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Home » Recipes » Vegan Quinoa Recipes

Quinoa Salad Recipes: 3 Ways

Published: Jan 9, 2020 · Modified: Mar 17, 2025 by Emily · 4 Comments

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Mix and match your meal prep/lunch routine with these three easy quinoa salad recipes! Between a Mediterranean Quinoa Salad with Lemon Dressing, an Asian-Inspired Quinoa Salad with Peanut Sauce, and a Nutty Quinoa Fruit Salad, there is something for everyone. Most recipes ready in 15 minutes, all vegan and gluten-free!

mixed quinoa bowls

It's that time of year when I start to get majorly bored with my current lunches in rotation. Perhaps it's because we're finally done with holiday craziness? I enjoy eating salads year round, but they really need to be fully loaded for me to get excited.

When planning lunches, my body craves variety, but not so much that I need to buy 15 ingredients for one recipe. I love meals that are easily adapted to whatever I have on hand. Enter: quinoa salad!

quinoa in a bowl with fruit toppings

Quinoa Salad Benefits

Grain salad recipes are beautiful in their versatility. Mixing and matching vegetables, proteins, and dressing is the most fun part! Sometimes I'll just prepare a large batch of grains at the beginning of the week just so I have some on hand. Today, we're focusing on three simple recipes that can be made with cooked quinoa

  • Mediterranean Quinoa Salad with a Lemon Vinaigrette
  • Asian-Inspired Quinoa Salad with Peanut Sauce
  • Nutty Quinoa Fruit Salad with Cinnamon Maple Dressing.

These recipes all work well for packed lunch or a light dinner. The fruit salad has actually become a staple in my breakfast routine!

quinoa fruit salad with oranges

How to Cook Quinoa

Preparing a large pot of quinoa is fairly simple. It is often ready to eat in 15-20 minutes.

  1. Rinse your quinoa in a fine mesh strainer to remove saponins.
  2. Using a 2:1 ratio of water and dry quinoa, combine in a sauce pan and bring to a boil, uncovered.
  3. Once boiling, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until water is absorbed.
  4. Remove from heat, fluff quinoa with a fork, cover, and let steam for a few more minutes.

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mediterranean fruit salad

All of the recipes below can be easily doubled to feed more people. I actually find that they taste better the longer they sit, as flavors have more time to meld together.

Ways to Modify Quinoa Salad Recipes

  • In the Mediterranean Salad if you don't have kale on hand, feel free to sub in another dark leafy green, like spinach. Chickpeas are my favorite plant-based protein, but another kind of bean is an easy substitute. Capers or olives would add even more Mediterranean flavor.
  •  For the Asian-Inspired Salad, edamame is a fun plant-protein addition. Almond butter would work in place of peanut butter for the sauce. Be sure to use tamari instead of soy sauce if you are gluten-free.
  • In the Nutty Fruit Salad, any kind of frozen berry will work. It's important to reserve the juices when thawing, as this becomes part of the dressing.
asian quinoa salad

I hope you love these Quinoa Salad recipes! Please let me know which one you try first in the comments on on Instagram. Leaving a rating/review always helps me develop better content for you all.

For a more in-depth post on how to cook quinoa, click here.

For more quinoa, check out these Vegan Quinoa Beet Burgers.

three bowls of quinoa salad with an antique spoon
mediterranean fruit salad

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad with Lemon Dressing works well for meal prep! Zippy sun-dried tomatoes add fresh flavor, while chickpeas amp up the protein content. Vegan and gluten-free!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes mins
Course Main Course, Salad, Side Dish
Servings 3 people

Ingredients
  

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

  • 1 cup cooked quinoa ½ cup uncooked
  • 1 yellow orange, or red bell pepper, diced
  • ¾ cup fresh parsley or basil minced
  • 1 cup cooked chickpeas
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes sliced in half
  • 2 cups shredded kale
  • 1 shallot diced
  • ¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil roughly chopped

Mediterranean Lemon Vinaigrette

  • 1 TBS lemon juice
  • 1 TBS apple cider vinegar
  • ⅓ cup olive oil
  • ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper
  • 2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano or dried basil
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder

Asian Quinoa Salad

  • 1 cup cooked quinoa
  • 1 red or orange bell pepper diced
  • 1 cup carrot sliced into matchsticks
  • 1 cup broccoli diced into small pieces
  • 2 cups kale minced
  • ½ cup roasted cashews
  • ¼ cup cilantro optional

