If you only have one salad to live by this summer, this is it.
I made it last night for my Tuesday Night Supper Club girls and everyone went crazy for the chewy/spicy/creamy/citrus-y mix. It’s the kind of salad you pack in tupperware for road trips, the kind of salad that fills you up, the kind of salad that even self proclaimed salad-haters go crazy for.
You know why? Because it’s so freakin’ tasty!
And trust me, I rarely get this pumped up about salad. But just look at all the yummies stuck in there!
I discovered this salad by pretty much dumping all my favorite things into a bowl: black beans, quinoa, avocado, fresh sweet corn straight from the cob (no need to cook–it’s so sweet right now!), LOTS of cilantro and lime juice for flavor, red bell pepper, juicy grapefruit segments and red onion.
The salad is dressed in a simple citrus dressing made from lime juice, olive oil and cumin. It doesn’t get much fresher than that!
Plus, once made, this salad keeps up to five days in the fridge. It’s just the kind of thing I love to pull out for a fast lunch while baking.
Salad for lunch = more chocolate later
Amen.
Black Bean, Quinoa and Citrus Salad
serves 6-8
Ingredients:
for the salad:
2 15-oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 red onion, minced
2 large grapefruits, divided into segments and chopped
1 large red bell pepper, diced
3 ears fresh corn, kernels chopped off’
1 cup uncooked quinoa
1 large (ripe but firm) avocado, diced
1 small bunch cilantro, minced
for the dressing:
juice of 3 limes
2 tsp cumin
3 T extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp sea salt
Directions:
Bring quinoa to a boil with 2 1/2 cups water with a pinch of salt. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes, or until all water is absorbed and quinoa is light and fluffy. Remove from stove and let cool while you prepare the rest of the salad.
Place black beans, red onion, grapefruit, cilantro, bell pepper, avocado and shucked corn kernels in a large bowl. Toss to combine.
In a small bowl, whisk together all dressing ingredients. Add quinoa to salad then pour over dressing. Toss well and serve.
Salad will keep in sealed tupperware containers for up to five days in the fridge.
Time:
45 minutes (includes prep time for chopping veggies)
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{ 130 comments… read them below or add one }
So fresh and so yum! And I love that you added grapefruit segments! Creative.
I bet the grapefuit adds a wonderful bite to this salad!
I see a picnic in my near future. Does the avocado stand up with all the citrus?
I found that the grapefruit overpowered almost everything in the salad, but if you don’t mind the bitterness of the grapefruit then go for it. I think pineapple might have worked too.
I thought the same thing, so I only used one grapefruit in mine. Perfection!! Sooo delicious!!!
I’m not a fan of grapefruit, so I put mango in mine. Awesome.
Delicious! I’ve been making tons of grain-based summer salads lately and I love the gorgeous colours in yours. I’m not much of a grapefruit girl, but I’d be willing to eat it like this!
Yum! Especially intrigued by the addition of grapefruit – never would have thought it would work w/this combo…sounds refreshing though!
A nice fresh pineapple will work…it does for me! Always have one to cut…or some in the frig! all seasons if I I can…the pineapple and avocado..oh yeah..they both work well in ANY recipe! (my boys eat pineapple and avocado on pizza>>>little do they know….) (and mushrooms….).
This is beautiful AND includes some of my favorite ingredients as well.
i love your black board!
cute idea. I would have never thought to add grapefruit but that sounds delicious!
THANK-you! Now I know what I’m making for lunches this coming week. Cheers to summer!! Speaking of cheers, this would be nice eaten outside with a beer…:-)
Oh my. So many of my favorites in one dish. Making this ASAP!
The best salads come from just throwing things together in a bowl!
I really like the idea of putting lime and cumin together for salad dressing. I always do lemon and olive oil, so this will be a nice change
Use a bit of nice pure coconut oil…you’ll love it!
this sounds SO light and summery! i love it!
No questions about what’s for dinner tonight!
I love my substantial (i.e lettuce-free) summer salads, especially if it’s got a Tex-Mex thing going on. And the grapefruit! How refreshing. I’m going to have to give this one a whirl!
Ooo this looks so juicy & fresh – perfect hot weather food! I just shucked and and stripped a few ears of corn (btw I despise shucking corn) and it’s so sweet & tender that I’ve been eating it raw out of the fridge ever since. Hopefully there’s enough left to make a small version of this salad!
I love how something so beautiful an be so healthy! Fantastic photos!
Heck yea! salad for lunch…more everything later
(ice cream apparently for me these days!) Grapefruit!! Look how awesome this combo is! I love the dump all your favorite things in a bowl kind of recipes.
