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quinoa salad in white bowl topped with avocado
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5 from 5 votes

HEALTHY QUINOA SALAD

Quinoa salad is perfect for summer BBQ parties or quick lunch on busy weekdays. It's crunchy with fresh vegetables and toasted pine nuts. It's even more delicious accompanied by slices of avocado or chicken breast.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: healthy salad, healthy side dish, quinoa, quinoa salad
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 210kcal
Author: Julia

Ingredients

Quinoa

  • 1 cup quinoa
  • 2 cups water
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Vegetables

  • 1 medium red bell pepper
  • 2 sticks celery
  • 4 small radishes
  • 1/2 cup canned corn
  • 1/2 cup canned beans
  • 2 tbsp chopped parsley
  • 1 cup parmesan

Dressing

  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • salt
  • pepper

Topping (optional)

  • 1/2 cup grilled pine nuts
  • 1/2 medium avocado

Instructions

Cooking quinoa

  • Place quinoa, water & salt in a medium saucepan and bring it to boil. Simmer quinoa for 20min. All the water will evaporate and you will be left with tender quinoa. Transfer the quinoa in large size kitchen bowl and let it cool down.
  • In the meanwhile, when quinoa is cooking, cut and clean vegetables; bell pepper, celery and radishes. Cut the vegetables on small pieces.
    cut vegetables
  • Take the large bowl with quinoa and place all the vegetables (including beans and corn) inside. Add parmesan and thinly chopped parsley. Mix it well with wooden spoons.

For dressing

  • In another small kitchen bowl, mix together olive oil & lemon juice. Season it with salt and pepper. Pour the vinaigrette over the salad and mix it well.
    dressing

Toppings (optional)

  • Place pine nuts on small non-stick pan and toast them for 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring constantly.
    toasted pine nuts
  • Serve quinoa salad topped with toasted pine nuts and cut avocado.
    quinoa salad with avocado