Black Quinoa Salad with Mango, Avocado, & Tomatoes

Last week I made a Black Quinoa Salad with Mango, Avocado, and Tomatoes. Josh absolutely loved the salad. He can’t stop talking about it. He has been bugging me for a week to post the recipe. He said everyone needs this recipe! So hopefully you will enjoy this salad as much as he did:) This healthy salad is easy to make and is great as a main dish or side dish.

If you haven’t tried quinoa, what are you waiting for? Quinoa is actually a seed that is high in protein and gluten free. It has a slightly nutty flavor and a nice crunchy texture. We used black quinoa for this salad, but any quinoa will do if you can’t find the black variety. (We found black quiona at Whole Foods).

I added all of my favorite flavors to this salad: mango, avocado, tomatoes, green onions, and cilantro.

I whisked together a simple dressing of fresh lime juice, olive oil, and a hint of cumin and combined everything in a large bowl.

I love the contrast of colors in this salad. The mango, avocado, and tomatoes really “pop” against the black quinoa. You can serve this salad at room temperature or chilled. We had some salad leftover and enjoyed it the next day and it held up nicely.
If you are looking for a new salad to try, make this Black Quinoa Salad with Mango, Avocado, and Tomatoes. I love making it for parties because it is vegetarian, gluten free, and vegan. Everyone can enjoy this tasty salad!
Black Quinoa Salad with Mango, Avocado, & Tomatoes
Yield: Serves 6-8
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked black quinoa
2 cups water
Pinch of salt1 large mango, diced
2 large tomatoes, diced
3 green onions, sliced
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
2 medium avocados, diced
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin
Salt and pepper, to tasteDirections:
1. First, using a strainer, rinse the black quinoa under cold water. Add quinoa, water, and salt to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil for 5 minutes. Turn the heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until water is absorbed. Remove from heat and fluff with a fork. Let cool quinoa cool to room temperature.
2. In a large bowl, combine quinoa, mango, tomatoes, green onions, cilantro, and avocados. In a small bowl, whisk together lime juice, olive oil, and cumin. Pour the dressing over the quinoa salad and gently stir until well combined. Season with salt and pepper. Serve at room temperature or chilled.
If you like this Black Quinoa Salad with Mango, Avocado, & Tomatoes, you might also like:
Mediterranean Quinoa Salad from Eat, Live, Run
Quinoa Salad with Blueberries, Strawberries, and Watermelon from Gluten-Free Goddess
Chicken and Avocado Quinoa Summer Salad from Picky Palate



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Such a beautiful salad and what a wonderful combination of flavours!
You always have the best, prettiest, most vibrant look awesome meals, Maria. And you use mango frequently. Which is about the best thing ever
Two Peas replied: — August 10th, 2011 @ 9:51 am
We love mangoes:) Thanks Averie!
i am ALL about the mangos…i love those things!
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I don’t think I have ever mixed mango and avocado but it sounds delish! Flagging this recipe for sure!! And I LOVED your corn salad…yum! What do you think of this fun recipe for Meditteranean kabobs…easiest appetizer ever!
http://www.MrsCapretta.com
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Love anything with mango!
The colors of that salad are outstanding – it looks so healthy and fresh!! And so summery!!
Holy moly! This looks so good. Thank you for sharing! I will definitely be trying this.
Anything that pretty has to taste good!
Love it! The colors are gorgeous. Will be perfect for when I have company!
Black quinoa is the best! So yummy & fresh!
okay – that looks super refreshing! love the black quinoa!
I LOVE this. I’m so in love with black quinoa! I actually just made something similar, including salmon in the salad.
http://bevcooks.com/2011/08/alaskan-salmon-with-black-quinoa-and-spinach/
I’m going to try your version next. Freaking. Yum.
Josh is right…I NEEDED this recipe and am most grateful for it! Avocados are a staple for us, since we grow them on our family farm. Everyone in our family of grown-kids is interested in healthy food and some of us (ahem!) are losing weight. It’s hard to find new recipes that I know from the get-go will be appealing to everyone, including the significant others who are here at mealtime. Can’t wait to try it!
That’s almost to pretty to eat!!
Looks Delicious!!
Love the colors in this salad and it looks so refreshing. I’ll probably use barley since I don’t like quinoa.
Love quinoa! This will be good to try. I usually do quinoa, grilled veggies from the garden and balsamic. But this will be something different to try. Excited!
LOVE the black quinoa. Mango is a nice sweet touch
These are some of my favorite ingredients, so I know I would love this! A taste of the tropics at lunchtime can never be a bad thing.
Wow, this sounds so good and looks so pretty. I’m sure the flavors taste as pretty as this looks.
I have a quinoa + mango salad I’m in love with too. Avocados are a great addition! Gorgeous vibrant pics in this post!
Isn’t it awesome when the husband LOVES something you put together? This dish is vibrant and I’m sure its also super delicious!
I am a big fan of black quinoa! This looks like a wonderful combination and so healthy!
I love black quinoa but with mango, and avocado, I haven’t tried yet. It’s a must for me to prepare this one.
Wow, this looks exciting! Cannot wait to make this salad.
I was just thinking how I haven’t cooked with quinoa in awhile and the I saw your post appearing. Great refreshing looking salad. pefect for summer.
What a beautiful salad. Have everything but mango will give this a go soon : )
That is such a bowl of goodness Maria! Josh is right, we all needed this recipe!
Beautiful and I’m sure delicious too!
I’m trying soooooo hard to like quinoa. I know that it’s good for you, so maybe this salad is the way to to do it.
Does my quinoa have to be black, or can I go for the garden variety regular ol’ quinoa?
Two Peas replied: — August 12th, 2011 @ 9:41 am
You can use any variety of quinoa for this salad.
Beautiful colors! I need a new summery salad-I’ll have to try it. I like quinoa!
What a beautiful, refreshing combination! I loooove avocado and mango, can’t wait till summer here so we can get mango again!!
What can I say, I love it….mango, avocado and green onion…all a fav
we all love quinoa and this salad sounds like a winner. So colorful.
I usually make quinoa salad using the black, red and golden quinoa with ton of veggies.
Can’t wait to make your way, love the tropical feeling. Thanks Maria!
I was going to pick some black quinoa up today, and I think your dish inspired me to get some tommorrow, looks excellent.
I love quinoa salads like the one you made. I made something similar for a luncheon and added some black beans and red bell pepper. Black quinoa is so pretty as a backdrop to bright colored fruits and vegetables.
This salad sounds lovely!
One of my new favourite grains, and not simply for the health and taste of it. It is just GORGEOUS when you add avocado and tomatoes and anything green to it! It just pops right off the plate!
We add a bit of buttermilk to our dressing, but I have a thing for creamy dressings…:) Yours is simply gorgeous!
It sounds so good! I like the idea of combining fruits and veggies in a salad.
I love this flavor combination! Mango and avocado are two of my favs! Great recipe!