Asian Peanut Sauce

  • ⅓ cup peanut butter
  • 2 TBS low sodium soy sauce or tamari
  • 1 TBS lemon or lime juice
  • 1 TBS sesame oil
  • 3 teaspoon maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon each garlic and ginger powder optional
  • 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
  • Water to thin

Instructions
 

  • Mediterranean Quinoa Instructions
  • Prepare your quinoa if not already cooked (here is a great tutorial). Slice all salad ingredients as directed and add to a large bowl.
  • In a Mason jar, add all dressing ingredients and shake to combine.
  • Pour ½ of dressing onto salad, stirring to combine. Taste and add more dressing as desired.
  • Store in the fridge for up to 5 days!
  • Asian Quinoa Instructions
  • Add all quinoa salad ingredients to a large bowl and stir to combine.
  • Add all dressing ingredients to a blender and combine until smooth. Add water until a pourable sauce is achieved (up to ¼ cup water).
  • Store in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
asian quinoa salad

Asian Peanut Quinoa Salad

This Asian-Inspired Quinoa Salad with Peanut Sauce is a perfect packed lunch! Full of plant protein and tangy flavors, it's easily customized to what you have on hand. Vegan and gluten-free!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes mins
Servings 3 people

Ingredients
  

Quinoa Salad

  • 1 cup cooked quinoa
  • 1 red or orange bell pepper diced
  • 1 cup carrot sliced into matchsticks
  • 1 cup broccoli diced into small pieces
  • 2 cups kale minced
  • ½ cup roasted cashews
  • ¼ cup cilantro optional

Peanut Sauce

  • ⅓ cup peanut butter
  • 2 TBS low sodium soy sauce or tamari
  • 1 TBS lemon or lime juice
  • 1 TBS sesame oil
  • 3 teaspoon maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon each garlic and ginger powder optional
  • 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
  • Water to thin

Instructions
 

  • Add all quinoa salad ingredients to a large bowl and stir to combine.
  • Add all dressing ingredients to a blender and combine until smooth. Add water until a pourable sauce is achieved (up to ¼ cup water).
  • Store in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
quinoa fruit salad with oranges

Nutty Quinoa Fruit Salad

Perfect for breakfast or a midday snack, this fun twist on traditional fruit salad is loaded with healthy fats and antioxidants! Quinoa adds additional protein, while a Maple Cinnamon Dressing adds satisfying flavor!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes mins
Course Breakfast, Main Course, Salad, Side Dish, Snack
Servings 3 people

Ingredients
  

Quinoa Fruit Salad

  • 1 and ½ cups cooked quinoa
  • 2 cups frozen wild blueberries thawed (or other frozen berry) (Thawed berries will help add juice to the salad))
  • 1 large navel orange peeled
  • ¼ cup almonds
  • ¼ cup sunflower seeds

Cinnamon Maple Dressing

  • 2-4 TBS maple syrup depending on sweetness preference
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions
 

  • Add all quinoa salad ingredients to a large bowl. Be sure to reserve the juices from the thawed fruit, as that will help coat the salad with flavor.
  • Combine the maple syrup and cinnamon in a small bowl. Pour over the top of salad and stir to combine.
  • Store in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Pin these Quinoa Salad Recipes

Mix and match your meal prep/lunch routine with these three easy quinoa salad recipes! With a Mediterranean Quinoa Salad with Lemon Dressing, an Asian-inspired Quinoa Salad with Peanut Sauce, and a Nutty Quinoa Fruit Salad, there is something for everyone. Most recipes ready in 15 minutes, all vegan and gluten-free! #vegan #quinoa #salad #quinoasalad #healthy #recipe #glutenfree #easy #mealprep #lunch #protein #plantprotein #peanutsauce #fruitsalad

More Vegan Quinoa Recipes

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    Herby Quinoa Salad with Go-To Tahini Dressing
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    Quinoa Beet Burgers
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    Quinoa Stuffed Honeynut Squash

Comments

  1. Curt Frigon & Susannah Weis Frigon says

    January 09, 2020 at 10:31 pm

    will definitely be trying these...anything to sneak some protein in!

    Reply
    • Emily says

      January 10, 2020 at 3:53 pm

      Hope you love them!!

      Reply

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Hi, I'm Emily! I have been a plant-based food blogger since 2017. Garlic Head is a recipe website for anyone who wants to easily, affordably, and sustainably incorporate more vegetables into their diet. I am a lifelong vegetarian and 10+ year vegan.

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