Summertime means salads on repeat, but that doesn’t mean boring salads. Of course I’m talking about good salads here, like this colorful vegan summer salad with golden quinoa. It’s packed with summer’s best ingredients and if you love my Vegan Sweet Potato Quinoa Salad , you’ll love this recipe too. I think everyone will love this easy Summer Quinoa Salad. This salad is easy to make and hearty with a quinoa base, filled with fresh fruit, veggies, and a refreshing homemade lemon dressing. It’s perfect for those hotter months when you’re craving a light, refreshing and delicious meal.
quinoa
You can use white, red or mixed quinoa here. I love that it contains a protein boost with all nine essential amino acids and easily surpasses the protein content of other whole grains.
How to cook quinoa properly
Cooking quinoa is easy. Follow these tips to ensure your quinoa turns out perfect every time.
- Always rinse quinoa before you start. Rinsing removes quinoa’s natural bitter coating, called saponins. Rinse the quinoa under running water in a fine-mesh sieve.
- In a large enough saucepan, start with 1 part quinoa to 2 parts water. Bring the pot to a boil. Lid on it.
- Reduce the heat so that it is just simmering. Simmer for 15 minutes. The quinoa is done and tender when the small grains look as if they have burst.
- Take the pot off the stove and let it rest for about 5 minutes.
- Fluff up with a fork and the quinoa is ready.
more homemade summer salads with quinoa? Then take a look at these… delicious!
- fruity summer salad with mango and avocado
- easy vegan quinoa cabbage salad
- Vegan power salad made from quinoa
- vegan sweet potato quinoa salad
- more quinoa recipes
possible combinations
This recipe is super versatile and can be changed depending on the season.
- In the fall maybe with roasted pumpkin, ripe apples, some sage and cashew.
- If it doesn’t have to be vegan, add some feta cheese for more flavor.
- For even more protein, you can mix in chickpeas or beans.
- If you don’t have fresh blueberries on hand, swap them out for grapes or dried fruit or raisins, for example.
- You can also get the required crunch of the almonds with sunflower seeds, pecans, walnuts…
- And finally, replace quinoa with bulgur or couscous… see what your pantry has on hand.
Summer salad with golden quinoa
Equipment
Ingredients Â
- 200 G white quinoa*
- 50 G black jasmine rice* or wild rice (optional)
- 130 G Corn can
- 1 Red onion
- 2 peach
- 100 G blueberries or blue grapes
- 12 Kalamata olives*
- 1 cucumber
- 30 G almonds* smoked, salted, chopped
- 1 small bunch parsley
- 1 small bunch of mint
Dressing:
- 3 tbsp. native olive oil*
- 1-2 Lemons
- 2 tbsp. agave syrup*
- Sea-salt*
- Black pepper* from the mill
InstructionsÂ
- Cook quinoa according to package directions (usually takes between 10 and 20 minutes, depending on the variety). After cooking, drain excess water and leave to cool. If you want it to go faster, put it in the fridge.200 G white quinoa*
- Prepare the black rice according to package directions and set aside to cool.50 G black jasmine rice*
- In the meantime, we prepare all the vegetables and herbs.
- Drain olives and canned corn in a colander.
- Wash blueberries and drain well.
- Halve the cucumber, scrape out the seeds with a spoon and finely dice.
- Peel and finely dice the red onion.
- Core and dice the peaches. Cut half into thin slices to decorate.
- Rinse the parsley and mint and shake dry. Cut into thin strips with a sharp knife. Keep some nice leaves for decoration.
Dressing:
- Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, agave syrup, salt and pepper.
- Place the cooled quinoa and rice in a large bowl. Mix all the prepared ingredients and the chopped almonds, except the dressing, into the quinoa and rice.
- Now add the dressing and mix gently again. Season the salad to taste, adding more salt or lemon juice if needed to really pop the flavor.
- For best results, leave the salad in the fridge for about 1 hour.
- Garnish with mint, parsley leaves and peach slices to serve.
Nutrition
If you like this summery quinoa salad recipe, simply save it on Pinterest and prepare it later
