Healthy Quinoa Salad is a refreshing, easy to make, delicious recipe perfect for any season. My favorite rainbow salad!
Quinoa salad is good for weight loss, diabetic-friendly, gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian, and dairy-free.
Quinoa is one of my favorite millet that I love to use in my kitchen for various recipes in place of rice. Also, this salad is good for your lunch box, picnics, potlucks, travel, etc.
What is quinoa salad made of?
This quinoa salad is prepared with fresh ingredients like cucumber, bell peppers, carrot, onion, herbs like cilantro or parsley, and simple lemon-garlic dressing. I have added roasted peanuts as we love the crunch it gives to the salad and adds much-needed protein and healthy fats to your meal. You can skip peanuts and add chickpeas or nuts/seeds like cashews, almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, etc.
Are quinoa salads good for you?
Quinoa is considered one of the most nutritious and healthiest foods, rich in fiber, antioxidants, and amino acids. It also improves your blood sugar and cholesterol levels and aids in weight loss.
What do you serve quinoa salad with?
This quinoa salad is a complete vegetarian meal by itself. It is that delicious and filling. You can also pair it with additional protein, including chicken, beef, turkey, shrimp, paneer, or even tofu.
Is quinoa healthier than rice?
The amount of carbs and calories in quinoa is less than white rice, and it contains more protein and fiber than white rice. So definitely healthy.
Ingredients for healthy quinoa salad
1 cup Quinoa
2 cups Water
½ teaspoon Salt
For the lemon garlic dressing
¼ cup Cilantro (coriander leaves) or Parsley, finely chopped
3 Garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoon Coconut oil or Olive oil
3 tablespoon Lemon juice or Lime juice
1 tablespoon Vinegar
For the quinoa salad
⅓ cup Coriander leaves (cilantro) or Parsley, chopped
⅓ cup Carrots, finely chopped
⅓ cup Red & Green bell pepper (Capsicum), chopped
⅓ cup Red onions, chopped
⅓ cup Cucumber, chopped
½ cup Roasted peanuts
How to make the best healthy quinoa salad
Cook the quinoa perfectly.
Rinse and drain quinoa thoroughly in water twice.
In a pan, add the drained quinoa along with water, salt and bring it to boil. Cover and cook on a medium flame for 15 minutes or until water is absorbed.
Let it cool down, and you will see how fluffy and perfect these quinoa are. Check the video on making quinoa salad. To cook quinoa on your instant pot, read below.
To make lemon garlic dressing.
In a bowl, add parsley (or cilantro or their combination), coconut oil, lemon juice, vinegar, and mix. Keep this aside.
To make healthy quinoa salad.
In a bowl, add cooked quinoa along with carrot, bell peppers, onions, cucumber, peanuts, cilantro (or parsley) along with the dressing and mix until combined.
You can serve it immediately or keep it in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve.
Tips:
- If you have leftover quinoa, you can make this salad.
- Vary all the ingredients in the dressing and salad to taste.
- You can also cook the quinoa in vegetable broth to make it more flavorful.
- For crunch, you can add cashews, almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, etc.
- You can use cooked chickpeas, black beans, or any beans of your choice.
- If you love more greens in your salad, feel free to add kale, spinach, lettuce, arugula, etc.
Can I make this salad ahead of time?
Yes. You can cook quinoa, prep all ingredients, and keep the dressing ready. Just an hour before you are ready to serve, mix everything together. Quinoa Salad tastes best when served cold.
How to store leftover quinoa salad?
You can store it in the refrigerator for 1 day but not more as cucumber may release moisture and soften.
Some Quinoa salad variations
Mexican-style quinoa salad
To add Mexican flavors to your salad, use avocado for cucumber, black beans or pinto beans for peanuts, and add a pinch of cumin powder for flavor.
Indian-style quinoa salad
To give this quinoa salad an Indian twist, add half a teaspoon (adjust) of garam masala powder. All other ingredients remain the same.
Mediterranean-style quinoa salad
Add tahini and toasted sesame seeds to the recipe to make it Mediterranean or Middle Eastern.
Greek-style quinoa salad
Add olives, crumbled feta, and basil leaves to the recipe to make Greek-style quinoa salad.
How to cook quinoa in your Instant Pot?
