Quinoa Taco Salad

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This healthy taco salad is packed with quinoa, black beans, roasted corn, tomatoes, avocado and tortilla chips, all tossed in a zesty jalapeño lime vinaigrette. It's a fresh, filling vegan salad for lunch, dinner or meal prep.

Prep Time15

Cook Time30

Total Time45

Course: Salads

Cuisine: Tex-Mex

Servings:

Author: Paige Adams

Ingredients

For corn

3 ears corn, kernels sliced off
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

For quinoa

1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed
1 cup water

For dressing

1 tablespoon minced jalapeños
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
2 limes, juiced
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

For salad

3 cups chopped romaine
15 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes
1/4 cup thinly sliced radishes
1 avocado, diced
1/4 cup finely chopped red onions
1/2 cup crumbled tortilla chips
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
In a large bowl, stir the corn with 1 tablespoon olive oil, cumin, chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Spread the corn in a single layer across a baking sheet. Roast the corn for 25-30 minutes until it is lightly browned on the edges.
While the corn is roasting, make the quinoa. In a small saucepan, combine the quinoa and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat, simmering on low for 11-12 minutes until the water has been absorbed. Remove the quinoa from the heat. Let stand covered for 5 minutes. Then fluff it with a fork.
For the dressing, whisk together the jalapeños, garlic, mustard, lime juice, 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper in a small bowl.
To assemble the salad, combine the corn, romaine, black beans, tomatoes, radishes, avocado, red onions, tortilla chips and cilantro in a large bowl. Toss with half the dressing.
Stir in the quinoa, adding more dressing as desired.

Notes

You can substitute fresh corn with canned corn or frozen corn:

For canned corn, rinse it in a colander and pat off the excess water with a towel before stirring it into the spices and oil.
For frozen corn, do not thaw it. Mix it with the oil and spices and spread it on the sheet pan and roast it. The corn will likely take a little longer in the oven since it is starting out frozen.
One ear of corn is about 1 cup of kernels, so you will need around 3 cups of corn kernels for the recipe.

You can keep salad leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days. Only toss the portion you are planning to eat in the dressing. Then the leftover salad greens won’t lose as much of their crispness.

Store the dressing in a jar. Take it out of the refrigerator 15 minutes before you toss it with the salad.

Both the quinoa and dressing can be made up to 3 days ahead of time and stored in the fridge. Before putting the quinoa in a container, let it cool to room temperature.

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