I love me some quinoa! I actually brought some to work for lunch today. But yours looks freakin fantastic!
I’ve been looking for a quinoa salad to make for people unfamiliar with it, so I can get them to jump on the Quinoa is Amazing bandwagon with me
I just recently discovered a love of quinoa, so I’m all over this salad! Thanks!
Beautiful!!
I have a feeling I’ll be eating quite a bit of this salad myself this summer. It sounds so refreshing and light and I love the lime cumin dressing.
Love this! I make something similar with wheatberries or orzo. The addition of grapefruit sounds great though, must try that next time.
Yum! Anything with avocado and black beans has to be good. At least that’s my philosophy.
Done and done. This salad is going in my tupperware and into MA BELLY!
I have some Quinoa in my cupboard…but never really know what to do with it
Now I do. Thank you Jenna!
YUM! I must try this!
I love how fresh this salad looks!
And I really like the ingredients on the chalkboard pic — that is so creative!
I have been eating my weight in quinoa lately! It makes for a fabulous summery salad. I love how you added grapefruit to the mix!
Since moving I have literally NO space in my kitchen and I have a lot of beans and grains that I stockpiled – with nowhere to put! ARGH!
So – looks like I’ll have to be finding ways to use them up
…and if anyone has any suggestions of how to organize space properly while still storing stuff (to avoid excess grocery trips) – let me know!!!
PLEASE ?
Yesss I’m so glad you posted another quinoa recipe! I really love quinoa and plan to make it a lot more, but I never know what to add to make it AWESOME. Well now I do!
Ok, I was not planning on going to the grocery store today but now I HAVE to.
This simply looks delicious, and fresh, and fruity/citrus-y, and crunchy, and chewy and, and and.
I have to have this TODAY! Thanks for sharing!
This looks fantastic! And so healthy! My mouth is watering for it and I’ve not even eaten my breakfast!
I love raw corn straight from the cob! So sweet and fresh and crunchy. I bet these ingredients would also go great with cold brown rice for a twist. Cold grain salads rock.
healthy, flavorful, and perfect for summer. I love it! corn is so great right now.
This looks awesome. I’ve been looking for a good recipe that I could toss into a tupperwear before work and call lunch. Getting bored of sandwiches! Thanks for the inspiration
.
YUM! I think I have found my staple summer salad
That looks amazing! I love that quinoa and I recently made a great Fresh Cherry, Pistachio, and Feta Quinoa Salad that was divine. You can check it out at:
http://eatdrinkandbeaware.blogspot.com/2011/05/fresh-cherry-pistachio-and-feta-quinoa.html
This salad looks absolutely delicious and I am adding it to our next meal plan for sure. Thanks for the great recipe.
..and I no longer have to decide what I will cook for dinner. This looks amazing!
YUM! That looks like a perfectly refreshing salad for a hot summer day! Definitely bookmarking this one
I love your chalkboard background.
A make-ahead salad that you can keep in the fridge for 5 days later…both pre make it and then post-eat it, i.e. planned leftovers, is music to my ears.
As is this “Salad for lunch = more chocolate later”
haha!
And I love the chalkboard pic. THAT took some work. Laying everything on it, writing on it with chalk. Just FINDING some chalk…job well done, Miss Jenna the Photographer!
Looks yummy! I hate to be like this, but how much exactly is the juice of 3 limes? Could you give an estimate amount? Also, how do you get raw corn kernels off the corn?
about 1/4 cup! And for the corn, you just use a knife and run it down the sides of the corn to get off the kernels. Messy but effective!
That looks like summer time in a bowl!!
I cannot wait to try this!!! I love summer salads like this, and so unbelievably satisfying. Thank you for sharing!
This looks amazing! I’ve never heard of eating raw corn, but I bet it would be good.
That really looks great, and I LOVE the way you set up the ingredients to photograph them! Gorgeous!
Love salad–looks delicious & the styling is too! Thx!
This is such a summer-perfect salad. I can’t wait to make it!
Looks beautiful! Do you think this salad would be good made with oranges if I don’t have grapefruit?
I HEART Quinoa so much! I just posted a recipe using it today too!! Can’t wait to try this one! YUMM!!
Seriously, you can never have enough cilantro and avocado.
YUM! I’ve said it before and i’ll say it again: I miss black beans! Impossible to find over here. But I made your quinoa med. salad and it made my heart content! i will try this recipe with white beans.
This looks great. I am assuming the lime juice keeps the avocado from browning, right? Just wondering. Thanks!
Yep, it does!
Holy Salad…I can’t wait to make that.
This looks great. I’m adding this to the recipe file!
I am in love with your chalk board idea! That picture is really creative
The salad…also lookin’ mighty tasty and will most likely be my lunch tomorrow!
