This Southwest Black Bean Quinoa is the perfect Tex-Mex side dish easily prepared for serving warm or as a cold salad. Use in taco bowls or a side dish for tacos!
I first had this Southwest Black Bean Quinoa over Thanksgiving week a few years ago while I was visiting friends and family in the Midwest. My friend, Cara, introduced it to me. She told me how much she liked the flavors and I couldn’t wait to try it.
There was no doubt in my mind that Ben would like it, too. I was also excited to add another healthy side dish to our collection. I served it as a warm side dish, similar to rice, and he enjoyed it. The next day, I served it as a cold salad. It was excellent.
Another way to serve this is as a bed to slices of grilled chicken with fruit on the side. This makes for a very healthy lunch or dinner, and you feel really good afterwards. Although, without the chicken, you can also enjoy this as a vegetarian meal. Lately, however, we have enjoyed as a base for taco bowls (or as a side to tacos) with my favorite Slow Cooker Beef Barbacoa. This combination is a good one to share as a meal for new moms, too!
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 3 cloves garlic peeled and chopped
- 3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels
- 1 15 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
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Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and pepper, and saute until lightly browned. Mix in the garlic and heat until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the quinoa, then pour in the vegetable broth. Season with cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 20 minutes.
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Stir in the frozen corn and continue to simmer about 5 more minutes, until heated through. Remove from the heat and stir in the black beans and cilantro. Serve warm or cold.
Source: AllRecipes
Heidi @ Food Doodles says
May 9, 2011 at 8:21 AMYummy! That looks great. I have a similar recipe that has a lime juice dressing. So good 🙂
Nikki says
May 9, 2011 at 1:24 PMOooh, Heidi! I think lime juice would be a perfect addition to this! Thanks! 🙂
Sarah says
May 9, 2011 at 8:27 AMThat looks tasty. I love quinoa and black beans together.
Amy (Sing For Your Supper) says
May 9, 2011 at 9:26 AMMmmm! I looooove quinoa but haven’t tried it with Southwest flavors before- I bet this is delicious! Great idea!
Jen @ BeantownBaker.com says
May 9, 2011 at 10:03 AMI make a very similar recipe and we love it too! Quinoa is so great – I just had some today for lunch in fact.
Sue Gladd says
May 9, 2011 at 11:39 AMThis is coming into my kitchen!
Kim (Feed Me, Seymour) says
May 10, 2011 at 4:46 AMI love this!!! Quinoa is my new favorite thing. Plus you really can’t go wrong with southwestern flavors! 🙂
F Ellis says
May 10, 2011 at 11:46 AMThis looks really good – going to try it this week!
Pam says
May 11, 2011 at 7:54 PMOh my goodness, this looks unbelievably good. I adore black beans, and the cumin and cayenne, with my all-time-favorite cilantro, make my mouth just water.
Pams says
May 11, 2011 at 7:56 PMI thought I posted a comment, but I do not see it… Anyway, this looks absolutely fabulous. I adore black beans. And I adore anything with cilantro in it. It is making me hungry just looking at that photo!
Nikki says
May 11, 2011 at 10:07 PMHi Pam! The comments do not appear until I approve them. Unfortunately, I had a busy day today so it took me a little longer to moderate the comments. Thanks for your feedback! Hope you give the recipe a try and enjoy it! 🙂
Geni says
May 29, 2011 at 3:37 AMI am printing this out as I write this for a barbecue I am headed to tonight. Thanks for sharing htis!
Kacey Sappington says
January 12, 2012 at 2:37 AMHello,
I just moved to Australia and cannot find black beans anywhere! Apparently they are nonexistent out here! Is there any good substitute for them?
Thanks,
Kacey
Nikki says
January 12, 2012 at 7:34 AMWow, that’s crazy! Maybe try black-eyed peas?
Anonymous says
June 4, 2015 at 12:38 PMSometimes they are called turtle beans
Amber says
July 22, 2012 at 10:37 AMI make this dish but omit red pepper and replace with zucchini and a can of roasted tomatoes. Delicious!!!
Mary Anne says
June 9, 2015 at 10:13 AMHi there! This looks interesting, but 10 servings for one person seems like a lot. Is this easy to reduce ingredient levels in half?
Nikki Gladd says
June 10, 2015 at 12:00 AMI haven’t tried, but it might be tricky to cut exactly in half when cooking quinoa. Make the big batch and eat during the week! 🙂
Bev says
September 22, 2015 at 5:53 PMThis is awesome! Now I have a LOT leftover and was wondering…will thes freeze
Nikki Gladd says
September 25, 2015 at 11:51 AMHi Bev,
I haven’t tried, but if you freeze it with success please come back and let us know! Thanks!