Black Bean Quinoa Salad with Cumin Orange Vinaigrette

Tired of green salads? This flavor filled, plant-based quinoa salad with mango and avocado topped with an orange cumin vinaigrette is the perfect option!  It’s a little bit spicy from the jalapenos, a little bit sweet from the mango, the black beans add a rich salty flavor and fresh avocado, purple onion, bell pepper and cilantro make it salad worthy. Yum!

This recipe comes to us from Joyce Vandenberg Porter of Good Mother Diet.

For more recipes with quinoa, click here.

Ingredients:

For the Salad:

• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 cup mango, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 red or green jalapeno, seeded and diced
• 1 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 1/3 cup fresh cilantro or parsley leaves, chopped
• 1 avocado, peeled, seeded and diced

For the Vinaigrette:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Rinse quinoa to remove bitterness and cook according to package instructions; set aside and let cool.

2. To make the vinaigrette, whisk together olive oil, apple cider vinegar, orange juice, cumin and salt in a small bowl; set aside.

3. In a large bowl, combine quinoa, mango, bell pepper, jalapeno, black beans, avocado, onion and cilantro. Pour the vinaigrette on top of the salad and gently toss to combine.

4. If you aren’t serving immediately, place the avocado pit on top of the salad to keep the avocado from turning brown, or add the avocado right before serving . Serve at room temperature. Enjoy!