Looks great! I think I will make it with orange segments instead of grapefruit (my husband can’t eat grapefruit).
This recipe sounds (and looks) fantastic! I definitely need to add this to my must try list.
This is definitely a staple dinner for me already!
http://goldhearted.etsy.com
Love the addition of the grapefruit! I make a very similar salad but with corn and it’s seriously one of my absolute faves. I eat it on lettuce for lunch every day for a week when I make it
omg this looks amazing! i love all those ingredients too. can’t wait to make it.
ps is that chalkboard paint? love it! brilliant idea.
Variations on this type of salad are my FAVORITE! I will be trying this recipe soon!
Wow. A very delectable recipe. This could just be the reason why I would be on a road trip soon. LOL! What a healthy find this is. Thanks for sharing!
With grapefruit? That’s absolutely fascinating. *pinterested* lol
I hate to admit it, but I’m hopeless behind the times having never yet tried quinoa. This salad, though, has convinced me that I have to catch up. And fast! Looks really delicious.
I love these types of summer salads! There are so many options!
I think I need to go to my kitchen asap and make this gorgeous salad!! And it’s good for up to 5 days?! Hello leftovers!
The chalk board is brilliant. Best recipe/method picture I have seen on a food blog.
Looks delish!
Am loving your vegan-friendly recipes as late–and your cocktail recipes. Watermelon anything is fab!
Love the dressing here in particular – cumin!! thanks, Jenna, will try it fo sure!
Heidi xo
What a beautiful dish! Love the grapefruit in there too. Yum!
How much would you consider a serving? About a cup?
Thanks!
A bowlful? A large scoop?
i make a similar salad but have never added citrus to the mix. i’ll have to try it. sounds awesome!
This looks so delicious, and I love you added grapefruit
Holy crow!! I make an almost identical salad to this all the time (had it for dinner tonite in fact!) minus the grapefruit and quinoa. Dang it….if only I had read this BEFORE I ate haha!! I will just have to add them the next time!! I add one diced chipotle in adobo and a half teaspoon of honey to my dressing…sends it off the charts!!
Have you ever tried cooking the corn in a pan before adding it?? It gets all brown and toasty and it is AMAZING!!
works for me. who would of thought grapefruit! Nice.
This looks delicious! I LOVE the use of the blackboard!
I am loving the use of a chalkboard in the background for ingredient pics!
This is a perfect summer recipe! I’m going to give it a go soon. I love the combination of wholesome quinoa and refreshing vegetables and fruit.
After seeing this yesterday, I stopped by the store on the way home and got everything to make it last night. I did brown up the corn, pepper and onion before mixing with everything. It was great!! My fiance was fighting me for leftovers today.
so glad you liked it!
Totally digging the chalkboard ingredients list.
Thanks for a great recipe, Jenna! I made this today and it is delicious!! Looking forward to leftovers for lunch tomorrow.
This sounds and looks amazing. I make a similar recipe that is easy, tasty and quick for any night of the week. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Black-Bean-and-Tomato-Quinoa-238939
Anything with avocado sounds good to me! I have to leave out the cilantro though
use any parsley in the place of Mexican parsley…if u must…
The combination of ingredients is perfect! Oh I so can’t wait to try it.
This looks prefect. I have some avocados hanging around in the fridge that are just crying out for me to make this!
Don’t let the Avos cry out!!!! I don’t know about everyone else, but in OHIO the avos (from Mexico…Haas variety) are looking wonderful in the stores feeling as though they can wait a couple days to be used….then…get all prepared to devour one, and they are SPOILED! I am so upset… The last three Avo’s I have opened were brown inside!!!
So even if they have been refrigerated, beware they are being shipped too soon or something….
oh, my goodness, this was such a perfect salad, though I did tweak the dressing cause I was, unfortunately, left without any limes in the house — thanks for posting, I’ll definately be visting this blog again
I’m loving the chalkboard! So creative. The salad looks pretty awesome too!
Very good the way it is…fantastic with OHCS (Original Himalayan Crystal Salt)
All my recipes are way healthier, yummier with it. (No poisonous white salt for us…never ever again…)
I made this for dinner tonight – it’s AWESOME! I can’t wait for leftovers tomorrow. If there are any…I keep taking spoonfuls from the bowl!
ohmygosh. I tried this and it was absolutely amazing! The flavors blend so well together! Absolutely awesome! Try this now!
This is a great salad! Did anyone else have problems with the quinoa/water ratio recommended? The quinoa came out mushy for me, and I noticed on the box that normally the quinoa/water ratio is 1:2 instead of 1:3. I think the salad would’ve been a lot better if the quinoa hadn’t been mushy, but I’ll definitely be making this again with that in mind. Thanks for all your awesome recipes!
