Quinoa Veggie Salad with Zesty Vinaigrette

  4.6 – 76 reviews  • Vinaigrette Dressing Recipes

On a chilly day, you should try this rotisserie chicken tortilla soup.

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Additional Time: 1 hr
Total Time: 1 hr 30 mins
Servings: 24

Ingredients

  1. 4 cups quinoa
  2. 4 cups water
  3. ¼ cup red wine vinegar
  4. 4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  5. 2 teaspoons salt
  6. 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  7. 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  8. 1 cup canola oil
  9. 2 medium cucumbers, peeled and chopped
  10. 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
  11. 1 (15 ounce) can black olives, chopped
  12. 1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
  13. ½ medium red onion, chopped

Instructions

  1. Bring quinoa and water to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until quinoa is tender and water has been absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer cooked quinoa to a large bowl and refrigerate until cold, about 1 hour.
  2. Blend vinegar, Dijon, salt, pepper, and lemon juice in a blender. Slowly pour in oil, with the blender running, until dressing is smooth and thick.
  3. Remove quinoa from the refrigerator. Add cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, bell pepper, and onion. Pour dressing over top and gently mix until evenly combined.
  4. You can cook the quinoa in a rice cooker if desired. You can use one English cucumber instead of two standard, slicing cucumbers.

Reviews

Joseph Brady
Love this salad and look forward to eating it every summer. I also add chicken for a complete meal.
Christopher Hess
Would give 5 stars for taste, but the quantities are whacky. I halved the recipe to 12 servings and still could feed the football team. I added corn for crunch and color. Dressing is great, but whatever quantity recipe you make, double the vinaigrette. Will be too dry, otherwise.
Rebecca Vega
I have made this repeatedly. I love it! I use 3/4 cup olive oil and add a bit less quinoa (3 cups). My quinoa requires 2 cups water per cup of quinoa in a rice cooker. You really can add what you want to in terms of vegetables.
Ronald Mathews
I have made this recipe 3 times now and absolutely love it. At first I made it exactly as specified but have tweaked the amount of oil down to 3/4 cup and slightly more lemon (1 1/2 tsp). It is so light and fresh tasting and everyone remarks what a perfect dressing makes the salad.
Randall Walsh
Like so many other reviewers I made changes mainly to reduce the quantity. I used only one cup of quinoa so I cut back on everything else, especially the oil. One cup of quinoa still produces a pretty big salad. I think this recipe is gréât. I made it for myself but would also serve it to company. It’s always nice to make it yourself instead of buying it at the deli counter. It also keeps in the refrigerator very well. Really enjoyed this!!!
Seth Reynolds
This was great.perfect for the summer and you can adjust the veggies to make it your own. Oh and the dressing is FABULOUS, I am going to try it as a marinade and also as a salad dressing.
Julie Bautista DVM
I mixed this in with artisan green lettuce, as I wasn’t sure the kids would eat just the quinoa. Also reduced the original serving size given.
Misty Santana
Delicious! Left out olives because I don’t like them. Considered also leaving out the onions as I generally don’t like them raw but glad I kept them in. Doesn’t take as long as the recipe says – if you chop everything in advance and don’t count cooking time, probably only takes about 20 min. Recommend!
Cassidy Jones
Great recipe, makes a massive quantity of salad! Enough to last you all week. I did half quinoa-half bulgur (mainly cause it’s cheaper, but also to mix things up a bit). Definitely tastes better the next day.
Deborah Smith DDS
Wow! Fresh, bright, healthy, easy and economical! I halved the serving size and reduced the oil based on other reviews. Used left-over quinoa that had been cooked in vegetable broth. The quinoa was in a two cup container and packed to the rim (think take-out rice packed). I believe the amount of quinoa called for in the recipe would be a bit much. What a great way to use some left over veggies. I added chopped fresh parsley when serving because it’s abundant in the garden right now. This will be great for lunch tomorrow with some avocado. The options are endless, maybe some chopped spinach, garbanzo beans, a jalapeño to spice it up! What a great recipe to have on hand. Thanks for sharing!
Abigail Moore
I cut the recipe way back, didn’t need that much and it was excellent.
Geoffrey Leblanc
dressing idea: minced garlic, 2 T vinegar, 2 T olive oil, salt salad: 1c dry Q, 2 avocado, 3oz spinach, 8oz tom, 3 green onion
Julie Hill
I double the amout of water to quinoa,or it will not cook right & be very dry. The rest of the recipe is pretty good
Dominique Ward
Hands down the absolute BEST salad. Followed the instructions exactly and it was felish
Alfred Calderon
One of my favorite summer (or any time of the year) go-to salads and everyone loves it!
Vanessa Ewing
I have made this twice and tweaked the recipe the second time…much better! I used olive oil instead of canola oil and didn’t want to go through the pain of using a blender again, so I just whisked the dressing. I also cooked my quinoa in chicken stock instead of water for more flavor. I forgot about the lemon while I was making the dressing, so I squeezed the lemon over it and stirred it at the end. I’m sure it was more like a Tablespoon of lemon instead of a teaspoon, but the recipe was delicious!
Raymond Mitchell
Amazing salad. I used a brown rice, quinoa and chia seed mix and baked a salmon fillet with cherrie tomotoes to sit on top. Left over salad was delicious with tuna stirred through the next day for lunch. Will definitely make this again!
Loretta Soto
Very tastey! Crowd pleaser. I did change a few things up, used 2/3C oil, cut quinoa in 1/2(as others had suggested) added1/2C vinegar, couple carrots and a handful of fresh parsley. Lastly tossed in some crumbled feta just before serving. Omitted olives( I love them but everybody else doesn’t)wit
Karen Hodge
Dressing needs work. You don’t need that much oil. I used half a cup of EVOO. It needs sweetness to balance out the tartness so I added a couple teaspoons of honey. Also added a clove of grated garlic to give it more flavor. I added a dash of cayenne pepper to give it a kick.
Michelle Johnson
My husband loves it. I used italian dressing, add more oil, then add the rest of the ingredients. It’s delicious. Quick recipe and great for Southern Florida.
Terrence Tran
Love love it . Every time I make this, I get requests for the recipe.

 

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