Our ultra-flavorful and filling quinoa salad recipe is packed with superfoods. It’s easy to make vegan, easy to make and tastes amazing. Whether you already love quinoa or don’t cook it often, this will be your new favorite salad. For us that is definitely the case.
watch the video
Related: We also love this Black Bean Quinoa Salad.
How to prepare the best quinoa salad
Quinoa is a versatile base for salads. It is nutritious, tastes nutty and is very easy to prepare. To prepare the best quinoa salad, keep these tips in mind:
Prepare and cook quinoa properly. We’ve published an entire article showing you how to prepare quinoa, but here are the key takeaways. Before you cook it, it is best to rinse quinoa first. Thorough rinsing before cooking reduces the saponin content and creates a delicious nutty flavor.
Choose lots of colorful vegetables and textures add to the salad. We’re not the biggest fan of quinoa’s texture, but when you mix it up with crunchy veggies and crunchy seeds or nuts, I’m a very happy girl.
Use a light and flavorful salad dressing. Quinoa is a fantastic salad base, but doesn’t have as much flavor. That’s why we like to combine it with an extremely aromatic dressing. As the salad rests, the quinoa will absorb the dressing and become more and more delicious over time.
What to Add to Quinoa Salad?
We like our salads full of goodies. Add lots of colorful and crunchy veggies, nuts or seeds, and something sweet like dried blueberries or cranberries.
Which vegetables you use is up to you, but here’s what we’ve added:
- Cucumber provides crispness and freshness. It’s rare that we don’t add cucumber to salads here. It’s a star in our Lemon Orzo Salad as well as our Easy Chickpea Salad.
- Bok choy is one of my favorite salad ingredients. It’s an absolute powerhouse of nutrients, and thanks to its milder flavor and crunchy texture, it’s the perfect alternative to other hearty veggies like kale, broccoli, and spinach. If you love bok choi as much as we do, check out our 10 Minute Lemon Garlic Bok Choi Recipe, it’s an absolute winner.
- Grated carrots Add color and are rich in vitamin A and antioxidants. Shredding is quick too. We use our box grater, but you can buy pre-grated carrots or use a food processor attachment.
- paprika Bring even more color into the salad – I like to use yellow or red peppers for this. They also provide crunch and sweetness, not to mention their high levels of vitamin C, B vitamins, and other nutrients.
- Fresh herbs Add color and lots of flavor to the party and even add their nutrients. We love to generously stir in the parsley and mint.
In addition to the veggies, we also add some nuts and seeds – the type is entirely up to you, but we especially love it buttery pine nuts and pepitas. Walnuts, pistachios, almonds or seeds such as sunflower seeds are also ideal.
We also like to add something sweet. In the photos we have added dried wild blueberries. Cranberries or raisins also work. If they are in season, fresh fruit is also an option. I can’t wait to add a handful of fresh blueberries to this salad until summer.
As a last ingredient we have Stir in chickpeas, which make the salad even more hearty and filling. You can use canned chickpeas or you can cook them yourself. If you are interested, here is our tutorial on how to cook dried chickpeas. Other beans, such as black beans, will also work. You might also enjoy our Black Bean Salad with Quinoa, which is loaded with veggies and a zesty lime dressing.
What dressing goes with quinoa?
As I mentioned above When it comes to quinoa salad dressing, light and flavorful ingredients are what count. Keeping it simple, we use a combination of apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, a touch of honey to balance it, and extra virgin olive oil. (For a vegan dressing, substitute maple syrup for the honey.)
When we have them in the kitchen, we like to add a last-minute squeeze of fresh lemon to the salad. It brightens everything up even more.
Related: Try vegetarian chili with quinoa and black beans.
Quinoa salad variations
As written, this is a vegan quinoa salad – it’s delicious, hearty, and that way, super filling. However, there are many variations you can make to make this salad your own.
- Serve as a cold or warm quinoa salad.
- Give it a Mediterranean or Greek twist by adding feta cheese and some olive slices.
- Add some creaminess with diced avocados.
- Add additional protein with shredded chicken or fried shrimp.
- Use a different grit. We love farro and showed how to make it in this Farro Apple Salad recipe.
Really good quinoa salad
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PREPARATION
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COOK
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IN TOTAL
Our ultra-flavorful and filling quinoa salad recipe is packed with superfoods. It’s easy to prepare and tastes incredible. Whether you already love quinoa or don’t cook it often, this will be your new favorite salad.
How to cook quinoa on the stove, see the recipe. For more methods like cooking quinoa in the microwave or a pressure/rice cooker, check out our article: How to Prepare and Cook Quinoa. If using leftover cooked quinoa, one cup of uncooked quinoa makes three cups of cooked quinoa.
Makes about 8 cups
Watch as we prepare the recipe
you will need
For the salad
1 cup uncooked quinoa
2 cups of water
1/2 medium English cucumber, diced (1 cup)
1 medium bell pepper, chopped (1 cup)
1 baby bok choy, chopped (2 cups)
1 cup additional grated or chopped vegetables like carrots or broccoli stalks, optional
1/2 cup (65 grams) nuts and seeds such as walnuts, pine nuts, pepitas, or sunflower seeds
1/4 cup (35 grams) dried fruit, blueberries, or cranberries
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh herbs; Use any combination of fresh parsley, cilantro, basil, dill, or mint
1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas or 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas
For the dressing
1/4 cup (60 ml) extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup (60 ml) apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon honey or maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Juice from 2 to 3 lemon wedges, optional
directions
- Cook quinoa
1Place the quinoa in a fine mesh strainer, then rinse under cold water for 30 seconds to a minute. Alternatively, place quinoa in a bowl and cover with cold water. Agitate the quinoa in the bowl, then drain the water and repeat the process one more time so the quinoa is rinsed off.
2Shake excess liquid from the quinoa. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the rinsed quinoa and water. Bring to a boil, then simmer on low and cook uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes, until liquid is absorbed by the quinoa.
3Remove the pot from the heat and cover for five minutes. This extra time allows the quinoa to steam and “fluff up”. Cover the quinoa and fluff it up with a fork. Allow to cool slightly.
- Make the salad
1When the quinoa has cooled slightly, combine the quinoa, chickpeas, cucumber, peppers, bok choy, nuts, seeds, dried fruit, and herbs in a large bowl.
2In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, apple cider vinegar, mustard, honey (or maple syrup), salt, and pepper until smooth.
3Pour the dressing over the salad and mix well. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper as needed. For an extra flavorful taste, squeeze the juice of a few lemon wedges over the salad. Surcharge.
Adam and Joanne’s tips
- The quinoa salad will keep well covered in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.
- As a substitute for dried fruit, consider adding 1/2 to 1 cup of fresh fruit, such as blueberries, diced apples, or chopped mango.
- For a vegan quinoa salad, substitute maple syrup for the honey.
- Nutritional Information: The nutritional information below is an estimate. We used the USDA database to calculate approximate values.
If you make this recipe, take a picture and tag it with the hashtag #inspiredtaste – we love to see your creations on Instagram and Facebook! Find us: @inspiredtaste
Nutritional value per serving
serving size
1 cup
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calories
282
/
total fat
14g
/
Saturated Fatty Acids
2g
/
cholesterol
0mg
/
sodium
274.5 mg
/
carbohydrate
33g
/
fiber
6.5g
/
total sugar
7.3g
/
protein
8.8g