Quinoa Salad

This Quinoa Salad recipe is our all-time favorite! We combine perfectly cooked quinoa with an array of fresh, vibrant veggies and the ultimate lemon vinaigrette for a salad you’ll want seconds of!

We’ve shared so many variations on this Quinoa Salad throughout the years; the most popular being: Greek Quinoa Salad, Thai Quinoa Salad, Sweet Potato-Quinoa Salad, and Citrus Quinoa Salad. 

Quinoa Salad

We’re obsessed with Quinoa Salad. Not only is it such a nutritious salad, packed with good-for-you ingredients, but it’s also so incredibly flavorful! It’s nice to feel like you’re fueling your body with good ingredients, but it’s amazing to thoroughly enjoy that process — and that’s what you get with this salad.

Quinoa is one of my favorite “superfoods” and in salad form, it combines with vegetables to make a well-rounded, nutritious meal. Quinoa Salad is fresh, light, a little tangy, filling, and loaded with texture. The veggies work so well with the quinoa and the dressing is the perfect finishing touch.

Quinoa Tips

• Make sure to rinse the quinoa before cooking it. Quinoa has a natural coating called saponin which can make it taste bitter. Pour the uncooked quinoa into a fine-mesh strainer and rinse under cold water for 30 seconds to a minute. A lot of packaged quinoa now comes pre-rinsed, so check your package to potentially save a step!
• You can improve the flavor of quinoa by seasoning it generously. A little bit of salt goes a long way, so don’t forget to add it in. To 1 cup of uncooked quinoa, I add 1 teaspoon of fine sea salt. Sea salt has large flakes, so if you use table salt, you’ll use much less.
• Let the quinoa steam. Once the liquid is absorbed, don’t rush to cool the quinoa; instead, let it stand (covered) for at least 10 minutes. Letting the quinoa stand allows it to fully “pop” and ensures it doesn’t end up watery or mushy. If the quinoa has cooked through, but there is still liquid in the pot, make sure to drain off that liquid.
• Let the cooked quinoa cool completely before adding the other ingredients. (See the “quick tip” below.)

Other Quinoa Salad Toppings

Beyond the quinoa, below is a quick description of the other salad ingredients.

• Baby spinach. To give the salad bulk, additional nutrients, and even more staying power I like adding salad greens. Baby spinach is our favorite with all these veggies and it holds the quinoa and dressing nicely — especially if it’s coarsely chopped first.
• Cherry tomatoes. While any tomatoes will work, we love the sweetness and juiciness of cherry tomatoes. Quarter especially large cherry tomatoes or halve smaller ones.
• Fresh avocados. The avocados lend an amazing creamy texture making this salad taste indulgent. Wait for perfectly ripe avocados, as they make a huge difference — you can tell an avocado is ripe if it yields to firm gentle pressure (feels slightly soft, but not squishy).
• English or Persian cucumbers (sometimes labeled as mini cucumbers). I don’t recommend regular cucumbers because they lack flavor and texture. They also break down more quickly, which isn’t ideal in this salad. You’ll love the crispness of English/Persian cucumbers!
• Red onion. We love the bite that red onion adds, but with such a small amount in this salad, it’s very subtle. If you are sensitive to red onion, feel free to reduce or leave it out. Alternatively, it can be replaced with green onions or shallots which are both even milder. And on the flip side, if you love red onion, increase the amount added to this salad.
• Feta cheese. This salty addition pulls everything together in this salad. If you’d prefer a dairy-free salad, this quinoa salad is still tasty without the cheese. I made Quinoa Salad all throughout my pregnancy and still thoroughly enjoyed it without the cheese.
• Cilantro. I love adding fresh herbs to salad and cilantro is a nice complementary flavor here. If you aren’t a fan of cilantro, we’ve also made this salad with flat-leaf Italian parsley and fresh basil — both are delicious!

Adding Protein to Quinoa Salad

While it may seem this vegetarian salad is missing protein, it’s actually loaded with protein, thanks to the quinoa (and the feta cheese). One cup of cooked quinoa has 24 grams of protein. Plus, when you pair the protein in this salad with the healthy fats (olive oil in the dressing and avocado), you’ll be amazed at how satiating this salad is!

That said, this Quinoa Salad lends well to additional protein being added; I’d recommend leftover shredded rotisserie chicken — a lemon-herb flavored rotisserie chicken if you can find it! A side of grilled chicken is also a great option.

