This quinoa salad recipe is quick, easy, healthy & delicious… and my pants are not even on fire.
Seriously. For something so dorky as quinoa, it really holds it’s own. It’s got bright colors, unapologetically vibrant flavors and a multi-textured thing going on… It’s crunchy but soft, juicy but not soggy. I just feel like it’s a real Ace-in-the-sleeve of a recipe.
The first time I made this quinoa salad, I didn’t even know how to pronounce it… I called it “kwin-oh-ah”. (It’s pronounced keen-wha, if you didn’t know. I’ll save you the embarrassment.)
I first made this because we lived outside.
You see, we were living in a borrowed camper (with an orphaned lamb) for about a year and half while we built our house. But this was no fancy camper, friends, so cooking took place in the “outside kitchen”, which primarily involved a propane cooker, a grill, a table and a water hose in a bucket. Oh and that astroturf rug, what a life saver.
Needless to say, meals during that era needed to be simple. This recipe required one pot and one bowl. Perfect.
Besides, I thought, this quinoa salad will be healthy and fairly cheap. I would just have to be decidedly optimistic about the taste.
My husband was not so optimistic, however.
And he was hot and dirty and hungry on the day that I presented him with a plate full of leaves and seeds.
I wouldn’t use the word “unkind” to describe his reception of that lunch, but I might use words like “quietly fuming“.
And then he had to humble himself a week later when he asked me to “please make it again.”
And in a moment of marital glory, being a crown to his head and all, I seared up a slab of steak, sliced it and laid it on top of a mound of quinoa salad, all spilling out of a warm naan bread. And we lived happily ever after.
It was the beginning of an era, the quinoa flatbread & steak era.
I made it weekly and packed it for him in his electric lunchbox for I do not know how long. I still make it for dinner when the mood strikes. Our friends even request it at our gatherings from time to time. All that to say, it’s really dang good.
How To:
Toast. Simmer. Chop. Stir.
Here I’m using onion, bell pepper, parsley, cilantro, lemon, olive oil, garlic cloves, apple cider vinegar besides salt and pepper. Olives, tomatoes and feta cheese are also amazing in this salad. (My kids call feta “dusty cheese” but I love it.) I prefer it all finely chopped.
Cooking quinoa is as easy as cooking rice, very straight forward. I like to toast the raw quinoa in a little olive oil in a hot pot for a few minutes before adding the water to boil it, which adds a nice roasted flavor.
Once your quinoa has cooled down a bit, just combine all of the ingredients and toss them. The mixing bowl of the standing mixer works great for this job.
Make it a “whole thing”
We all agree that there is something wonderful about this quinoa salad on a warm, soft sourdough naan or flatbread, especially if you add sliced avocado and some juicy, sliced steak. And boy does a *real sugar glass bottle* Mexican Coke-a-Cola make for a happy time!
This meal is also a great way to make one or two steaks stretch further when you have mouths to feed.
I use Vindi’s sourdough flatbread recipe from MyLoveofBaking, although I use freshly milled hard red and hard white wheat in place of conventional flour. Vindi does an awesome job of explaining the process and all of her breads look amazing!
Perfect for prepping weekday lunches
Make a batch of this quinoa salad at the beginning of the week and you’ll have the perfect base for your lunches. It’s good warm or cold. Mix it up and make it work for you… try it with a boiled egg, a few mozzarella balls, an avocado or with grilled chicken and hummus in a wrap!
Did you know…
Quinoa, though now grown all over the world, is originally from the Andes in South America and was vitally important to people there for millennia. There are untold varieties, but we only see a few in our grocery stores. I’ve tried all that I’ve seen and they’re all good. It’s considered to be a complete source of protein, meaning it has all nine essential amino acids that the body cannot produce on its own.
But just to be safe, add beef, and everyone is happy!
Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
Method
- Cook the quinoa per package directions – OR -If you choose to toast yours before cooking, omit the rinsing step and sauté a cup of dry quinoa in 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil util you hear them popping and smell a toasty aroma. Stir continually and do not let them burn. When they are sufficiently toasted, add in the water and continue to follow package instructions.
- Finely dice an onion, a bell pepper, a tomato, a bunch of parsley, a bunch of cilantro and a handful or so of black olives. Put all of these into a large mixing bowl.
- Crush or chop your garlic with a garlic press, a pestle and mortar or a knife and add it to the fresh mix.
- Add in the feta crumbles, zest of a lemon, followed by the juice of the lemon. Try to avoid lemon seeds, they’re not nice in the finished salad.
- Drizzle 2 or 3 TBSP of both extra virgin olive oil and apple cider vinegar.
- Finish with salt and pepper to taste. A teaspoon of salt and a half teaspoon of pepper should be close, but it depends on the type of salt you use, and your preference.
- When the quinoa has cooked completely, remove it from heat and let it cool until it is just warm to the touch. It should be wonderfully fluffy and smell wheaty & toasty. When it has cooled, combine it with the fresh mixture and stir very well.
- Taste test and finish with additional oil, salt, pepper, lemon juice or vinegar as you see fit.
- Eat it warm and fresh by the bowl, with avocado and boiled egg for lunches, on pitas with chicken or steak for dinner or as a cold, fresh side item to subsequent dinners this week.
Want more fresh salad ideas? Chicken Salad on the Ranch is another go-to.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.