Flavorful Quinoa Salad Recipe
I love quinoa, but I often feel that it isn’t very flavorful. This dish combats that by roasting the quinoa and cooking it in broth. The result is an incredibly flavorful grain combined with fresh vegetables like cucumber, red bell pepper, and red onion. The zesty dressing, made with olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, garlic, salt, and black pepper, adds a tangy and refreshing kick. This recipe stays well in the fridge and is great as lunch the next day.
Don’t be alarmed by the lengthy ingredient list and instructions. The recipe comes down to cooking the quinoa, adding the vegetables and chickpeas, and making the dressing.
Flavorful Quinoa Salad Recipe
Course: SaladDifficulty: Medium4
servings30
minutesQuick Tip: Make sure to use low-sodium broth to avoid a salty flavor.
Ingredients
- Quinoa
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed in a fine-mesh colander
2 cups vegetable broth low-sodium
- Salad
1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 medium cucumber, chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup chopped red onion
2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley (from 1 large bunch)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
- Dressing
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup lemon juice (from 2 to 3 lemons)
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Directions
- Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the quinoa and toast, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the vegetable broth and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer until the quinoa is tender and has absorbed all the broth, about 15 minutes.
- Remove the cooked quinoa from the heat and transfer it to a large serving bowl. Let the quinoa cool for about 10 minutes.
- In the same bowl, add the chickpeas, 1 cucumber, 1 bell pepper, 1/2 cup of onion, 2 tablespoons of parsley, and 1 teaspoon of dried oregano.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the 1/4 cup of olive oil, 1/4 cup of lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar, 2 cloves of garlic, and black pepper until well blended.
- Drizzle the dressing over the quinoa and vegetable mixture in the serving bowl. Toss until all the ingredients are thoroughly combined.
- Season with additional salt and black pepper to taste. If desired, squeeze fresh lemon juice over the salad for added freshness.
- For the best flavor, let the salad rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Serve chilled or at room temperature.
