This tasty Caprese Quinoa Salad combines fresh cherry tomatoes, mozzarella balls, spinach, and basil with fluffy quinoa and a speedy balsamic dressing!
It’s that time of year were I caprese ALL THE THINGS and love every minute of it!
The delicious combination of tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, and balsamic is so fresh, flavorful, and deliciously crave-able that I can’t get enough and easily a highlight of tomato season every Summer.
This salad can be served as a light lunch, a flavor-packed side dish, and of course as a perfectly portable salad to bring to parties, potlucks, and backyard barbecues galore!
I seriously cannot wait for you to try it!
Pair this delish dish with your favorite sandwich or veggie burger and get ready to fall in love!
Caprese Quinoa Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this tasty tomato basil quinoa salad:
CHERRY TOMATOES
Tomatoes are an excellent source of vitamin C, potassium, and lycopene, and they’re easily the star of any caprese salad! You can use cherry tomatoes like I did (halved or quartered) or try it with vine-ripened tomatoes, grape tomatoes, Roma tomatoes, chopped heirloom tomatoes, or really any variety you have on hand.
BASIL
Fresh basil is a must for all things caprese. Vibrant green and oh so flavorful, basil is a fantastic source of vitamins A and K and can easily be purchased as a little potted plant to keep on your windowsill. I actually purchased a second basil plant since we use it so much this time of year.
MOZZARELLA
Another must-have ingredient for this fluffy quinoa salad is mozzarella! I like using little mozzarella balls or pearls. You can keep them whole or cut them in half to get a little cheesy goodness in every bite. I haven’t tried it yet with burrata but I imagine it would be beyond tasty!
SPINACH
Fresh spinach is a fantastic way to add extra vitamins and antioxidants to your plate and it is such a tasty addition to this salad. Regular spinach or baby spinach are both options as it will be chopped up into small pieces.
No spinach? No problem! Try it with fresh baby arugula or massaged kale – both taste excellent in this recipe. If meal prepping this salad in advance, finely chopped kale keeps the best without wilting.
QUINOA
Quinoa is a gluten-free, whole-grain, powerhouse ingredient that adds fiber, protein, and fluff factor. It’s perfect for vegetarians as it’s a complete protein and pairing it with lots of veggie goodness really amps up it’s status as a superfood.
BALSAMIC DRESSING
For this salad we’ll keep things simple and dress it with a combination of olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper. Sometimes I’ll use avocado oil in place of EVOO and that works great too!
Quinoa is great for meal prep and ingredient prep!
By cooking a batch of quinoa for the week, I can ensure its appearance on my plate over and over again. The quinoa lasts around four days in the fridge and stays light and fluffy. You can even freeze quinoa in an airtight container for up to a month!
Simply cook, fluff, season, and allow quinoa to cool completely. Then transfer to a lidded container in the fridge or freezer.
Can I make this quinoa salad in advance?
For a glorious meal prep friendly salad swap out the spinach and use finely chopped kale. It stays fresh in quinoa salads for up to 3 days without wilting.
If using kale you can prep this caprese quinoa salad, dressing and all, for weekday lunches like I did this week.
Prefer to use spinach? Simply prep the quinoa itself and toss the remaining salad ingredients together fresh before your next gathering with friends and family.
For a protein boost, try adding grilled or shredded chicken (t-rex) or creamy white beans or chickpeas (vegetarian)
Caprese Quinoa Salad with Balsamic and Basil
This tasty quinoa salad can be made with spinach or kale for added vitamins and antioxidants – eating your veggies is easy and delicious with this fresh caprese-style salad!
Let’s get our recipe on! The recipe card below has a handy dandy cook mode to help prevent your screen from going dark plus an easy print option.
