Recipe: Quinoa Salad for Days

Closeup of green salad with quinoa, cherry tomatoes, blue cheese

This is a nice, hearty salad, and the vegetables can be interchanged depending on the season. Our family begins making quinoa salads in the heat of summer and continues to make a variety of options all the way to the end-of-year holidays. If you have cooked quinoa in your fridge, you can easily turn out a different side dish each day by switching up fresh veggies from the Lenexa Farmers Market.

Ingredients

Garlic vinaigrette dressing

5 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Salad

2 cups cooked quinoa 1–2 green onions, chopped
1 tomato or ½ pint of grape tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup cheese (blue, feta or cheddar), cubed/crumbled/shredded
2 cups chopped lettuce 
½ cup pecans, chopped
Optional: chopped carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, different nuts, dried or fresh fruit. (Fresh apples, cranberries and pecans are a delicious combination in the fall.)

Directions

  1. Prepare quinoa as instructed on package. To season the quinoa, use a bouillon cube or broth with the water. Place in refrigerator to cool.
  2. To make the garlic vinaigrette, combine all ingredients into a small bowl. Use a fork to vigorously mix until ingredients are well incorporated and the mixture is a uniform, creamy consistency. If you have a favorite store-bought vinaigrette, that would work too.
  3. Mix vegetables (except lettuce), cheese and pecans into chilled quinoa. Then stir in dressing.
  4. Place lettuce on plate and top with quinoa mixture.
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