Add quinoa with 1 ½ cup of water to your Instant Pot and stir. Secure the lid by making sure the steam valve is in a sealed position. Pressure cook on high for 3 minutes.
Once it beeps or the timer goes off, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes and then manually release any remaining pressure. Remove the lid and fluff the cooked quinoa with a fork.
Once it cools down completely, combine all the ingredients given above to make this delicious salad.
Some of my favorite healthy recipes
- Creamy Potato Salad
- Easy Thai Salad with Peanut/Cashew Dressing
- Classic Cucumber Dill Salad
- Easy Greek Salad
- Savory Quinoa/Millet Pongal
Video recipe for Healthy Quinoa salad | Weight loss Quinoa Salad
Detailed recipe for Healthy Quinoa salad | Weight loss Quinoa Salad
Recipe card
Healthy Quinoa Salad | Weight Loss Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup Quinoa
- 2 cups Water
- ½ teaspoon Salt
For the lemon garlic dressing
- ¼ cup Cilantro (Coriander leaves) or Parsley, finely chopped
- 3 cloves Garlic , minced
- 2 tablespoon Coconut oil or Olive oil
- 3 tablespoon Lemon juice or Lime juice
- 1 tablespoon Vinegar
For the quinoa salad
- ⅓ cup Cilantro (Coriander leaves) or Parsley, finely chopped
- ⅓ cup Carrots , finely chopped
- ⅓ cup Bell pepper Red & Green bell pepper (Capsicum), chopped
- ⅓ cup Red onions , chopped
- ⅓ cup Cucumber , chopped
- ½ cup Peanuts , roasted
Instructions
Cook the quinoa perfectly
- Rinse and drain quinoa thoroughly in water twice.1 cup Quinoa
- In a pan, add the drained quinoa along with water, salt and bring it to boil. Cover and cook on a medium flame for 15 minutes or until water is absorbed.2 cups Water, ½ teaspoon Salt
- Let it cool down, and you will see how fluffy and perfect these quinoa are. Check the video on making quinoa salad. To cook quinoa on your instant pot, read below.
To make Lemon Garlic Dressing
- In a bowl, add parsley (or cilantro or their combination), garlic, coconut oil, lemon juice, vinegar, and mix. Keep this aside.¼ cup Cilantro, 3 cloves Garlic, 2 tablespoon Coconut oil, 3 tablespoon Lemon juice, 1 tablespoon Vinegar
To make healthy Quinoa Salad
- In a bowl, add cooked quinoa (from above) along with carrot, bell peppers, onions, cucumber, peanuts, cilantro (or parsley) along with the dressing (from above) and mix until combined.⅓ cup Cilantro, ⅓ cup Carrots, ⅓ cup Bell pepper, ⅓ cup Red onions, ⅓ cup Cucumber, ½ cup Peanuts
- You can serve it immediately or keep it in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve.
How To Cook Quinoa In Your Instant Pot?
- Add quinoa with 1.5 cup of water to your Instant Pot and stir. Secure the lid by making sure the steam valve is in a sealed position. Pressure cook on high for 3 minutes.
- Once it beeps or the timer goes off, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes and then manually release any remaining pressure. Remove the lid and fluff the cooked quinoa with a fork.
- Once it cools down completely, combine all the ingredients given above to make this delicious salad.
Notes
- If you have leftover quinoa, you can make this salad.
- Vary all the ingredients in the dressing and salad to taste.
- You can also cook the quinoa in vegetable broth to make it more flavorful.
- For crunch, you can add cashews, almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, etc.
- You can use cooked chickpeas, black beans, or any beans of your choice.
- If you love more greens in your salad, feel free to add kale, spinach, lettuce, arugula, etc.
Nutrition
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Jamie
This salad looks incredibly delicious! A healthy dish that everybody will love! A perfect salad for those who are on a weight loss regime! Loved it!
Jen
How long can you keep this in the fridge or make ahead?
Kushi
If you skip cucumber you can store it for 3 to 5 days. Else consume within a day as cucumber may release moisture and soften which many don't like.
Chethana Hegde
Best recipe ever I have read, and tried this. Came out well and tasty.. again will try as children liked it so ver much.
Lesa
This recipe is a winner!! Very easy to make and easy to change up the veggies like the cucumber which Kushi says will make it watery and only keeps a day possibly two. The proportion are spot on. Thank you Kushi
Kushi
Thank you so much 🙂