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Protein-Packed Black Bean and Kidney Bean Quinoa Salad

Protein-Packed Black Bean and Kidney Bean Quinoa Salad

Salads

Course

Difficulty

Easy

Pulse Type

Beans

Specialty Diet

Gluten-free

Nutrition

500 calories or less

Cook Time

55 minutes

Nutrition

View nutritional facts per serving ›

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Ingredients

Servings:

Salad:

3/4 cups quinoa uncooked (or 2 ½ cups pre-cooked quinoa)
1 1/3 cups edamame shelled; fresh or frozen and thawed
2 cups green beans cut into 1 inch pieces and steamed or blanched till crisp tender
1 cup bell peppers red; roasted, chopped (about 4 roasted bell peppers–you can roast them yourself, or purchase them in the jar) or 1 ½ cups chopped, fresh red pepper
1 1/2 cups kidney beans cooked (1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed, or ½ cup beans if you’re preparing from scratch)
1 1/2 cups black beans cooked (1 can black beans, drained and rinsed, or ½ cup beans if you’re preparing from scratch)
3 – 4 cups arugula baby; loosely packed

Optional:

1/4 cup chives snipped, loosely packed
1/4 cup green onions chopped, loosely packed (tops only)

Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette:

1 head garlic top sliced off crosswise
5 tbsps olive oil plus extra for roasting the garlic
1/4 cup lemon juice freshly squeezed
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp mustard Dijon
1 tsp maple syrup or agave
1/4 tsp salt
pepper black; to taste

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 375F. Drizzle a little olive oil over the head of the garlic and rub it over the exposed garlic cloves. Wrap the garlic in foil, place it on a baking sheet, and roast for 30-35 minutes, or until the cloves are soft and fragrant.
While the garlic roasts, rinse the quinoa through a fine sieve. Transfer the quinoa and 1 ½ cups water to a small pot. Bring the mixture to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 15 minutes, or until the quinoa has absorbed all of the water. Fluff the quinoa with a fork, re-cover, and allow it to rest while you prepare the rest of the salad.
When the garlic is ready, squeeze all of the cloves out of the garlic head into a blender or a food processor. Add all remaining dressing ingredients. Blend the dressing till smooth.
To prepare the salad, pile the edamame, green beans, bell pepper, kidney beans, black beans, and arugula into an extra large mixing bowl. Add the cooked quinoa, the chives or green onions if using, and then the vinaigrette. Toss the salad well to combine, then adjust salt and pepper to taste. Serve.