A meal prep superstar, this Vegan Quinoa Salad can be made in advance for tasty portable lunches and as a speedy option for weeknight dinners.
Vegan Quinoa Salad
I make a LOT of quinoa salads. They’re so conveniently meal preppable and nutritionally balanced that they’ve become a staple in my kitchen year-round.
Today’s salad faceplant features fluffy seasoned quinoa, a zippy citrus dressing, and ALL. THE. VEGGIES.
You can easily customize it based on your favorite vegetables and it’s flexible enough that you can use pretty much any oil/vinegar based dressing you’d like. I’ve made it with both my Lemon Vinaigrette, Cilantro Lime Dressing, and Greek Dressing and it’s downright delicious!
quinoa salad vegetables
You can put a spin on this colorful quinoa salad recipe by using your favorites or simply deep diving into your crisper to use up all the little bits and pieces of veggies leftover from past dishes. Choose your favorites and mix and match for the ultimate veggie loaded quinoa salad!
- peppers (bell pepper, banana peppers, jalapeños, etc)
- tomatoes (all varieties)
- onion (all varieties)
- cucumber
- chopped massaged kale
- fresh spinach or arugula
- fresh herbs (parsley, scallions, cilantro)
- olives
- sweet corn
- avocado
- edamame (steamed and shelled)
- chopped broccoli and/or cauliflower
- shredded carrots
- roasted sweet potato
Ready to get your veggie on? Here’s the recipe for this tasty quinoa salad:
Vegan Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry quinoa or 3 cups cooked
- 1 ½ cups water
- 15 oz (1 can) black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 cup diced bell peppers
- 1 cup diced tomatoes
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- ½ cup finely chopped red onion
OPTIONAL EXTRAS
- lime slices to garnish
- fresh chopped herbs (parsley, scallions, etc…)
- additional veggies
DRESSING OPTION #1 – Cilantro Lime
- ¼ cup fresh squeezed lime juice
- 3-4 TBSP avocado oil or light olive oil
- 1 TBSP red wine vinegar or white wine vinegar
- 1 clove garlic (peeled, smashed, and minced)
- 3-4 TBSP chopped cilantro leaves
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp ground cumin
DRESSING OPTION #2 – Lemon Vinaigrette
- 1.5 lemons juiced
- 3 TBSP avocado oil or light olive oil
- 1 tsp white wine vinegar
- 1 clove garlic (peeled, smashed, and minced)
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Instructions
COOK THE QUINOA
- Rinse and drain ¾ cup quinoa using a mesh strainer or sieve.
- Bring a medium saucepan to medium heat and lightly toast the quinoa to remove any excess water. Stir as it toasts for just a few minutes. This step is optional but really adds to the nuttiness and fluff factor of the quinoa!
- Next add 1 ¼ cup water, set burner at high, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer, covered with the lid slightly ajar, for 13 minutes or until quinoa is fluffy and the liquid has been absorbed.
- Fluff with a fork and transfer to a large mixing bowl.
PREP THE VEGGIES + DRESSING
- While the quinoa cooks, chop and prep remaining ingredients. Dice tomatoes and peppers, peel and finely dice onion, peel and mince garlic. Chop fresh herbs. Drain and rinse beans.
- For the dressing, combine ingredients in a small mason jar, secure the lid, and shake well.
- If you're adding extra vegetables to the mix (hooray!) simply make a little extra dressing so you have enough. Leftover dressing will keep 4 days refrigerated.
- Once quinoa is fluffed and ready, add beans, vegetables, and choice of herbs. Shake the dressing once and add about ½ of it to the salad right away and any extra desired when serving.
CHILL + ENJOY!
- Refrigerate to cool quinoa and allow flavors to mingle and amplify, approx. 1 hour or longer if meal prepping. Enjoy chilled and feel free to add any additional seasoning, veggies, or lime juice (to taste) after chilling.
- Boost the flavors with extra of any of the following: cilantro, scallions, chili powder, cumin, and/or additional salt + pepper. Let your taste buds be your guide!
Notes
Nutrition
New to Quinoa?
I’ve got your back! Check out my tutorial on HOW TO COOK QUINOA for tips, tricks, and process photos galore. Quinoa is one of my favorite grains to prep in advance and I’ll often make a batch each week. It can easily be added to salads, chilis, soups, taco bowls, and more!
Behind the Blog
- CURRENTLY READING: Intercepts by T.J. Payne 😃 I needed a palate cleanser after A Sea of Unspoken Things and a spooky little horror novel is just perfect. I’m in the habit of genre hopping so I’ll probably dive into historical fiction after that. Does anyone else do this?
- CURRENTLY WATCHING: Since Severance is about to start back up, I’m rewatching season 1. I love how creepy this show is and how it always keeps me guessing! This time around I’m noticing so many things I overlooked the first time.
- CURRENTLY LISTENING TO: The Wicked soundtrack. Still. I’m not sure I’ll ever stop at this rate!
In other news, my tween has discovered the magic of mascara and is stealing mine daily. I still remember the time she decided to paint both herself and the bathtub with mascara. We’ve come a long way but somehow it still feels like yesterday!
If you get a chance to try this vibrant vegan quinoa salad recipe, let me know. Leave me a comment or review using the form below. I’m always so excited to hear from you!
Questions & Reviews
This was great! I used my rice cooker to make the quinoa so that was easy and hands off…I chose cucumbers, canned corn, canned black beans, edamame, onions, tomatoes, black olives and carrots and then made the cilantro lime dressing with it. Daughter said “I’ll eat this” so it’s a win. Made a big batch that we’ll eat down as the week goes by. Thanks for sharing this.