This Quinoa Salad could easily be called ‘The Every Day Quinoa Salad’ because it is so delicious, can be suited to any season, and so versatile! You can literally add any veggies that you want to it and it turns out great every time. In the summer it’s nice to have fresh raw veggies, and in the winter you can add grilled or lightly cooked veggies for a warming flavour. You can enjoy this salad with the just-cooked quinoa slightly warmed, or you can make it with quinoa that was cooked the day before (about 3 cups cooked quinoa)…The secret is in the dressing!

For a complete meal, we usually serve this salad with a green salad (often with our Apple Cider Vinegar Dressing) and roasted chicken or lamb. Or, for a vegan option, we’ll add sauteed tofu or cooked chickpeas to the quinoa salad. 

QUINOA SALAD WITH BALSAMIC VINEGAR DRESSING

Perfect at any time of day, season, and paired with nearly every meal!

Prep Time: 30 mins

Cook Time: 20 mins

Serving size: 4-6

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups quinoa, uncooked
• 2 ½ cups water
• 1small red onion, finely chopped
• 1 large carrot, chopped
• 3-4 leaves your favorite kale, chopped or 1 cup baby kale
• 1 handful baby tomatoes, halved
• ½ cup broccoli florets, chopped
• ½ avocado, cut into chunks
• ½ cup nuts & seeds (our favorites: walnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds)

other veggie ideas:

• bell peppers, chopped
• cauliflower florets, chopped
• fresh green peas
• celery hearts, chopped

Dressing:

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 – 1 Tbsp coconut sugar, maple syrup or honey
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• ½ tsp salt
• pinch of pepper

Directions

• Place quinoa in a strainer and rinse well with water to remove the bitter saponins.
• Add rinsed quinoa with fresh water to a medium sized saucepan, and a dash of salt. Bring to a boil, and then turn to low heat to simmer for about 20 minutes. When cooked, remove from heat and let cool.
• While quinoa is cooking and cooling, chop your veggies and place them in a large salad bowl. 
• Place ‘dressing’ ingredients in a blender and blend on high for a few seconds. Set aside.
• When the quinoa has cooled, but still slightly warm, add it to the large bowl of chopped veggies. Stir quinoa and veggies together to mix well.
• Now, you can the dressing to the salad in spoonfuls, until it has reached the desired taste. (Usually we have some left over, which you can use on a green salad or another quinoa salad).
• Add nuts and seeds just before serving, and enjoy!
• Enjoy this quinoa salad slightly warmed, or as left overs the next day!

Today we added chopped red onion, carrots, baby tomatoes, broccoli florets, and kale. We’ll add hemp seeds and roasted sunflower seeds just before serving