Zesty Quinoa Salad

I’ve been making this recipe for a few years now. 5 stars! It’s always a hit. I usually add more cilantro, and less salt, just my preference. Tastes even better the next day after the flavours are absorbed into the quinoa overnight in the fridge.

I use this all the time varying the amounts of spices, heat, veggies, and beans. Just such a good basic tasty healthy side dish. I find the dressing a bit too much so I consistently up the veggies, beans and quinoa OR halve the amount of dressing. Try with Chick peas, roasted corn, cukes, peppers (all from the garden or Farmers Market)…whatever you have and feel like that night! Enjoy!

Loved it cold tweaked the green onions to red Yummy

I LOVE IT. I was surprised that the amount of dressing flavored the amount of Quinoa, but the cumin, combined with the lime juice, salt, tomatoes and greens was perfect. I used 3 green (they were large) onions and a scallop. This dish can have chopped chicken added if you aren’t a mayo-type chicken salad lover.

good just the way it is… but adding chunks of chicken makes it even better

This is fantastic as written! I made some changes and love it even more. I use 1 cup of quinoa and then double everything else except the salt in the dressing. I start with 1 tsp of salt and go from there. I find it really depends on the rest of the flavours in the salad how much salt is needed. I also sometimes add 1 tsp of chilli powder to the dressing. This salad is very versatile. I often add orange pepper and cilantro or red onion instead of green. Sometimes I use kidney beans instead of black beans. It always is a hit No matter what! Love this!!!

It would be a 5 stars with cutting the salt down to half or even 1/4. I put 3/4 in and it was still pretty salty. Otherwise really fresh with great flavors.

OMG! So GOOD! So EASY!! So COLORFUL! It was a hit, and now a new favorite. Because I’m curry hesitant-I reduced that down to 1 tsp. – figuring people could add more if they wanted to. Also, with no pepper flakes on hand, I substituted it with Thai Red Curry (which is a blend of chili pepper, paprika, red pepper, ginger, etc.). And WOW! Amazing with our grilled fish. It will be a total do over!!

I love this salad! The first time I made it I didn’t have fresh lime or red pepper flakes so I substituted bottled juice and hot sauce. The second time I used red pepper flakes and fresh squeezed lime juice which made a favorable difference! Worth a trip to the store!

Always a big hit!

I suggest adding the cumin and lime a bit at a time to your taste. For my tastes it was too much cumin. Next time I may add a bit for red pepper flakes. Served at room temp with stuffed mushrooms and grilled asparagus. It was tasty the next day with leftover chilled grilled chicken.

My new favorite quinoa recipe. I like it best chilled, especially after flavors have time to really set in. I didn’t change anything. My family even likes it when they “say” they don’t like quinoa

It was ok, I added some honey and that helped. Still missing something.

I LOVE this recipe. though I added an extra lime because I love lime and I added about 3 table spoons worth of cholula to give it an extra kick considering that cholula is already a flavorful hot sauce. it went perfectly with this. such a refreshing filler for stuffed bell peppers or as an appetizer with chips. simple delicious

Took this quinoa salad to a bbq and it was a big hot. At least two people who said they hated quinoa now say they like it – like this!

I make this recipe exactly as written and have for years! I love it hot or cold. Occasionally, I will add some cooked chicken, but that’s it! Perfect just as is.

Looking for a quinoa recipe that wasn’t the same as I always make and found this. I did like it. The 2nd time I made it, I did a few tweeks for myself. I added a clove of garlic & instead of 2tsp cumin , I only used 3/4tsp & 1/2tsp of chipotle seasoning. Cut the salt as my sodium is too high to 1/4tsp and used dried instead of canned black beans. This time I also added 1/2 green/red/yellow chopped peppers and to half the salad some chopped walnuts to change it up. I’m the only one who likes quinoa in our house and like to mix it up a little.

Good overall recipe as is. However, based on my family’s taste preferences, I reduce the amount of cumin, increase the amount of lime juice and red pepper flakes, omit the tomatoes, and cook the quinoa in chicken broth (so decrease the salt amount) instead of plain water.

This has been a go to for me for years! I have made it numerous times. Sometimes when I’m not organized I have subbed lemon for like and it’s still good. I also add extra cucumbers. Delicious!

The dressing was too sour for me, so I added some brown sugar. ( honey would work nicely as well). I also added some chili powder. that made it great. Can be eaten at any temperature, which is a bonus.

6 servings?! No way. More like 2 because I couldn’t stop eating it! I added a jalapeño and an avocado to spice it up and give it some smoothness. This is one of those recipes that is perfect as is, is a great base for modifications, and can be used in so many ways.