Fresh Summer Quinoa Salad

This Summer Quinoa salad is the perfect addition to any meal, or as a complete meal in itself! The freshness from the mint, and parsley pair perfectly with the fresh cucumber and peppers. You also get a nice bite from the shallot and the tanginess from the garlic lemon vinaigrette! This is honestly my favorite thing to make in the summer. I love to grill up chicken and make it into a chopped chicken salad as well. There are endless possibilities with this salad and I hope you love it as much as I do!

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Prep Time 5

Cook Time 0

Course Appetizer, Salad, Snack

Servings 4 people

Equipment

1 pressure cooker Optional. You can cook the quinoa on the stove top, I just find it even easier to pop it in the pressure cooker

Ingredients

1 cup uncooked quinoa rinsed in a fine-mesh colander
2 cups water
1 can 15 ounces chickpeas or black beans
1 medium cucumber seeded and chopped
1 medium red bell pepper chopped
1 Shallot
½ cup mint leaves
1 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley from 1 large bunch
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup lemon juice from 2 to 3 lemons
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic pressed or minced
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

Cook the Quinoa:

In a medium saucepan, combine the rinsed quinoa and 2 cups of water.
Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to a simmer.
Cover and cook until the quinoa is tender and has absorbed all the water, about 15 minutes.
Remove from heat and let it sit, covered, for 5 minutes.
Fluff the quinoa with a fork and let it cool to room temperature.
You could also cook the quinoa in a pressure cooker, take the one cup of uncooked quinoa and dump it into the pressure cooker. Pour over two cups of water into the cooker and set the pressure cooker to 3 mins and let it naturally release for 10 min.

Chop up the veggies while the quinoa is cooking.

Prepare the Dressing:

In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, garlic, salt, and freshly ground black pepper.

Combine the Ingredients:

In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooked quinoa, chickpeas, cucumber, red bell pepper, red onion, mint leaves, and parsley.
Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine.

Adjust Seasoning:

Taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt, pepper, or lemon juice if needed.

Chill and Serve:

Cover and refrigerate the salad for at least 30 minutes to let the flavors meld.
Serve chilled or at room temperature.
Enjoy your fresh and vibrant summer quinoa salad!

Keyword fresh summer salad for a party, large salad, quinoa salad, summer salad

Fresh Summer Quinoa Salad