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Home » Recipes » Quinoa Salad Recipe

Last updated on March 27, 2025. Originally posted on February 13, 2019 By Maryea / 12 Comments

Quinoa Salad Recipe

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This Quinoa Salad recipe is quick and easy to make and full of beautiful, fresh flavor! This is a great recipe for make-ahead lunches or to bring to a potluck.Quinoa Salad Recipe with a lemon dressing

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Last week I shared how to cook quinoa. Whether you’ve been cooking quinoa for years, or you’ve just learned the technique, now you need to make this lovely Quinoa Salad. It’s my new favorite quinoa salad–I can’t get enough!

3 Reasons Why I Love this Salad (and you Should Definitely Make It)

  1. This quinoa salad is PERFECT for meal prepping lunch. When I first made it, I had it for lunch all week and I looked forward to lunch everyday.
  2. Everyone will love you if you bring it to your next potluck or gathering where you’re expected to bring a salad or side dish. Who doesn’t appreciate the healthy option that also tastes fabulous?
  3. It’s a nutritional powerhouse!! Along with the cooked quinoa, it has cucumbers, red peppers, fresh herbs, white beans, and sliced almonds. Everything in this salad has great nutritional benefits, as well as contributes to fantastic flavor and texture. It’s a win-win situation.

Recipe Ingredients–What You Need

Quinoa Salad recipe pouring the dressing

This recipe is chock full of fresh, flavorful ingredients. These are all simple ingredients that are easy to find.

For the Quinoa Salad

  • 3 cups cooked quinoa *
  • 1 large seedless cucumber, diced
  • 1 large red bell pepper, diced
  • 1 (15 ounce) can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 bunch of mint**, finely chopped
  • 1 bunch of Italian parsley, finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup sliced almonds
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

*Start with 1 cup dry quinoa to get 3 cups cooked.

For the Dressing

The salad is dressed with extra-virgin olive oil, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, and just a touch of sweetener. It’s a simple and delicious dressing that works perfectly here.

  • 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey

Quinoa Salad Recipe close up shot

Customize this Recipe 

There are a few tweaks and customizations you could add here that I think would be amazing! As written, this is a vegan quinoa salad, but it doesn’t have to be. Use this recipe as your baseline, and then have fun and make it your own. Here are some ideas:

  • Quinoa Salad with Avocado
  • Quinoa Salad with Chicken (make it a meal in itself!)
  • Quinoa Salad with dried cranberries
  • Quinoa Salad with feta or goat cheese

See how just a little addition can change the salad up? Have fun!

This Quinoa Black Bean Salad looks incredible! I want to try it for sure. For a different flavor profile, try this Mediterranean Quinoa Salad with Chicken or (AND) this Crispy Chickpea and Kale Salad! This Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Salad is excellent if you’re looking for a warm salad.

How to Make Quinoa Salad

You won’t believe how easy this recipe is! It’s ready to no time. Take a look at how simple these instructions are.

  1. In a large bowl, mix together all of the ingredients from the “for the quinoa salad” portion of the recipe.
  2. In a separate bowl, combine all of the dressing ingredients. Drizzle over the quinoa salad and toss to evenly coat. Enjoy!

This video shows you just how easy it is to whip this up!

I really think you’re going to love all the flavors and textures in this quinoa salad recipe. I hope you try it soon! If you try this Quinoa Salad recipe or any of my other healthy recipes, please let me know! I’d love to see a photo–share it on Instagram and I’ll feature you.

Please leave a comment and star rating below. It really helps other readers know which recipes are tried and true!

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Quinoa Salad Recipe close up shot #quinoa #salad #quinoasalad #summer #recipes #healthy #healthyrecipes #easy #quick #vegetables #vegan #glutenfree #dairyfree

Quinoa Salad Recipe


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5 from 4 reviews

  • Author: Maryea Flaherty of Happy Healthy Mama
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 8 servings 1x
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Description

This is a fresh, bright, and healthy quinoa salad recipe that is wonderful for meal prep lunches or a potluck!