Caprese Quinoa Salad with Balsamic and Basil
Ingredients
- ½ cup dry quinoa
- ¾ cup water
- salt and pepper to taste
- ⅓ cup thinly sliced red onion
- oil and vinegar for drizzling
- 1 ½ cups cherry tomatoes cut into quarters
- ¾ cup mozzarella pearls
- 3-4 TBSP fresh sliced basil
- 1-2 cups chopped fresh spinach or kale
- 1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil plus extra to taste
- 1 TBSP balsamic vinegar plus extra to taste
Instructions
MEAL PREP TIP
- For a glorious meal prep or make ahead salad, use finely chopped kale. It stays fresh in quinoa salads for up to 3 days without wilting.
FIRST COOK THE QUINOA
- Rinse and drain ½ cup of quinoa using a mesh strainer/sieve. Bring a small pot to medium heat and lightly toast the quinoa to remove any excess water, stirring often. This step is optional but really adds to the nuttiness and fluff factor of the quinoa!
MARINATE THE ONIONS
- While the quinoa cooks, marinate thinly sliced red onion in a drizzle or two of oil and vinegar. I typically use olive oil and red wine vinegar. Season with a teeny pinch of salt and pepper.
- Stir occasionally.
NEXT MAKE THE SALAD
- Chop the kale or spinach and cut cherry tomatoes into quarters. Thinly slice basil.
- Combine cooled and fluffed quinoa with choice of greens, cherry tomatoes, marinated onions, mozzarella pearls, and basil.
- Toss with 1 TBSP each of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Mix well and add additional oil and vinegar to taste and any additional seasoning desired. Enjoy!
- You can dive in right away or chill before serving. I love it both ways!
Notes
Nutrition
What type of quinoa should I use?
When searching for quinoa in the grocery store, you’ll find it near the rice and grains or sometimes even in the bulk bins of nuts and grains. These are the types you’ll see most often:
- white quinoa
- red quinoa
- black quinoa
- tri-color quinoa
White quinoa is the most common and has a fluffy texture when cooked. I use this for grain bowls, quinoa salads, veggie burgers, and as a rice substitute. It’s my top choice for this caprese inspired salad recipe!
Red quinoa and black quinoa are a little chewier in texture, sort of like brown rice is chewier than white rice. Tri-color quinoa is a mix of red, white, and black quinoa. I love using this in veggie chili recipes and for hearty kale salads!
How do I cook quinoa?
1. First rinse and strain quinoa using a mesh sieve/strainer. Rinsing is helpful because quinoa has a slightly bitter coating on it. A quick rinse removes the coating.
2. Toss the drained quinoa straight in the pot without water and allow to toast on medium-high heat for a few minutes while you stir often. You don’t quite want to brown it, but instead want to kick that little extra moisture that the quinoa might be holding on to. Sometimes I skip this step but I try to lightly toast it if I have a couple minutes to spare since it adds a light nuttiness to the quinoa.
3. Ignore the package and nix the rice ratio of 1:2 (1 cup rice to 2 cups water) and instead do a 1:1.5 ratio for quinoa. That measures up to 1 cup dry quinoa per 1.5 cups of water. For this recipe we’ll use 1/2 cup of dry white quinoa with 3/4 cup water.
4. Bring to a boil then immediately reduce heat to low.
5. Cover the pot, leaving the lid slightly ajar to vent (I get the fluffiest results doing this) and simmer for approx. 12-13 minutes.
6. At the 12 minute mark, check the quinoa. If it’s still a bit wet, add an additional 2-3 minutes of cook time until it’s nice and fluffy. Remove lid, fluff with a fork, and season with salt and pepper.
Caprese Recipe Collection
Try these caprese inspired eats next!
If you get a chance to try this caprese quinoa salad recipe, let me know! You can leave me a comment here (LOVE checking those daily!) or tag @PEASandCRAYONS on Instagram so I can happy dance over your creations. I can’t wait to see what you whip up!
Questions & Reviews
I cannot express how much my family and I LOVE this recipe!!! It is definetly going in our go-to side recipes!! Yum!!! I paired it with albacore tuna patties and created both as a meal! Thanks so much!!
Teresa you just made my day! Thank you! I am so glad your family loves the recipe and pairing with tuna patties sounds SO DELISH!
Thanks! My family enjoyed it.
So happy to hear it!