This easy Quinoa Salad Recipe is fresh and delicious! Quinoa, veggies, avocado & dill are tossed in a homemade lemon vinaigrette for a nutritious summer salad! It’s a vegan, paleo & gluten-free salad that’s perfect for BBQs & potlucks!
This quinoa salad might be my favorite culinary creation of 2020. It’s light, fresh, flavorful and tastes like summer in a bowl. It’s, hands-down, the best quinoa salad I’ve ever had!
In this easy quinoa salad, quinoa, veggies, avocado & dill are tossed in a homemade lemon vinaigrette for a fresh and bright flavor! It’s a vegan, paleo & gluten-free salad that’s perfect for BBQs & potlucks!
Quinoa Salad: Ingredients
Let’s begin by discussing the ingredients in this cold quinoa salad recipe, as well as possible substituions.
- Quinoa. I prefer the look of white quinoa, but I have use a tri-color blend also and it tastes just as delicious.
- Cucumber. I love the freshness and crunch that cucumber adds to this summer quinoa salad, as such I don’t recommend leaving it out.
- Fresh Dill. I have tried this quinoa salad with and without fresh dill, and it really is one of the stars of this recipe. You can use freeze-dried dill if you don’t have access to fresh, but I don’t recommend omitting dill.
- Avocado. Another star of this quinoa salad is avocado. The creaminess of the avocado compliments the lemon dressing so well, but you can always omit it if you don’t love avocados.
- Corn. Corn adds a touch of sweetness to this quinoa salad recipe and I love it. If you want to keep this paleo then you should not use corn.
- Onion. If making this for my kids I omit the onion, but freshly diced red or yellow onions really taste amazing in this salad.
- Bell peppers. If peppers aren’t your favorite, there are many different vegetables that can be used in their place, which I will discuss later.
- Olive oil. Avocado oil can be used in place of olive oil in the quinoa salad dressing.
- Honey. Maple syrup or sugar can be used in place of honey.
- Dijon Mustard. Any mustard variety works well in this recipe.
- Minced Garlic. Powdered garlic or freshly roasted garlic can be used in place of minced if desired.
How to make the Best Quinoa Salad
This cold quinoa salad recipe is very easy to make, but we’ll walk through the steps together to ensure your success!
Cook the Quinoa.
Cooking quinoa is an art, here is how I suggesting cooking it to make it perfect. Quinoa is really easy and quick to make, however it is also very easy to mess up! There is a fine line between perfectly fluffy quinoa and a chewy yet mushy mess that is totally inedible! So here are a few tips on how to cook quinoa perfectly every time!
In this summer quinoa salad, cook the quinoa first, and then chill it in the refrigerator until it’s cold. I usually cook it the day before I want to make the quinoa salad.
- Rinse the quinoa. This removes the saponins on the outside of the quinoa, which are a naturally occurring chemical that give un-rinsed quinoa a bitter taste. Use a fine metal strainer to rinse the quinoa before cooking to prevent any bitterness.
- Use a 1:2 ratio of quinoa to water. I have seen different packages of quinoa suggest other ratios, but I have found the best results when using 1 part quinoa, 2 parts water.
- Boil the water first. Always bring the water to a boil and then add quinoa.
- Add quinoa & return to a boil. After adding the quinoa to the boiling water, make sure the water returns to a boil before reducing the heat. This happens very quickly, so be careful to watch it so the water doesn’t boil off.
- Reduce heat to a simmer. This is where I have gone wrong in the past. Sometimes, in an attempt to speed up the process, I cook the quinoa with the heat turned up too high. When you do this, the water boils off before the quinoa can fully cook, leaving you with a crunchy mushy mess.
- Cook for 15 minutes. 15 minutes is the perfect cooking time for quinoa.
- Fluff! After 15 minutes all the water should be absorbed and the quinoa should be soft (not crunchy or hard). Take a fork or a wooden spoon and fluff the quinoa.
- Cover and let it rest for 15 minutes. This is another key step in cooking quinoa that is often overlooked. Letting the quinoa cook in the residual heat from the burner (turned off) and in its own steam really finishes the process and results in a perfectly fluffy quinoa every time.
And that’s it! Please let me know in the comments below if you have any other questions about cooking quinoa.
