Quick Quinoa Salad Recipe: A Fresh & Healthy Quinoa Salad in Just 25 Minutes Salads Lunch Grains Dinner

As someone who is always somehow short on time (and especially short on energy) by the end of the day, my favorite recipes are the ones I can throw together in 30 minutes or less. That’s why I have been loving this quick, easy and fresh quinoa salad recipe.

What’s even better is that this salad recipe can be easily modified with whatever fresh ingredients you happen to have laying around in the fridge. Consider adding other vegetables, almonds, feta cheese or your choice of meat to it as well (like some lemon butter chicken). Makes a perfect lunch or dinner.

Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 5

Ingredients

• 1 cup uncooked quinoa
• 2 cups water
• 5 ounces baby spinach
• 2 avocados, pitted and diced
• 1 English cucumber, peeled and chopped
• 1 bell pepper, cut in strips
• 1/3 cup chopped red onion (optional: pickled red onion)

Dressing

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon agave
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Here's how to make it:

1. Cook the quinoa according to package directions (I put 1 cup of quinoa in 2 cups of boiling water for about 15 minutes, but timing will vary by package).
2. After the cooked quinoa has cooled, add it into a bowl with the spinach, bell peppers, cucumber, red onion, and avocados (and any preferred additional ingredients).
3. To make the dressing, whisk together olive oil, agave, Dijon, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Finish by tossing the salad with the dressing.

Note: To make the red onion a bit sweeter you can pickle the red onion ahead of time by placing the onion in some vinegar (I used red wine vinegar) and sugar and leaving it in the fridge for a few hours. Or if you’re short on time you can just add the red onion in raw.

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