Lemon vinaigrette

As mentioned, Quinoa Salad is drizzled in a light, fresh, healthy, and tangy vinaigrette. Here are a few tips:

• Dress to your preference. I love a generously dressed salad, but you may feel differently. Add the dressing slowly and to your personal preference. You probably won’t want the entire batch of dressing on this salad, but then again, you just might want it all! I’d rather you have more than not enough. Leftover dressing stores nicely for up to a week in an airtight container in the fridge. (See “quick tip” below.) 
  • We often use leftover dressing on roasted vegetables, side salads, and raw garden veggies.
• Use fresh lemon juice. Bottled lemon juice doesn’t pack the same flavor as fresh, and lemon is the main flavor here, so I highly recommend a real lemon!
• Sweeten to taste. If you’d prefer the dressing to be more on the tangy side, reduce or omit the honey. Alternatively, if you’d like a sweeter dressing, feel free to increase the honey.

Quinoa Salad FAQs

More Healthy Salad Recipes

• Kale and Quinoa Salad with berries
• Steak Salad Recipe with an herb vinaigrette
• Creamy Balsamic Dressing on a Cobb salad
• Chicken Spinach Salad with a balsamic vinaigrette
• Panzanella Salad with homemade croutons

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5 from 44 votes

Avocado Quinoa Salad

By Chelsea Lords

This Quinoa Salad is a favorite! Loaded with fresh veggies, fluffy quinoa, and a zesty lemon vinaigrette, it’s so good you’ll be reaching for seconds.

Prep Time: 35 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Quinoa Cooling Time: 1 hour hour

Total Time: 1 hour hour 55 minutes minutes

Servings: 8 as a side

Equipment

• Small pot

Ingredients 

USMetric

 

1x2x3x

Salad

• ▢ 1 cup uncooked white quinoa
• ▢ 1-1/2 cups (8 ounces) fresh cherry tomatoes halved, or quartered if large
• ▢ 1-1/2 cups English cucumber or Persian cucumbers, cut into half moons
• ▢ 1/4 cup red onion finely chopped
• ▢ 7-1/2 cups (5 ounces) fresh baby spinach lightly packed and roughly chopped
• ▢ 2 large ripe avocados pit removed and chopped
• ▢ 1/3 cup fresh cilantro or flat-leaf Italian parsley, optional (about 1/3 of a bunch)
• ▢ 1/3 cup feta cheese optional and to taste

Dressing

• ▢ 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• ▢ 2 tablespoons Dijon-style mustard not regular mustard
• ▢ 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ▢ 1 clove garlic minced
• ▢ 1/2 cup olive oil
• ▢ 1 tablespoon honey
• ▢ 1 large lemon
• ▢ Salt and pepper

Instructions 

• Prepare quinoa by rinsing it under cold water in a fine-mesh sieve to remove the bitter saponin coating. Combine quinoa and 2 cups water in a small pot over high heat. Bring to a boil, add 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, reduce heat to low, and cover the pot. Simmer 10–15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat, keep covered, and let stand 10–15 minutes. Fluff with a fork and place in the fridge or freezer to cool to room temperature. Quinoa can be prepared 3–4 days in advance.
• Meanwhile, prep the dressing. Combine all dressing ingredients in a wide-mouth jar. Add 3 tablespoons lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper; I add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Briskly shake to combine and emulsify. Store in the fridge while prepping the vegetables.
• Halve or quarter the cherry tomatoes, chop the cucumber(s) (peel if desired; I leave the peel on), finely chop a quarter of a red onion, roughly chop baby spinach, remove the pits and chop the avocados. Finely chop the cilantro (if using).
• In a large bowl, combine chopped spinach and quinoa. Toss to combine. This salad doesn’t sit well once dressed, so only dress what will be eaten immediately. Add tomatoes, cucumber, onion, avocado, and fresh herbs. Remove dressing from fridge and shake well. Drizzle on the dressing (to desired preference; you may not want it all) and toss to generously coat everything. If desired, add feta. Serve immediately.

Video

Recipe Notes

Nutrition Note: Nutrition information does not include optional feta cheese.

Storage: If you aren’t eating this salad in one sitting and want leftovers, only add avocado, feta, and dressing to what will be eaten. This salad doesn’t sit well once dressed.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 364kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 16g | Sodium: 132mg | Potassium: 1072mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 9879IU | Vitamin C: 41mg | Calcium: 136mg | Iron: 5mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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