Healthy Quinoa Recipes coming your way! I’m sharing my favorites, plus a new Quinoa and Veggie Salad that’s packed with flavor and a honey-lime dressing.
Healthy Quinoa Recipes: Quinoa Salads
I love quinoa, and my whole family does too—we eat it all the time! If you join us for dinner, you’ll probably find quinoa on the table.
This quinoa salad is a family favorite, along with many others. Here’s a list of our favorite quinoa salads for some meal inspiration:
- Quinoa Salad with avocado, tomatoes, cucumbers, and lemon-basil dressing.
- Caprese Quinoa Salad with mozzarella, tomatoes, avocado, and balsamic dressing.
- Quinoa Fruit Salad with fresh berries, mango, and citrus dressing.
- Kale and Quinoa Salad with berries and sweet balsamic dressing.
- Thai Quinoa Salad with mango, veggies, herbs, and peanut dressing.
- Sweet Potato-Quinoa Salad with roasted potatoes, avocado, and lemon dressing.
- Citrus Quinoa Salad with pistachios, citrus, and lemon dressing.
- Southwest Quinoa Salad with black beans, roasted corn, and cilantro-lime dressing.
- Quinoa Corn Salad with avocado, corn, beans, cilantro, and chipotle-lime dressing.
- Quinoa and Almond Salad with almonds, sunflower seeds, apples, and raspberry dressing.
- Greek Quinoa Salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, feta, and Greek dressing.
- Quinoa Apple Salad with apples, pears, pistachios, cranberries, and lemon-poppy seed dressing.
Healthy Quinoa Recipes: Savory Entrees
Quinoa is great in so many savory dishes, not just salads. Here are our favorite quinoa dinner ideas:
- Quinoa Tacos with black beans, corn, tomatoes, and enchilada sauce
- Crockpot Quinoa with peppers, onions, and fajita seasoning
- Quinoa Enchilada Bake with Ground Turkey and Cheddar cheese
- Mexican Quinoa with butternut squash and black beans
- Chicken Quinoa Bowl with grilled chicken and mango salsa
- Bruschetta Chicken served over quinoa
- Crockpot Chicken Quinoa Soup with veggies and fire-roasted tomatoes
Healthy Quinoa and Veggie Salad
Now that we’ve talked about quinoa, let’s dive into this easy veggie quinoa salad recipe!
My top tip for chilled quinoa salads is to make the quinoa ahead of time. Once the quinoa is cooled, prep time goes faster. Waiting for quinoa to cook and cool takes time, so do it in advance!
If you’re making the quinoa and salad at the same time, here’s a quick cooling trick: Spread the cooked quinoa on a sheet pan in an even layer. Put it in the fridge (or freezer) for 10-15 minutes until it cools to room temperature.
Featured Comment
“I’ve been making this each Sunday night for weeks as a “prep” lunch for my husband and I. It’s a great way to keep lunch healthy and not get the 3pm sleepy feeling.”
– Karrie
Healthy Quinoa Recipes (Tips)
New to quinoa? Try some of these tips for success:
- Rinse quinoa in a fine-mesh strainer under cold water for 30 seconds to remove the bitter coating. Some quinoa comes pre-rinsed, so check the package.
- Let sit: After cooking, let it rest covered for 10-20 mins so the grains fully pop.
- Adjust liquid: If liquid remains, drain it. If quinoa isn’t tender and the liquid is gone, add a splash more.
- High in protein: Quinoa has about 24 grams of protein per cup.
- Season well: A little salt brings out the flavor in both the quinoa and the salad.
Storage
These healthy quinoa salads don’t keep well with dressing and avocado mixed in. Add dressing only to what you’ll eat.
Store the salad (without avocado) in the fridge for up to 3 days.
