Quinoa Salad Recipes

Summer or not, quinoa salad makes a great light meal or meal accompaniment. Quinoa is subtle enough to make the perfect partner for vegetables, so that's like getting two healthy bursts in the one dish.

Quinoa Tabouli

Quinoa, instead of the traditional burghul, is such an obvious replacement in a tabouli, that this must have caused many a eureka moment for quinoa lovers around the world.

Ingredients

2 cups cooked quinoa (approx. ½ cup raw quinoa) (See Cooking Quinoa for cooking instructions)

¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (to taste)

¼ cup tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 cup fresh chopped parsley

2 spring onions, chopped

2 tbsp fresh chopped mint leaves

1-2 tomatoes, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Mix together quinoa, parsley, mint leaves, spring onions in a bowl. Add lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper and mix through gently. Add tomato and stir through.

For best results, make the day before needed and store covered in the fridge. Remove from fridge an hour before eating. Optionally sprinkle with crumbled feta cheese just before serving.

Moroccan Salad

Quantities don’t matter here. I’ve included them incase you’re really lost, but otherwise, use ingredients in quantities to suit your taste (or whatever you’ve got leftover in the fridge).

Ingredients

1 cup cooked chick peas

1 cup cooked quinoa (approx. ¼ cup raw quinoa) (See Cooking Quinoa for cooking instructions)

½ bunch fresh coriander/cilantro

2 medium char grilled zucchinis, or 1 cup roasted pumpkin

1 small cucumber, chopped

2 tbs cup lemon juice

¼ cup olive oil

1 tbs ground cumin

Method

Mix all ingredients together. Serve at, or just below, room temperature.

Roasted Beetroot, Black Quinoa and Dill Salad with Honey Soy Dressing

This quinoa salad recipe suits the darker shades of quinoa best – it avoids the colour from the beetroot juices leaking against lighter quinoa and appearing too dominant.

The sweetness of the roasted beetroot and the honey in the dressing go so well together. Depending on your appetite for sweetness, you can vary the amount of honey you put in the dressing to suit.

Black quinoa and beetroot salad

Ingredients

2 cups fresh beetroot, peeled and diced

¼ cup uncooked black or red quinoa

8 stalks fresh dill

Dressing:

2 tbs sesame oil

½ - 1 tbs honey

2 tbs soy sauce

Method

Roast beetroot in some olive oil in a 350°F/175°C oven for 45 minutes or until soft all the way through. Allow to cool.

Rinse quinoa according to instructions on the cooking quinoa page here. Bring to the boil in a saucepan with ½ cup water and simmer with the lid on for 15 – 20 minutes. The grains are cooked when you see the little germ ring curl out from each grain. Fluff with a fork and allow to cool.

Mix dressing ingredients together with a whisk. Combine beetroot and quinoa in a bowl, mix through dressing and sprinkle with chopped dill to serve.

Enjoy warm or at room temperature.

Serves 2.

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SBI!