This quinoa salad is a perfect light meal for warm spring days. It’s also perfect for summer potlucks and picnics!
Easter Recipe
I had every intention of creating a new Easter recipe for this week’s blog post. Growning up, my family never had any special dishes for the holiday though – we either eat the same types of dishes from Thanksgiving or Christmas or we went out to eat. I wracked my brain trying to think of something Eastery, but nothing came to mind. I’ve been super busy lately, too, with very little time to actuallly come up with something new. In addition to health coaching, blogging, working on a new e-book, and helping others with social media management, I also coach nutrition school students. With all of that going on, I’ve only had three free days over the past two months. I plan on taking some much-needed time off later this week!
Quinoa Salad
So, instead of having something new for Easter this week, I have an old warm-weather standby to share. I’ve been making this quinoa salad for years. It’s fun to make for potlucks, and I often have some in the fridge for days when I need an easy lunch. I give this recipe to my health coaching clients when I talk about grains, as it’s an easy dish to make and always a crowd-pleaser. While working on blog updates recently I realized that I had never posted this recipe, and now is as good a time as any to change that!
I like to use multi-colored quinoa for to make the dish look nice, but of course, any color quinoa will due. I cook my quinoa in vegetable stock, or with water and a bouillon cube, for extra flavor, but plain water will just fine.
This quinoa salad is pretty versatile. If you don’t like cucumbers, you can use another vegetable, such as roasted red peppers or artichoke hearts. If you’d like to make the dish a little heartier, it would taste great with chickpeas or white beans.
Springtime Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa rinsed
- 2 cups water or vegetable stock
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 2 cloves 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup red onion diced
- 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes sliced in half
- 1 cucumber chopped
- 1/3 cup fresh basil chopped
- 1/3 cup fresh parsley chopped
- 1/4 cup slivered almonds toasted
Instructions
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Bring 2 cups of water or vegetable broth to a boil, add quinoa, cover and simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes. or until water is fully absorbed. Set aside and let cool.
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While the quinoa is cooling, whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, crushed red pepper, and salt.
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Toss together the quinoa with the onion, tomatoes, cucumber, basil, and parsley. Gently mix in the dress. Garnish with the slivered almonds.
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Serve cold or at room temperature.
I love how fresh this looks!
Thank you, Becky!
I am craving fresh right now – but fresh that still fills me up! this will be perfect, I made a batch of quinoa this morning!
I hope you enjoy it, Kristina!
That looks so refreshing, Dianne! I love quinoa salad but usually think of it as a winter thing. Thanks for the inspiration for spring quinoa salad!
Thank you, Sarah!
I make a similar Quinoa Tabbouleh! So so good, especially with the cukes and tomatoes.
Thanks, Nicole!
It’s gorgeous – so fresh and colorful.
Thank you, Jenn!
Same here, Dianne — I don’t remember eating special Easter dishes. My mother had family over, but often the food was a collection of favorites rather than holiday specialties (as with Christmas). I think the food traditions have grown over the years! p.s. the quinoa salad looks nourishingly delish!
Thank you, Dreena!
This looks like a spring-right-through-summer salad! Such amazing fresh flavors and quinoa is never out of season 🙂
Thank you, Alisa!
I am loving all the lovely salads around at the moment. It’s a sure sign the weather is improving. This quinoa salad looks delicious. Perfect for bulk making for packed lunches!
Thank you, Mel!
This is perfect for Easter, or any other day. Happy Easter!
Thank you, Linda! I hope you had a great Easter!
So pretty! Looks delish, and perfect for this time of year. Yay spring!
Thanks, Ricki!
Quinoa is the perfect salad grain!! I love the texture cold. Yummy!
Thank you, Sophia!
This looks delicious! I love bringing a hearty salad that could double as an entree to pot lucks! That way if there’s nothing else vegan I still have a big meal!
Thanks, Sarah!
This looks so fresh and delicious, Dianne! Perfect for spring. 🙂
Thank you!
Well, you do sound like you’ve been really busy but you still managed to come up with a gorgeous salad! I absolutely love all the flavors you added to this salad and especially that fresh basil and parsley! This is one of the best quinoa salads I’ve seen!
Thanks, Brandi!