Delish salad, but I had the same problem! I think the ratio must be written wrong (?) I ended up tossing the quinoa and making is with cous cous.
I just bought a whole bunch of quinoa at the store this week and I can’t wait to make all sorts of summery quinoa dishes. I will be trying this one for sure, thanks for sharing!
Uhh muh gawddd. Jenna I made it tonight and this is so good!
Yummy! That looks really good! I have a quinoa recipe that is similar to yours and is absolutely delicious! I will have to send it to you, so you can tell me what you think. P.s. miss ya, sister
Sharing the love!
http://www.butterybeancounter.com/2011/06/black-bean-quinoa-and-citrus-salad-from.html
Sharing the love!
http://www.butterybeancounter.com/2011/06/black-bean-quinoa-and-citrus-salad-from.html
In case you haven’t noticed, I make a lot of your recipes
And for the record, I’ve been on Weight Watchers since August of last year and have lost 60 pounds making your delicious, healthy (and many not-so-healthy) creations!
Anyway, this one is a keeper. Next time I will use 1 grapefruit, or maybe none. My husband really didn’t like the grapefruit
I agree with your assertion that this is the salad you’ll take to a party and everyone will want the recipe!
I am making this tonight! It looks fantastic and so refreshing, so I am really looking forward to it!
This was good, but you have to REALLY love citrus. The bitterness of the grapefruit was almost overwhelming, and the amount of juice form my three limes was way too much. It’s worth trying again for sure, but I’ll adjust the dressing and only use one grapefruit.
I’ve made this salad three times in the last two weeks, and yes, I’ve ate all but two bowls of it! Seriously good! I leave the avocado and grapefruit out though, and add it just before I eat it. I’m in love with this recipe!
I’ve made this salad twice now to bring to school and each time people ask for the recipe and now there’s always at least one girl bringing this for lunch.
thank you for this amazing salad!!
I made this for a large crowd and it was a hit. I used pineapple instead of grapefruit, just because I’m not a grapefruit fan. If I make it again, which is likely, I’ll probably leave out the fruit altogether. If you’re thinking of making it…do it.
Made this for dinner last night with oranges instead of grapefruit. One of the most delicious meals I have tasted in a while….definitely a new favorite and going into rotation! Great job of using lots of produce that is in season right now!
Hi Jenna!
Greetings from the UK! Made this salad yesterday and it is totally yum. I LOVE avocado and grapefruit combination. Oh and with the coriander too!!
I’m thinking Quinoa and parmesan is totes the next in line!
xox
I made this tonight and it was seriously delicious! I probably only used about 1/3 of an onion and I only used 1 grapefruit instead of two. I also used a roasted red bell pepper instead of raw. I’ll be sure to post: (www.healthymammas.com)
Next time I might make it with 1 grapefruit and 2 avocados! It was soooo good – thank you for the recipe!
Delicious! This is the first time I’ve had a salad with fresh corn kernels, wow! Now I can’t stop eating them in different salads! Thanks for the tip!
Just saw this link from a comment on fitnessista and all I can say is YUM. this looks like the perfect thing to make on a monday and then pack for lunch between class the rest of the week. Thanks for the recipe!
This looks wonderful! I really like the fact that it will keep in the fridge for up to five days – I’ve been searching for some salad recipes to drop off to my son’s house for him and his housemates . This is definitely something they’d be able to grab from the fridge whenever they get hungry!
This looks so refreshing, I can’t wait to try it.
We made this last night, and it was absolutely wonderful! This goes into our make again file!
Thanks!
This salad looks great! Thanks for the recipe!
This recipe looks very nice and certainly taste very, very good. I tried to cook it and my family was impressed by the taste, the look was not very nice, but in the end taste counts more. Thanks for sharing.
I’ve made this before and LOVED it! Since then I’ve discovered that I have an allergy to olive oil. I’d love to make it for a potluck. Can you suggest another oil that would work? I’m still trying to get used to evoo substitutes. ; ) …maybe grapeseed or cocnut oil (or would this solidify in a salad dressing?) Thanks!!!!
Hungry for something cool for dinner tonight–Googled “quinoa salads” and found this recipe–I had everything in my kitchen except the grapefruit, so off to Trader Joe’s at 5 PM for that. It’s now 6:38 PM and there are two very satisfied people in sitting here in the den, totally in love with this recipe! We ate over half of the bowlful for dinner with enough left for a nice lunch tomorrow. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
so glad you guys enjoyed it! that is one of my very favorites…
So delicious! I have a new lunch time obsession now. Thanks!
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