More Grain Filled Salads
Healthy Quinoa Recipes: Healthy Quinoa and Veggie Salad
Video
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup white quinoa thoroughly rinsed
- 3 ounces (4 cups) baby spinach coarsely chopped, lightly packed
- 1 (15.25-ounce) can corn drained, or 1-1/2 cups frozen corn (thawed)
- 1 (15.25-ounce) can black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 5 to 6 green onions chopped, 3/4 cup
- 1/4 cup cilantro finely chopped
- Salt and pepper
- 1 large ripe avocado optional
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard
- 2 teaspoons honey use another sweetener for vegan
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 large limes
Instructions
- Prepare quinoa by rinsing it under cold water in a fine-mesh sieve to remove the bitter saponin coating. Combine quinoa and 2 cups water in a small pot over high heat. Bring to a boil, add 1 teaspoon salt, reduce heat to low, and cover the pot. Simmer 10–15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat, keep quinoa covered, and let stand 10–15 minutes. Fluff with a fork and place in the fridge or freezer to cool to room temperature. Quinoa can be prepared 3–4 days in advance.
- Add all dressing ingredients to a jar, including 1/2 teaspoon lime zest and 4 tablespoons lime juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper, I add 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt (use less if using table salt) and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; add to preference. Seal jar and shake vigorously to combine. Store in the fridge until ready to use. If making the dressing in advance, don’t be concerned if it separates or forms clumps—this is just the olive oil solidifying, which it does at cold temps. Remove from fridge 20–30 minutes before you need it; then shake it to remix.
- Lay the spinach out on a cutting board and run a knife through a few times to get a coarse chop. Drain corn or thaw frozen corn. Drain and rinse black beans. Halve cherry tomatoes. Chop the green onions and cilantro. Dice avocado if using.
- In a large bowl, toss together quinoa and spinach. Top with corn, black beans, cherry tomatoes, green onions, cilantro, and avocado. This salad doesn’t sit well with the dressing and avocado mixed in. Toss and add dressing to only what you’ll be eating at this time. Taste and adjust seasonings. Toss and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made the above recipe it was easy to prepare and delicious.
I’m thrilled to hear this! Thanks Andrea! 🙂
I tried this recipe as I’m new to quinoa. OMG, it’s so flavorful and even my 8 year old son liked it. Thank you for sharing your recipe! Amazing!
Yay! I’m so happy to hear you guys loved this! Thanks for your comment! 🙂
I used kale instead of spinach and doubled the amount of kale. This dish was delicious.
That sounds delicious! I’m so happy you enjoyed! Thanks Clay! 🙂
Looking for a way to try some new and healthy recipes and spice up my weight loss program, I came upon this one. Had some quinoa in the pantry but had not touched it. I made this and was blown away at how tasty it is and so very satisfying. Try it!
So glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
So delicious! The only thing I did different is add a clove of garlic to the dressing (I just threw it all in my nutribullet) and a handful of cotija cheese. A complete meal by my estimation!
Sounds delicious! Thanks Libby 🙂
Made this today. My boyfriend & I both loved it. Thanks!
So happy to hear! Thanks Melissa! 🙂
I enjoyed this recipe, it was simple and quick to make. I only used two tablespoons of olive oil and I thought it turned out rather well. It’s filling and cool, perfect for a hot day!
I am so happy to hear this Rebekah! Thanks so much for your comment! 🙂
Very good. Of course I modified it, cooking the quinoa in chicken broth with diced Hatch green chile and garlic and added one diced cucumber as well as diced avocado to each bowl. I didn’t catch the dressing note until it was too late, DP hopefully it still tastes ok tomorrow since I have plenty leftover… Thanks for the recipe!
I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks for sharing those tips on some of the substitutions you made! 🙂
Really good! Made this without cilantro (as I didn’t have any on hand), and had to use lemon instead of lime, but loved it anyway because it tasted so crisp and refreshing!
Way to work with what you had! I’m so glad you loved this recipe! Thanks for your comment Chrissie! 🙂
Excellent!!!
I made a couple of small changes – I roasted some frozen corn & replaced red pepper flakes with hot sauce.
Will make this again!!!
So happy you enjoyed this; thanks for the comment! 🙂