Herby Quinoa Salad with a Classic Tahini Dressing is what all plant-based meal prepping aspires to be. It's full of unique textures, fresh flavors, and is high in vegan protein.
Prep Time15 minutesmins
Cook Time15 minutesmins
Course: dinner
Cuisine: American
Keyword: dinner, quinoa
Servings: 6servings
Calories: 326.9kcal
Author: Emily
Ingredients
For Go-To Tahini Dressing:
4TBSextra virgin olive oil
Juice of ½ large lemon
2 ½TBStahini pasterunny
1small garlic cloveminced
¼teaspoonsalt
Pinchof pepper
1teaspoonmaple syrup
For Herby Salad:
1cupdry quinoa
1can of chickpeasdrained and rinsed (15 oz, or about 1 ½ cups cooked)
2-3cupsbaby kale
½cupchopped parsley
½cupchopped basil or mint
2green onionswhite and green parts, chopped
¼cupvegan fetaor olives
¼cupchopped almondsor other nut/seed, maybe hemp or sunflower
½cupblueberriesfresh or dried
Instructions
To make tahini dressing: Combine olive oil, lemon juice, tahini, garlic, salt, pepper, and maple syrup in a small jar. Stir to fully combine, adding more olive oil if the mixture is too thick. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed, adding more salt to highlight other flavors and more maple syrup for sweetness (if your tahini is a bit bitter).
To prepare the quinoa: rinse under a fine strainer as needed, to remove any bitter notes. Add to a small pot with 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Let cook for 12-15 minutes, until water is absorbed. Remove from heat, fluff with a fork, and cover for a few minutes more to steam.
While quinoa is cooking, add chickpeas, kale, parsley, basil/mint, green onions, feta if using, and almonds to a large bowl. Pour quinoa on top and drizzle dressing over everything. Stir to combine, working to coat as much as possible with the tahini sauce.
Top with blueberries and serve at room temperature. This will taste even better as it sits in the fridge, as flavors will have time to marinate.
Video
Notes
To store, cover in a container and refrigerate for 4-5 days. The herbs may begin to wilt a bit but should taste fine.