Quick quinoa salad. This healthy and delicious salad is perfect as a packed lunch or time saving dinner. It's so easy to make and packed with flavour!
Folks, if you're looking for a really tasty and healthy salad to make then look no further than this quick quinoa salad!
This light salad is so refreshingly crisp and yet really satisfying.
It’s made with quinoa, cucumber, red pepper, red onion, fresh parsley and a really simple lemon dressing.
In a way its quite similar to my tabbouleh recipe but it's made with quinoa instead of couscous.
There's hardly any effort required at all to make this quick quinoa salad.
It takes roughly 15 minutes to prep all your salad ingredients and a few seconds to whisk the light lemon dressing.
Whilst you are doing the prep and making the dressing the quinoa is cooking at the same time too, again taking roughly 15 minutes.
Check out my tips for how I cook the perfect quinoa every time further below!
I love using quinoa in my salads.
Not only is it healthy and hearty but it's also an extremely good source of protein.
By using quinoa in this quinoa salad makes it suitable for vegans as well as making it gluten free too!
Whilst quinoa on its own can be quite bland, the simple lemony dressing I use here is completely absorbed by the quinoa making it taste absolutely delicious.
You can eat this healthy salad straight away or you can refrigerate it overnight to allow the dressing to be completely absorbed, which I recommend!
How To Cook Perfect Quinoa For This Quick Quinoa Salad
- Rinse the quinoa in cold water using a sieve.
- Place the rinsed quinoa in a small saucepan and cover with the vegetable stock.
- Turn on the heat, bring the quinoa to a boil and then turn down to simmer for about 15 minutes until the stock has evaporated and the quinoa has doubled in size.
- Allow to cool for about 5 minutes.
- Drain the quinoa using the sieve then fluff it up using a fork.
Questions About This Quinoa Salad
- Is this quinoa salad good for you? Quinoa is rich is vitamins and minerals as well as being an excellent source of fibre. It has also been attributed to lowering blood sugar and cholesterol levels.
- Can quinoa aid weight loss? Quinoa has a low glycemic index and eaten as part of healthy diet it can aid weightloss.
- How long does quinoa salad last for? It's best eaten cold and can store in the fridge for 2 - 3 days.
- Can I freeze quinoa salad? Yes if you're not going to eat it within 2 - 3 days, you can freeze it. Ensure it is thoroughly defrosted before eating.
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- Avocado salad with orange vinaigrette is a simple low calorie 10 minutes freshly prepared salad with a sweet and tangy fresh tasting dressing. Perfect for packed lunches!
Quick Quinoa Salad Recipe
This quick quinoa salad is delicious served with flat breads for lunch or dinner. It makes an excellent packed / picnic lunch too.
To make it go further for dinner you could pair it with a grilled chicken breast. Or to keep it vegan you could also add some chickpeas and / or olives and feta cheese.
I’d love to hear what you think of my recipe in the comments below and please do rate my recipe 5* if you like it! 🙂
Quick Quinoa Salad Recipe
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 180 g uncooked quinoa
- 450 ml vegetable stock
- 200 g cucumber diced.
- 1 medium red pepper deseeded and diced.
- ½ red onion finely diced.
- 1 tablespoon freshly chopped flat leaf parsley.
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Freshly ground salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Rinse the quinoa in cold water using a sieve. Then place the quinoa in a saucepan with the vegetable stock. Cook, simmering for about 15 minutes until soft then drain and allow it to cool.
- While the quinoa is cooking in a large bowl mix the cucumber, red pepper, red onion, and flat leaf parsley together. In a smaller glass Pyrex bowl whisk the olive oil, red wine vinegar and lemon juice together well. Season to taste with the salt and pepper.
- Once the quinoa has cooled add it to the large bowl with the diced salad, pour the dressing on top and mix thoroughly. Check again for seasoning.
- The salad is ready to eat once combined well, but I prefer to refrigerate it overnight to allow the dressing to marinate through.
Ben | Havocinthekitchen
That's a really beautiful salad so perfect for summer days (All year round indeed, but with local veggies it would be even better). Delicious, fresh, light, yet filling - that's what I look for our summer meals!
Neil
Many thanks Ben. Yes we are enjoying some decent summer weather here in Scotland at last so this salad is going down well. But as you say, it's perfect for all year round with local veggies too!
Chef Mimi
That looks so good. I don’t completely love quinoa, but I like to mix it with other grains. And I love the other ingredients! I find lemon juice dressings to really go with grain-based salads for some reason.
Neil
Thanks Mimi. I agree that Quinoa has a bit of a love / hate relationship with some people. I also like to mix it with other grains. Lemon juice dressings are just so simple to make too. I think they often remove the bitterness from some grains and make them taste amazing like in this recipe! 🙂
Easyfoodsmith
That looks so good and is actually the best kind of summer meal in my view.
Neil
Thank you. Yes we are eating plenty of quinoa salad at the moment and enjoying the great weather!
David @ Spiced
The timing here is perfect, Neil! Laura and I were just talking about lunch options, and we were looking for some inspiration. In the colder months, we always do soups for lunch...but the last thing I want right now is soup. This quinoa salad sounds like it would make great lunches for a whole week! Hope you guys are doing well over there!
Neil
Absolutely David. You'll find this quinoa salad is a perfect swap for soups for this time of year. Like you we always do soups for lunch in the colder months but fortunately thanks to some great weather we're all about the salads at the moment!