Black Bean Corn and Quinoa Salad
Inspired by my favorite Lebanese restaurant, this extremely simple but super tasty Black Bean Corn and Quinoa Salad goes good with just about anything or can even be enjoyed as a complete meal, and is just as enjoyable any time of the year!
Whenever I pay a visit to my local Lebanese restaurant, I never fail to get inspired by their mouth watering salad counter… Last time I went, they had this yummy new arrival which really caught my attention! It was a cold quinoa salad, filled with loads of black beans, corn kernels, black olives, tomatoes, cucumbers and parsley. Of course I had to have it, and ended up loving it so much that I decided to try my hand at replicating it at home.
Luckily, I find that Lebanese cuisine tends to be so simple, it’s usually fairly easy to figure out. This particular quinoa salad was no exception! But despite its refreshing simplicity, it’s a veritable cornucopia of flavors and textures…
This quinoa salad would make for a great side dish, which would accompany any grilled meat or fish perfectly well, but it’s also so complete, you could very well choose to have it as a meal on its own!
Since you’ll be needing cold quinoa to make this recipe, you’ll have to be sure to cook your quinoa a little bit in advance so it has a chance to cool… If possible, I suggest that you take care of that the previous day, and once that’s out of the way, your salad will come together in no time!
All that’ll be left to do is to prep your ingredients, namely some corn kernels (I used thawed frozen corn, but canned or fresh would also work perfectly well), black beans, sliced black olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, green onions and parsley and throw them in a large mixing bowl along with your cooked quinoa.
Then, in a small glass measuring cup, combine some olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper and whisk vigorously until well blended and slightly emulsified; pour that right over the reserved salad.
Give the ingredients a gentle toss until everything is evenly distributed. That’s it, you’re done!
Technically, you could serve your salad immediately, but if time permits, I strongly recommend that you place it in the refrigerator for a couple of hours to allow all those beautiful flavors to meld and fully develop.
If you want to get fancy, transfer your salad to a pretty salad bowl and garnish it wit a little bit of parsley.
Any potential leftovers will keep well for 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator.
Black Bean Corn and Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups quinoa, cooked and cooled*
- 2 cups corn kernels, fresh, thawed or canned, drained well if applicable
- 1- 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup sliced black olives
- 2 small tomatoes, seeded and finely diced
- 2 Lebanese cucumber, finely diced
- 2 green onions, finely chopped
- 3-4 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
For the vinaigrette
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooked quinoa, corn kernels, black beans, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, green onions and parsley. Set aside.
- In a small glass measuring cup, combine olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper and whisk vigorously until well blended and slightly emulsified. Pour over the reserved salad and toss gently until fully combined.
- Serve immediately or place in the refrigerator for a couple of hours to allow flavors to meld.
- This salad will keep well for 4-5 days in the refrigerator.
Notes
Nutrition
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5 Comments on “Black Bean Corn and Quinoa Salad”
A very well balanced meal,easy to prepare.
I love this dish. I only wish I cooked the quinoa well as I found out the reason I have too much leftover quinoa.
I’m not sure I understand what you mean, Sally? Why too much leftover quinoa?
Delicious! I topped it with some toasted almonds.
I didn’t have tomato or cucumber at the moment but still tasted amazing!