Make the quinoa salad dressing
I absolutely love this quinoa salad dressing. It is bright, fresh and lemony with just a touch of sweetness. All you need to do to make it is whisk the ingredients together, then set it aside to toss on the quinoa salad later!
Mix it all together
Put the chopped veggies, quinoa & dill into a large bowl and stir until the ingredients are evenly combined. Then add the quinoa salad dressing and stir until it’s evenly distributed.
What vegetables can you put in Quinoa salad
I chose to make this with our favorite vegetables, but this quinoa salad recipe is so versatile you can put just about anything in it with delicious results. Here are some of the veggies I have used to make this salad, and highly recommend:
- Bell Peppers (all colors)
- Cucumber
- Fresh or frozen corn
- chopped onion
- chopped tomatoes
- shredded carrots
- blanched broccoli
- fresh or frozen peas
- summer squash
Chill
I recommend chilling this quinoa salad for at least 60 minutes before serving to let the flavors blend, although I have eaten it straight away after mixing and it still tastes just as good!
Add avocado & Serve
Add the chopped avocado to the quinoa salad. To prevent the avocado from browning, toss it in a little bit of lemon juice before adding it to the salad.
To serve, sprinkle the top of the quinoa salad with chopped fresh dill. Serve it as a side dish to your favorite main dishes or eat it as a main dish. I often make this salad on Monday and enjoy it all week long for a quick & healthy lunch.
Store
Store this quinoa salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
More quinoa & salad recipes
I really love quinoa, here are a few of our favorite quinoa & salad recipes
- I make this roasted vegetable quinoa salad all the time.
- Asian quinoa salad with peanut sauce is so good!
- Baked quinoa casserole is a healthy but comforting main dish.
- This caprese quinoa salad screams summer too!
- Do you love burrata salad? We do!
- Can’t go wrong with this classic pasta salad with homemade dressing.
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Best Easy Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
Quinoa
- 1 cup quinoa uncooked
- 2 cups water
- ¼ tsp sea salt
Salad
- 1 cucumber peeled and diced (about 1 cup)
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 1 green bell pepper diced
- ½ tsp fresh dill
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup corn optional
- ½ cup onion finely diced (optional)
- 1 avocado diced
Dressing:
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 3 TBS lemon juice
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- ½ tsp minced garlic
Instructions
Cook the Quinoa
- Bring 2 cups of water and ¼ tsp salt to a boil.
- Add quinoa and return to a boil.
- Once water is boiling turn the heat down to a simmer.
- Simmer on low for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes turn off the heat, stir the quinoa, and return the lid to the pot.
- Let the quinoa sit covered for 15 more minutes.
- After 15 minutes, transfer cooked quinoa to a large bowl with a lid.
- Place in the refrigerator to cool completely.
Make the Dressing:
- Add dressing ingredients to a small bowl.
- Whisk to combine.
- Set aside.
Putting it together
- In a large bowl, add chopped vegetables and dill to the cooled quinoa. Stir until evenly combined.
- Add dressing and stir to combine.
- Chill for 30-60 minutes.
- Taste and adjust salt to your liking.
- Add chopped avocado on top
- Garnish with fresh dill.
- Serve cold.
Video
Notes
Ingredient Substitutions
- Quinoa. white and tri-color quinoa work great in this quinoa salad.
- Fresh Dill. You can use freeze-dried dill if you don't have access to fresh, but I don't recommend omitting dill.
- Corn. If you want to keep this paleo then you should not use corn.
- Onion. If making this for my kids I omit the onion, but freshly diced red or yellow onions are amazing.
- Bell peppers. If peppers aren't your favorite, substitute your favorite vegetables (carrots, tomatoes, etc.)
- Olive oil. Avocado oil can be used in place of olive oil in the quinoa salad dressing.
- Honey. Maple syrup or sugar can be used in place of honey.
- Dijon Mustard. Any mustard variety works well in this recipe.
- Minced Garlic. Powdered garlic or freshly roasted garlic can be used in place of minced if desired.
Nutrition
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Carrie
This was delicious! It’s not surprising because literally everything Laura makes is good. I’m going to be making this all summer long. It was easy to make and it was my first time using fresh dill. My family was very impressed! Thank you for making me look like I am a fabulous cook!
Laura
Thank YOU Carrie!!! I’m so glad you and your family liked it – and you ARE a fabulous cook! 😉