gently remove the lid and fluff. A wooden fork works well for this.
- While the quinoa is cooking, massage the kale with avocado, lemon juice, and sea salt in a large bowl. Rubbing the kale between your fingers for a couple of minutes breaks down the cell walls and gives it a softer, more pleasant texture. I love kale and can eat it raw, but I prefer it lightly massaged, it only takes a couple of minutes!
- Chop the rest of the vegetables and keep them separate.
- Rinse and drain the black beans if using canned beans
- Thaw frozen corn by rinsing it in a colander
How to serve
Layer all the ingredients in a large individual bowl for each person. A bowl works best to keep everything together. Top with hemp seeds and Tajin seasoning if you have it. This salad is delicious with this chili and lime seasoning on top!
This salad would be excellent with baked sweet potato on the side, and topped with cilantro or parsley if you wish! The beauty of this dish is that you can change it up to whatever you have on hand.
Substitutions
- Feel free to improvise with the fresh vegetables you have available.
- Try other grains, such as amaranth, farro, brown rice, wild rice, teff, or sorghum.
- If you don't have fresh lemon juice available, use fresh lime juice.
Tips
Remember to rinse the quinoa before cooking it!
I prefer to use half an avocado for around two cups of kale. If your kale needs more moisture, feel free to use a whole avocado. It depends on how much kale you are using.
Green curly kale is my favorite for this salad, I highly recommend it. Feel free to experiment however!
Add the Tajin classic seasoning if you have it!
Make ahead
Prepare in advance for meal prep, 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. Add the rest of the ingredients. Save the hemp seed for the topping.
More recipes
Try this Southwest Salad with Cilantro Jalapeño Cashew Dressing. It's perfect for making ahead and meal prep.
For a quick and easy pasta recipe, you will love my Asparagus Mushroom Pasta.
If you make this Southwest Quinoa Bowl, let me know what you think by ★ star rating it and leaving a comment below. It would make my day. You can also follow me on Instagram and share your creation with me. Just tag me @resplendentkitchen and hashtag #resplendentkitchenrecipes, so I don't miss it.
📖 Recipe
Southwest Quinoa Bowl
Ingredients
- 1 cup tri-color quinoa rinsed, or regular quinoa, rinsed
- 1 3/4 cups vegetable broth
- 2 cups kale stemmed
- 1 avocado roughly chopped
- 1 lemon juiced
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup canned black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 cup frozen corn thawed
- 1 large Roma tomato chopped
- 1/2 orange bell pepper chopped or red bell pepper
- 1/4 red onion chopped
- 1/4 cup canned quartered artichoke hearts drained and rinsed, optional
- Tajin Seasoning optional
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.
- While the quinoa is cooking, massage kale with avocado, lemon juice, and sea salt. This takes about 2 minutes.
- Place quinoa, massaged kale, black beans, tomato, bell pepper, red onion in bowl. Top with hemp hearts and black pepper if desired. Mix the ingredients.
Notes
- This salad bowl is delicious topped with a sprinkling of Tajin as well as artichoke hearts.
- 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.
Thanks for coming! Let me know what you think: