BM# 76: Week 3/ Day 1
Theme: Picnic Hamper
Dish: Quinoa Black bean Salad
My theme for this week’s Blogging Marathon is recipes for a ‘Picnic Hamper’. It’s almost that time of the year where the weather is going to be picnic perfect. So I’m going to help you out a little bit with my picnic friendly dishes this week.
First up is this colorful and healthy Quinoa black bean salad. This is a quick and easy to make dish that takes less than 30 minutes to put together. It is a great salad to serve at room temperature and can in fact benefit from it in terms of flavors getting a chance to mingle, which makes it perfect to bring to a picnic.
Adding black beans to quinoa gives a double dose of protein to this dish. You can sub black beans with chickpeas and may be add curry powder instead of ground cumin to give the dish an Indian twist. Or add some chopped dill, cucumber and feta cheese to make a Greek inspired salad.
Today’s recipe is adapted from this Superfood Black bean & Quinoa Salad. I made it quite a few times already and I love it. You can get as creative as you want with the number and variety of veggies added. I have tried the dish with grated carrot, finely diced cucumber, radish etc.,
Lets check out what my fellow marathoners have cooked today for BM# 76.
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 4 Servings | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time | Passive Time |
| 20 minutes | 30 minutes |
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Quinoa Black bean Salad is a colorful and healthy dish that is perfect to pack for picnic or lunches. This is a quick and easy to make dish that takes less than 30 minutes to put together. Adding black beans to quinoa gives a double dose of protein to this dish.
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- 1 cup Quinoa, rinsed and drained
- 1 15 oz. Canned Black Beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 Medium Red Pepper, diced
- 4 Green Onions, chopped
- 2 Avocados, pitted and chopped
- 3 tbsp Cilantro, finely chopped
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Garlic clove, finely minced
- 1 tsp Ground Cumin
- 1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper (optional)
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- To taste Salt Pepper
- Bring 2cups of water and the quinoa in a small saucepan to a boil; lower the heat, cover the pan and cook till quinoa is cooked through. Let the quinoa cool slightly.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all the ingredients for dressing.
- Add the chopped veggies (except avocado), drained black beans and the cooked quinoa to the dressing. Mix gently and the set aside for 30 minutes for the flavors to mingle.
- Stir in chopped avocado right before serving to avoid discoloration.
Rajani
I love black beans a lot. In salads and soups it lends a wonderful flavor and makes it more filling as well. Love this colorful salad
Nalini
This is one such healthy and filling salad.
Gayathri Kumar
I love the way you put together delicious and colourful salads. One more healthy salad which looks super inviting..
Rafeeda - The Big Sweet Tooth
I am definitely going to add beans to my quinoa next time I make them… would give it a lovely flavor for sure!
Srivalli
That salad looks so filling Pavani..you have so many different salads getting done, too good!
Sandhiya
Healthy combination you got here in the salad. Looks very inviting and delicious.
Priya Suresh
I can have this salad anytime of the day. Such a nutritious and healthy salad.
Vaishali
Extremely healthy bowl of salad and I like the way you have given options for variations.
Fantastic , just my kinds .
sushma
Love the combination of quinoa and black bean
Sharmila - The Happie Friends Potpourri Corner
Such a healthy Salad!!