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The following recipe and photography were provided by local blogger Carolyn Hodges of The Dinner Shift.
Perfect for prep-ahead lunches or your next BBQ, quinoa-based salads are a blank canvas for creating a satisfying dish full of flavors and textures. Just like pasta salad, the ingredient combinations are truly limitless!
I’m sharing four simple recipe ideas made with a batch of quinoa and lots of fresh, seasonal produce.
A great quinoa salad starts with fluffy quinoa that isn’t overcooked or mushy. You can achieve this with a ratio of 1 ½ parts water to 1 part quinoa.
Be sure to follow the quinoa cooking instructions below and allow the quinoa to cool before adding other ingredients.
You can speed up the process by chilling the quinoa in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Cook time:
- 60min
- Prep time:
- 10min
- Total time:
- 70min
- Servings:
- 4-6
Ingredients
For the Quinoa
- 1 cup Heinen’s organic white quinoa
- 1 ½ cups water
- 1 tsp. olive oil
- ¼ tsp. salt
For the Sweet and Tangy Quinoa Salad
- 1 batch prepared quinoa, cooled
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- ¾ cup matchstick carrots
- ½ cup frozen shelled edamame, thawed
- ½ cup diced apple
- Cleveland Kitchen miso jalapeno dressing & marinade
For the Strawberry Basil Quinoa Salad
- 1 batch prepared quinoa, cooled
- 2 cups Heinen’s baby arugula
- 1 ½ cups strawberries, sliced
- ½ cup fresh basil, finely chopped
- ½ cup Heinen’s crumbled feta cheese
- Two Brothers balsamic fig dressing
For the Quinoa Tabbouleh
- 1 batch prepared quinoa, cooled
- 1 cup cucumber, diced
- 1 cup tomato, seeded and diced
- 1 cup parsley, finely chopped
- ½ cup green onion, sliced
- Olive oil
- Lemon juice
- Kosher salt
For the Broccoli Quinoa Salad
- 1 batch prepared quinoa, cooled
- 2 ½ cups broccoli, chopped
- ¼ cup toasted slivered almonds
- ¼ cup dried cherries, chopped
- Two Brothers lemon poppy seed dressing
- ½ cup red onion, thinly sliced
Instructions
To Cook the Quinoa
- Rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh strainer under cold running water for 60 seconds.
- Drain well and transfer to a saucepan with a tight-fitting lid.
- Add water, olive oil and salt. Bring to a boil.
- Stir, cover and reduce the heat to medium-low.
- Cook covered and undisturbed for 15 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and allow to stand, covered, for 5 minutes.
- Fluff with a fork.
For the Sweet and Tangy Quinoa Salad
- Transfer the cooled quinoa to a large bowl.
- Fold in the red bell pepper, carrots, edamame and apple.
- Dress to taste with dressing.
- Serve immediately, or refrigerate up to 3 days.
For the Strawberry Basil Quinoa Salad
- Transfer the cooled quinoa to a large bowl.
- Fold in the arugula, strawberries, basil and feta.
- Dress to taste with dressing.
- Serve immediately.
For the Quinoa Tabbouleh
- Transfer the cooled quinoa to a large bowl.
- Fold in the cucumber, tomato, parsley and green onion.
- Dress to taste with olive oil and lemon juice.
- Season to taste with salt.
- Serve immediately, or refrigerate up to 3 days.
For the Broccoli Quinoa Salad
- Transfer the cooled quinoa to a large bowl.
- Fold in the broccoli, red onion, almonds and dried cherries.
- Dress to taste with dressing.
- Serve immediately, or refrigerate up to 3 days.
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