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.)
Quick Tip
To speed up the cooling process: Spread the cooked and fluffed quinoa on a sheet pan in one even layer. Place the sheet pan in the fridge (or freezer) for 10-15 minutes or until cooled to room temperature. My favorite way to make a quinoa salad is with leftover cooled quinoa (the process is so much quicker). So next time you’re prepping food for the week or preparing a dish with quinoa in it, cook up extra quinoa and use it straight from the fridge in this Quinoa Salad.
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.
Quick Tip
Leftover dressing will separate and solidify a bit since olive oil solidifies at cold temperatures. Simply let the dressing stand at room temperature for about 20 minutes and then shake to re-combine– and it’s ready to use! If you don’t want extra dressing (and prefer a minimally dressed salad) feel free to make a half recipe of the dressing — it halves nicely!
Quinoa Salad FAQs
Parts of Quinoa Salad can be made ahead of time, but it is best enjoyed shortly after being dressed and assembled. You can prep the quinoa, dressing, and all the veggies (minus the avocado) ahead of time and store them separately in the fridge. When you’re ready to eat, chop the avocado (you’ll want the avocado prepped as close to eating as possible) and add it to the salad, along with the dressing.
If you aren’t planning on finishing this salad all in one day, I’d recommend keeping the dressing separate from the salad and only dressing what you’ll be eating.
And you can, of course, always halve the recipe, but you’ll probably want to make a full batch of the dressing to have on hand because it is THAT good. 🙂
This salad combines baby spinach, avocado, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, fresh herbs, cooked and cooled quinoa, and an oregano-lemon vinaigrette.
Quinoa is very nutritious — it’s full of fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals. From purely a calorie perspective: one cup of cooked quinoa has approximately 40 fewer calories than an equal amount of white rice. From a nutritional profile, white rice has almost 15 times more grams of carbohydrates while quinoa provides 5 more grams of fiber and double the protein.
This salad is best served cold!
It comes together even quicker if you’ve made the quinoa ahead of time and have it stored in the fridge!
Add some salt: One of the biggest mistakes with making quinoa is not seasoning it. Just like pasta or rice, quinoa needs salt!
Quinoa has a sweet, almost nutty flavor. It should never taste bitter, but if it does, it’s because quinoa has a bitter saponin coating that needs to be rinsed off before cooking. Either purchase pre-rinsed quinoa or rinse it in a fine-mesh sieve under cool water.
One of my favorite things about quinoa is that it nicely takes on the surrounding flavors. It absorbs the dressing nicely which infuses it with a lovely lemon flavor.
Short answer: naturally yes. However, a lot of quinoa is produced in facilities where cross contamination could occur. Make sure to check the label on your package!
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
Avocado Quinoa Salad
Equipment
- Small pot
Ingredients
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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made this recipe tonight after looking for something to go with lamb backstraps. Not only was I impressed with it, but my partner raved about how lovely it was too. This being a bonus.
Unfortunately my avocado was not ripe enough to use, but with the feta and spinach went unnoticed.
Dressing was beautiful and didn’t over do it, just for taste and texture. Can’t wait for leftovers for lunch tomorrow!
I am so thrilled to hear this! Thanks so much Jo! 🙂
I’m not a confident cook, and made this for Xmas day – everyone loved it – Phew! Thankyou!! – Penny
I am so thrilled to hear this! Thanks so much Penny! 🙂
Total crowd pleaser – one of my most shared recipes. You can play around with the veggies but the dressing, and addition of fresh herbs is essential.
Yay! So happy you loved! And definitely can play around with it a bit! 🙂
Don’t skip the step if making crispy quinoa topper! It’s easy and really make the salad so extra!
I’ve made this a half a dozen times and it has been a hit every time. I’ve tried blueberry vinegar and sirracha honey vinegar. Both were delish. I’ve also added walnuts. Thanks!
Delish! I am so happy to hear how much you are loving this recipe! Thanks Craig! 🙂
This is PHENOMENAL! So tasty and and filling. I added raw chopped broccoli and used green onion instead of red. I omitted spinach because I didn’t have it. Delicious!
Delish! I’m so glad you enjoyed!
So I’m one of those who wouldn’t usually comment on a recipe, but I have to make an exception for this one! Second time making this salad batch this week and it’s only Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. I thought it was great the first time but being one who’s pretty adventurous with recipes, I bookmarked this one and thought I’d check out another recipe the second time around. Well, turns the other two recipes had “something” missing in the taste of the dressing. I had to quickly come back here 🙂
The Dijon mustard makes a lot of difference and like another comment said, I didn’t even think I liked mustard.
Thank you, Chelsea, for a very fresh, tangy and all-round-delicious quinoa salad recipe. From my very delighted taste buds. Now off for another scoop 😀
This comment made my day! So glad you are loving this salad! And I completely agree, I tested this dressing for days and the dijon is key! 🙂
Loved this salad. I doubled the recipe for 8 people, using a lot less spinach and only two avocados, which were still plentiful. A great salad for a special lunch, packed with protein and nutrients. Or a nice dinner, with or without chicken thrown in. I thought I wouldn’t like the dressing as I’m not fond of mustard, but it was great!
Thrilled you enjoyed this! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment 🙂
Loved this salad. I doubled the recipe for 8 people, using a lot less spinach and only two avocados, which were still plentiful. A great salad for a special lunch, packed with protein and nutrients. Or a nice dinner, with or without chicken thrown in. I thought I woudn’t like the dressing as I’m not fond of mustard, but it was great!
Is there something with which I can substitute the honey in the dressing? Thanks! Looking forward to trying.
You could try agave or maple syrup (I haven’t tried either but assume they’d do okay)