Ingredients

Units Scale

For the Quinoa Salad

  • 3 cups cooked quinoa *
  • 1 large seedless cucumber, diced
  • 1 large red bell pepper, diced
  • 1 (15 ounce) can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 bunch of mint**, finely chopped
  • 1 bunch of Italian parsley, finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup sliced almonds
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the Dressing

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1 lemon, juiced

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey


Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, mix together all of the ingredients from the “for the quinoa salad” portion of the recipe.
  2. In a separate bowl, combine all of the dressing ingredients. Drizzle over the quinoa salad and toss to evenly coat. Enjoy!

Notes

*1 cup dry quinoa yields approximately 3 cups cooked quinoa

**I used one entire small package of mint, which was just under an ounce.

  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 0 minutes

Nutrition

  • Calories: 384
  • Sugar: 4.6 grams
  • Fat: 29 grams
  • Carbohydrates: 25.5
  • Protein: 6.6 grams

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @happyhealthymama on Instagram and hashtag it #happyhealthymama

You may also love my Warm Quinoa Salad or for a heartier salad try my Mediterranean Quinoa Salad with Chicken!

Healthy Quinoa Recipes

Want more quinoa recipes? Here are a few must-try recipes!

Chicken Quinoa Soup

This is a family favorite recipe. It’s an updated, modern version of classic chicken noodle soup. Ditch the noodles and give quinoa a try!

Quinoa Vegetable Stew

This is a hearty stew that happens to be vegan! It’s perfect to make in the fall and winter.

Pumpkin Banana Quinoa Breakfast

Quinoa is NOT just for lunch or dinner. Quinoa makes a delicious porridge you can enjoy for breakfast, too.

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Filed Under: Anti-inflammatory Diet

Previous Post: « Anti-Inflammatory Drinks for Health is HERE!
Next Post: Lemon Poppyseed Baked Oatmeal »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Darlene says

    January 13, 2022 at 6:00 pm

    What would be a good alternative dressing? I can’t manage that much acid with the vinegar, lemon juice and zest.

    Reply
    • Maryea says

      January 17, 2022 at 9:25 am

      Maybe a tahini based dressing would be better for you? Find one here: https://happyhealthymama.com/rainbow-farro-salad.html#cls-video-container-fsocDDxT

      Reply
  2. Richa Chandra says

    May 15, 2021 at 6:33 pm

    This is crazy!!!! Just loved all these green vegetables, eager to try this at home 🙂

    Reply
  3. Lisa den says

    May 12, 2021 at 10:10 am

    Amazing dish, I loved it and I tried it to impress my in-laws and it worked. Thanks for such a mouth-watering dish.

    Reply
  4. run 3 says

    November 19, 2019 at 8:49 pm

    The information you shared is very good, it helps me a lot.

    Reply
  5. run 3 says

    August 13, 2019 at 10:11 pm

    The point of view is not wrong, thanks to the writer who shared it, I was having trouble finding out more.

    Reply
  6. http://resumeperk.com/blog/category/services/page/8 says

    March 5, 2019 at 12:12 pm

    Last weekend I brought this salad to my husband and he fell in love with this salad. Everything in this salad has great nutritional benefits, so now he asks me to make it almost everyday.

    Reply
  7. http://robloxrobuxtix.com/ says

    September 26, 2018 at 3:45 am

    Really such a amazing post dear.

    Reply
  8. bing search history delete says

    July 18, 2018 at 7:19 am

    I come here as the learner and get this recipe for make the salad and after read it Now I can prepare it as like the professional. Now this is also a plus point of my cooking which make very different from others

    Reply
  9. Cindy says

    July 10, 2018 at 3:42 pm

    Would basil be a nice substitute for the mint? (my hubby doesn’t prefer mint)

    Reply
    • Maryea says

      July 16, 2018 at 7:18 am

      Yes, basil would work here!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. 72 fresh and delicious Salads that are perfect for Summer! says:
    October 22, 2023 at 7:58 pm

    […] Quinoa Salad by Happy Healthy Mama […]

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