I can’t get enough strawberries in the summer. I could eat them in everything. And I do. When they’re in season, it’s not uncommon for strawberries to show up in my breakfast, snacks, lunch, and then dessert all in one day.
This salad is an example of how they show up in lunch. Paired with cucumbers, fresh mint, and quinoa, this salad makes a nice, light summer lunch. If you need a more substantial meal, this works as a great side dish.
Ever since going gluten-free, quinoa’s been a heavy hitter over here. I’ve always liked it (well, since I first tried it three or four years ago), but I appreciate it so much more now that my grains are limited. It’s a great vegan protein source and is super versatile. You can use it just like you’d use rice.
I love adding strawberries to salads, especially when they are in their peak season. I hope you enjoy this fresh summer salad as much as we did.
Strawberry quinoa salad
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
Strawberry Quinoa Salad–light and refreshing salad recipe!
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa, rinsed well and dried
- 1 3/4 cups water
- 2 cups strawberries, hulled and cut into small pieces
- 1 cup seedless cucumber (or de-seed it), peeled and quartered
- 1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped
For the dressing
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- juice from one lime
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Whisk together all of the dressing ingredients and set aside.
- Put the rinsed and dried quinoa in a medium sauce pan and heat over medium high heat. Stir and allow to dry cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the water is absorbed. Set aside and allow to cool.
- In a large bowl, combine the cooled quinoa, strawberries, cucumbers, and mint. Add the dressing and stir to combine. Chill before serving. Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Salad
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 230
- Sugar: 10.75g
- Sodium: 290mg
- Fat: 15.25g
- Carbohydrates: 23.25g
- Protein: 2.75g
If you like the idea of a quinoa-fruit salad, you might also like my Quinoa Watermelon Salad with Citrus Basil Vinaigrette.
I’m pinning this for later! Looks delish! And your photography is really lookin good 🙂 Your photo had me drooling!
Thanks for pinning and thanks for the photography compliment. 🙂
Oh, actually, I used a 1/2 tsp of white wine vinegar, not 1 tsp. I cut it in half because I knew the flavor might overpower.
I made this yesterday, and I love it. I used red quinoa, and because I didn’t have pure maple syrup, I used one tablespoon agave nectar. I also didn’t have the apple cider vinegar so I used one tsp white wine vinegar. It all worked out fine. I suspect the result is a little less sweet than your recipe would make, but I love it. I also added some avocado to the top of my serving today, and that was yummy! Thanks for the great recipe!
I’m glad you liked it! I love the idea of adding avocado to the top.
This has me totally intrigued. I adore strawberries and really like quinoa … but I’ve never had quinoa in a sweet preparation. Very interesting!
If you love strawberries and quinoa, you’ll love this! 🙂
I love how colorful this is! The strawberries give it just enough pizzazz! Plus, they’re one of my favorite fiber-rich foods. What a great idea to pair them with quinoa for a summery dish!
I love quinoa too — I eat it all.the.time. Same with strawberries — I have gotten so many of them this spring/summer! This sounds fabulous – I love the mint in it, I bet that just makes the flavors pop!
I’ve been on a non-stop strawberry kick as well. This looks perfect and I can’t wait to try it!
Looks very summery and fresh! Love strawberries so much!
I love the vibrant colors of your salad! Strawberries are finally in season in Sweden as well and I could easily eat them for breakfast, lunch and dessert as well. 🙂
Welcome back! You are one strong cookie Maryea, please give Luke a big squeeze from me.
I LOVE the colors! Wow! How gorgeous 😀
I have some basil I need to use up— strawberry basil quinoa salad sounds delicious too. Right? I think so! Mmmmm!
Yes, I think basil would be amazing on it too.
Oh, yes, basil would be fantastic in this, too. 🙂
This sounds great! My only question for you is HOW do you rinse your quinoa? Is it completely messy? Do you have a special colander? Do you use cheesecloth or paper towels? This has stumped me for awhile with so many of the quinoa recipes I’ve found lately.
I use a fine mesh strainer and it’s not messy at all. I just rinse it in the strainer and then straight to the pot it goes. 🙂