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This is a perfect green colour combo for a delicious summer salad. This Quinoa Salad has asparagus, peas, courgette and a zesty fresh dressing. It’s also totally customisable too.
This recipe is a great example of how sometimes simple is best.
It’s a fresh, flavourful Quinoa Salad that’s perfect for spring and summer months, or for customising in colder months with different veggies.
We’re making this with seasonal asparagus and courgettes, peas, a sprinkling of parmesan and a lemony, zesty dressing.
It’s great to keep in the fridge for lunches throughout the week or as a delicious side dish.
Serve this with…
Why you’ll love this Quinoa Salad recipe
⭐️ Healthy and protein-packed
⭐️ Perfect for make ahead lunches, picnics or side dish
⭐️ Seasonal, summery, light and delicious
How to customise your Quinoa Salad
A Quinoa Salad is the same as any other – really you can throw anything you like in and it will be delicious.
This easy summery recipe with fresh vegetables is my favourite combination, and the dressing works with it perfectly.
However, don’t be afraid to change the combinations if the greens aren’t in season right now or you want to use up the ingredients in your fridge. Experiment and see how it goes!
The best thing about using quinoa in a salad is that it’s honestly such a versatile ingredient that’s cheap and easy to work with. You can even batch cook it and then store it in the fridge to enjoy with your lunches, packed lunches or dinners during the week.
Using stock to cook quinoa
This is the single best trick for cooking tasty quinoa and I urge you to make it this way!
You can use whichever stock you prefer (such as chicken), but I tend to stick with a good quality vegetable stock.
I like Marigold brand. I buy it in bulk on Amazon and you can really tell the difference.
Quinoa Salad Ingredients Notes
- Quinoa – Buy the larger bags of plain uncooked quinoa, rather than the pre-flavoured packets
- Vegetable stock – Use good quality stock and make about 750ml with boiling water
- Vegetables – For this recipe we’re using courgettes, asparagus and (frozen) petit pois
- Olive oil – This is to slightly cook the grains before boil them
- For the dressing – Lemons (juice and zest), oil (extra virgin if possible), honey, fresh mint and sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
How to make Quinoa Salad
1. Rinse the quinoa thoroughly, fry it in oil for 5 minutes, then add the stock, cover and boil for 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, thinly slice your courgettes lengthways, trim your asparagus and griddle them for a few minutes on each side until soft.
3. Make your dressing by mixing all of the ingredients together and whisking well. Meanwhile, cook the peas in boiling water for 3 or 4 minutes.
4. When the quinoa is cooked, remove from the heat and leave the lid on for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork. Roughly chop the veggies and mix everything together with the dressing. Serve with parmesan shavings.
Substitutions
- Veggies – Feel free to experiment with what you add into the salad, or use up what’s in your fridge. This includes herbs and spices, nuts and vegetables, salad, meat or even fruit
Leftovers
In the fridge This is fine to be kept in the fridge and eaten again another day. It will be delicious served cold, or you can reheat it. It should keep fine for up to 3 days.
In the freezer I wouldn’t recommend freezing the quinoa and vegetables as it will go soggy when defrosted.
Recipe Tip: Fry your quinoa in oil first
I know this sounds controversial but I got this tip from a chef many years ago and I promise it really does make a difference!
Simply fry/toast your quinoa in a pan with olive oil BEFORE you boil it.
I guess it’s a bit like frying risotto rice before adding liquid?
It makes sure the consistency is just right and stops it from getting mushy.
More tasty salad recipes…
Side Dishes
Greek Salad
Under 15 minutes
Mexican Style Salad {with Zesty Lime Dressing}
Side Dishes
Crunchy Cabbage Salad {with Peanut Dressing}
Side Dishes
Quick Cucumber Salad {with Yoghurt Dressing}
FAQs
Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) is a grain-like ingredient, but it isn’t actually a grain – it’s a seed. It’s naturally gluten free and vegan, and is packed with protein, fibre and vitamins.
