I love this Garden Fresh Quinoa Salad for countless reasons. Let me name a few! Fresh veggies and herbs are beautiful, healthy and delicious naturally. Quinoa adds a nutty flavor and texture while also providing protein. And it soaks up the dressing! Speaking of the homemade dressing- it is a simple combination of ingredients that enhance the natural flavors of the veggie and herbs. It is easy to make, light and healthy, yet somehow manages to fill you up. Oh! Did I mention it is naturally gluten free too? Yup!
The Homemade Dressing
One recommendation is to be sure to use good olive oil. It is the main ingredient, so you want it to taste good. When making this post, I used a Pink Lemon Infused Olive Oil from a local brand called 15 Olives. It is a wonderful olive oil with a hint of lemon- perfect for this salad. And I like to buy locally whenever I can. Taste a little of the oil before making the dressing to be sure you like it on its own. That is the only way to know if it will taste good as a dressing.
Fresh lemon juice is a must. Please don’t use the stuff in the yellow plastic lemon and expect this dressing to taste good. If you need a shortcut (who doesn’t now and then), give the Santa Cruz Organic 100% Lemon Juice a try. I just tried it recently and was very happy with it, however, it is pricey.
As for making the dressing, it couldn’t be easier! Put all of the ingredients in a blended or smoothie maker at once and blend. That’s it!
Making Quinoa
If you haven’t made quinoa before, it is very similar to making rice. Follow your package instructions, but usually it requires 2 parts water to 1 part quinoa. In this recipe, it would be 1 and a half cups of quinoa and 3 cups of water. Bring it to a boil, put the cover on the pot. Turn off the heat and let the quinoa absorb the water and become tender. Transfer it to a large bowl and pop it in the fridge to chill while you prep the other ingredients.
Veggie Prep
Super easy! Rinse the veggies and herbs. Seed and dice the veggies and roughly chop the herbs. Combine the veggies with the quinoa and dressing in a large bowl and there you have it! Garden Fresh Quinoa Salad is ready to eat!
Can I Use Substitutions?
For sure! This is a very versatile recipe. Feel free to switch things up. Use different herbs or veggies, whatever you like the most. Sub the quinoa for rice or a small shaped pasta. If you are really in a pinch for time, go ahead and use a bottled vinaigrette dressing. I promise not to judge! Lol!
More Like This
Check out my Mediterranean Style Quinoa and my Veggie Feta Pasta Salad. Both are gluten free and very easy to make!
Ingredients
For the Salad:
- 1 ½ cups dry quinoa - cook following package instructions
- 2 bell peppers, any color - seeded and diced
- 1 large English cucumber - seeded and diced
- ½ cup red onion - finely chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
- handful fresh herbs like parsley, dill, tarragon or basil - or a combination of herbs
For the Dressing:
- 1 cup good quality olive oil
- ⅓ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 4 large cloves fresh garlic
- 2 teaspoon kosher salt - *less if using fine salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Cook quinoa with water as directed on packaging. Transfer to a large mixing bowl, cover and let chill in the fridge.
- Place all dressing ingredients in a blender or smoothie maker and blend until smooth. Set aside.
- Rinse, seed and dice bell peppers and cucumber. Finely chop the onion. Roughly chop the fresh herbs.
- Add all of these ingredients to the bowl with the cooked and chilled quinoa. Pour the prepared dressing on top and stir with a large spoon to combine. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper if needed then it is ready to serve. You can store it in the fridge and it will be just as good hours later or the next day.
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