Rainbow Quinoa Salad With Lemon (Print Page)
Colorful quinoa with crisp vegetables and a bright lemon dressing—light, gluten-free, and great for lunches or sides.
# What You Need:
→ Salad
01 - 1 cup uncooked quinoa
02 - 2 cups water
03 - 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
04 - 1 red bell pepper, diced
05 - 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
06 - 1 cup cucumber, diced
07 - 1/2 cup purple cabbage, shredded
08 - 1/2 cup carrot, grated
09 - 1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped
10 - 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
→ Lemon Dressing
11 - 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
12 - 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
13 - 1 teaspoon lemon zest
14 - 1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup
15 - 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
16 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
17 - 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
# Directions:
01 - Rinse quinoa under cold running water. Combine quinoa and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes until water is fully absorbed. Remove from heat, fluff with a fork, and allow to cool completely.
02 - In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooled quinoa, cherry tomatoes, red and yellow bell peppers, cucumber, purple cabbage, carrot, red onion, and fresh parsley.
03 - In a small bowl or jar, whisk together the extra virgin olive oil, fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, honey or maple syrup, Dijon mustard, salt, and black pepper until fully emulsified.
04 - Pour the dressing over the salad and toss gently until evenly coated. Refrigerate for 10 minutes if desired, then serve chilled.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- Every single bite is a different color, which sounds silly until you realize how much joy that brings to a weekday lunch.
- The lemon dressing is sharp and sweet enough to make leftover quinoa taste like it was made on purpose.
02 -
- Skip the rinsing step on the quinoa and you will taste a soapy bitterness that no amount of dressing can fix.
- Letting the salad rest for even ten minutes in the fridge transforms it from good to something people actually remember.
03 -
- Salt your quinoa cooking water like you would pasta water, because unseasoned quinoa is the reason people think they hate quinoa.
- Double the dressing recipe and keep the extra in a jar in the fridge for quick salads all week long.