We often eat it as an alternative to cous cous, rice or pasta as it’s a hearty, bulky addition to a dish that has a nutty bite when cooked, but largely takes on the flavour of the accompanying ingredients.
Yes! It takes about 20 minutes to boil up and it can be made in advance and kept in the fridge for up to a week, meaning you can experiment with lots of different salads or add it to saucy dishes for lunches or dinners.
Simple rinse it in cold water until the liquid runs clear, then fry it a little, then add 1 part quinoa to 2 parts liquid, cover and boil until cooked – usually about 20 minutes.
Remove it from the heat and allow to stand with the lid on for about 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork and add to your dish.
Let me know how you got on and what you thought of these recipes. Please rate the recipe using the ⭐️ below.
Also I’d LOVE to see your cooking creations. If you’d like to share yours with me, you can tag me on Instagram (@tamingtwins).
Quinoa Salad {with Asparagus, Peas & Courgette}
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp Olive oil
- 250 g Quinoa
- 750 ml Vegetable stock, See notes
- 4 Courgettes, Thinly sliced lengthways
- 300 g Asparagus
- 250 g Petit pois, Frozen
For the dressing:
- 2 Lemons, Zest and juice only
- 6 tbsp Olive oil, Extra virgin preferably
- 2 tbsp Honey
- Fresh mint, Big handful | Finely chopped
- Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
To serve:
- Parmesan
Instructions
- Rinse your quinoa thoroughly in a sieve until the water runs clear.
- Put your oil into a saucepan over a medium heat and fry your quinoa for 5 minutes.
- Add the stock, cover with a lid and and boil the quinoa for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, thinly slice your courgettes lengthways and trim your asparagus. Griddle them for a few minutes on each side until soft.
- Make your dressing by mixing all of the ingredients together and whisking well.
- Cook the peas in boiling water for 3-4 minutes and drain.
- When the quinoa is cooked, switch off the heat and leave the lid on the quinoa saucepan for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
- Roughly chop the courgette and asparagus and mix with the quinoa, peas and dressing.
- Serve with shavings of Parmesan cheese.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I do love salads that are a little bit different, this is a meal on its own and wonderful flavours #TastyTuesday
I have recently discovered Quinoa too and despite being a massive carboholic I am convinced that it can replace rice or pasta. As for the rest of the ingredients, delicious! And I agree re asparagus and its replacement when it’s out of season. Massive congratulations on being a BiBs finalists, that’s just brilliant!
Thanks for linking up to #TastyTuesdays, I have pinned this recipe to the Tasty Tuesdays Pinterest board.
Hi! I literally cannot believe i’ve never been here before. I love your blog, just found you via Netmums! And well done you for making a dish with quinoa that is photographable! I made something similar to this recently and it just wasn’t pretty enough to shoot. But I do like quinoa, I guess I’m just quite inexperienced at cooking with it. Yeah it does have a tendency towards looking like frog spawn when I make it! I am SO doing that toasting thing next time… I’ll be stopping by regularly too! TTFN! X
What a gorgeous looking salad. You know, I’ve never tried quinoa. I think now I definitely will as this dish looks super tasty. Congratulations on making the BiBs finals, very well deserved. x
Congratulations on getting to the finals of the BiBs huni! You must be over the moon! This meal looks lovely, perfect for a summers lunch x #TastyTuesdays
Wow I don’t know what I am drooling more over the photos or the food in the photos. Lovely lovely snaps here and This sounds so delicious. I will have to test it out on the family too! Thanks for sharing. #tastytuesday
This looks utterly delicious. I’ve always liked the idea of quinoa but I find it needs a fair amount of attention to make it taste good. I’ll definitely be trying this, especially the toasting first!
I’m in the love quinoa camp. And as asparagus is food for the gods, peas and lemon the perfect combi, this salad sounds delectably devine to me. I trust you! #TastyTuesdays
This looks absolutely delicious. I’ve always liked the idea of quinoa, but I find it needs rather a lot of attention to make it taste good. I’ll definitely be trying this, especially the toasting first!