Mango Bean Quinoa Salad

This rainbow Mango Bean Quinoa Salad is a delicious, colorful, and easy to prepare dish that you can serve as the main course or as a healthy side dish. It’s packed with bright colorful produce like mangos, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, purple cabbage, and corn. A beautiful rainbow feast for your eyes!

If you are looking for something fairly easy, that requires little cooking—this is for sure your dish! Only the quinoa needs to be cooked, as everything else just requires chopping, shredding, and mincing.

This dish is not only packed with a variety of produce, it’s also a nice balance of whole grains and beans to make this dish a nice complete meal on its own. Toss on some avocado for healthy fats, as well as extra flavor and texture. Then sit back and enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup dried quinoa

1-1 ½ cup diced mango (about 1 large mango)

1 large orange bell pepper (about 1.5 cup diced)

1.5 cup diced or halved cherry or grape tomatoes

1 jalapeño or serrano pepper, minced (optional)

2 cups shredded purple cabbage

1 cup frozen corn, thawed

2- 15 oz BPA-free cans of beans (black, pinto, and/or kidney), drain and rinse

1/3 cup lime juice*

¼ teaspoon onion powder

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon cumin powder

1 tablespoon white miso*

Cayenne powder, to taste (optional)

Black pepper, to taste

Cilantro, as desired

Avocado, for serving

METHOD:

Rinse the quinoa well. Combine 1 cup dried quinoa with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, and lower the heat. Simmer, covered with a lid, for about 15 minutes or until the quinoa is soft and the water has cooked off.
Wash and chop the mango, bell peppers, tomatoes, and jalapeño. Thinly cut or shred the purple cabbage. Combine everything together in a large bowl with the thawed corn, rinsed beans, and cooked quinoa.
In a small bowl, combine the lime juice, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, and white miso. Mix well until everything is well combined. Pour the sauce over the quinoa and bean mixture and stir well. Add cayenne and black pepper if desired.
Rinse and chop fresh cilantro and toss into the salad. Enjoy right away, or allow the dish to sit for a bit in the fridge to allow the flavors to come together.
Just before serving, add diced avocado (or serve it on the side). Enjoy!

Notes:

*I have not tried this recipe with lemon juice, but I would imagine that would be a great substitute for lime juice. So feel free to give it a go!

*I use white miso paste as a substitute for salt. Feel free to omit the miso if you don’t have any.