Mexican Black Bean & Quinoa Salad
Photo: Hermes Rivera / Unsplash
A colourful, protein-packed salad of red quinoa, black beans, charred sweetcorn, cucumber and fresh pico de gallo, drizzled with a creamy avocado, lime and coriander dressing. Great for lunchboxes.
Servings
Ingredients
Nutrition
Per serving
Steps
Cook the quinoa
Cook the quinoa in plenty of gently bubbling salted water for about 15 minutes, until soft and you can see little white curly 'tails'. Drain well. Spread it on a tray to cool.
Toast the corn
Put the sweetcorn in a hot dry frying pan with no oil. Cook for about 6 minutes, stirring now and then, until some kernels have black spots. Let it cool.
Make the pico de gallo
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Blend the dressing
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Assemble
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Serve
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Cook the quinoa
Cook the quinoa in plenty of gently bubbling salted water for about 15 minutes, until soft and you can see little white curly 'tails'. Drain well. Spread it on a tray to cool.
Toast the corn
Put the sweetcorn in a hot dry frying pan with no oil. Cook for about 6 minutes, stirring now and then, until some kernels have black spots. Let it cool.
Make the pico de gallo
This step is part of Foodie Premium. Subscribe to unlock the full method, cooking mode and every recipe in the library.
Blend the dressing
This step is part of Foodie Premium. Subscribe to unlock the full method, cooking mode and every recipe in the library.
Assemble
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Serve
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The Story Behind the Dish
Corn and beans are the foundation of Mexican food: maize was domesticated in southern Mexico around 9,000 years ago, and beans were grown alongside it in the milpa, the traditional Mesoamerican field system. Quinoa comes from further south, where it was a sacred staple of the Andes.
This salad is a modern dish that brings these ancient American crops together with the fresh flavours of a Mexican salsa — tomato, onion, chilli, lime and coriander.
⭐ Why It's Famous
It's a favourite for plant-based meal prep: filling, colourful and high in protein and fibre, and it tastes even better the next day.
💡 Fun Fact
In a milpa, beans climb the corn stalks and enrich the soil with nitrogen that the corn needs — the crops support each other in the field just as they do on the plate.
Mexico and the Andes
19.43°N, -99.13°W
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