Summer is Here – So is Quinoa Salad!
It is time for yet another long Texas summer. As the temperature rises, my palate starts craving for cooling foods: salads, cold soups, veggie juices and smoothies. Perhaps, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention my summertime indulgences: home-made margaritas, sangrias, Spiced Mulled Wine and organic white wine. 🙂
In the summer, we are lot more active. The day is busy with yardwork, longer dog walks, yoga sessions, pool time, and gardening. Therefore, the body needs appropriate nutrition for all the calories spent.
It is very simple to make this quinoa salad. If you want to serve this cold, you can cook the quinoa in advance, and refrigerate it. The wonderful feature of this dish is that the rest of the ingredients are raw. Nothing to cook, stir, or sauté! Additionally, eating raw veggies gives you the nutritional “oomph”. What can beat this?
What Variety of Quinoa?
Although scores of varieties of quinoa exist in the Andes, three are most widely cultivated and available in the US markets are white, red, and black. The taste and nutrition are similar among the colors.
Quinoa or White Quinoa: This is the most common kind of quinoa available in stores, so you’ll often see it just called quinoa. Sometimes it’s also called ivory quinoa.
Red Quinoa: This quinoa holds its shape after cooking a bit better than white quinoa and makes it more suitable for cold salads or other recipes where a distinct grain is especially desirable.
Black Quinoa: A bit earthier and sweeter than white quinoa, black quinoa keeps its striking black color when cooked. I love this color!
Summer Quinoa Salad
I use multi-colored quinoa just because it tastes much nuttier than using just white quinoa. You can buy pre-mixed tri-colored quinoa from your local grocery store. I find it cheaper to buy organic white, black and red quinoa from the bulk section and mix them myself, in the proportions that I prefer (less of white, more of red and black).
You can cook the quinoa either on the stove top or use a rice cooker (my choice of cooking). While cooking, add a tad bit of coconut oil while cooking the quinoa, so the seeds hold their shape and don’t turn mushy. Usually, 1 cup of uncooked quinoa needs 2 cups of water.
This dish is better eaten cold and is a great item to serve by itself at lunch, or as a prelude to dinner, as a salad.
Love quinoa? Try:
You Will Love These Summer Salads!
- Spicy Tangy Sprouts Carrots Salad
- Cauliflower ‘Rice’
- Tangy-ly Spicy Sweet Jicama Salad
- Zesty Carrot Garbanzo Usli
- Colorfully Crunchy Strawberry Grape Kale Salad
- Kale, Pear, Turnip, Goat Cheese Salad
- Balsamic Caprese
- Delicious Carrot-Cucumber Kosumbari Salad
- Tabbouli-Tabbouleh (Parsley Salad)
- Raw Dosakaya Salad
- Harvest Salad with Spinach-Apple-Pomegranate
Colored peppers provide you your daily quota of Vitamins A and C, phytochemicals and carotenoids, particularly beta-carotene, which lavish you with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits. Quinoa is one of only a few plant foods that are considered a complete protein, containing all nine essential amino acids.
Do you love our posts and recipes? We’d LOVE to see your creations so click a photo and tag us on Instagram with the hashtag #healthyindian3 and please give a star (★) rating below. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube & Tumblr for healthy, easy and delicious recipes and lifestyle tips.
*There could be affiliate links in this blog. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
Summer Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Quinoa - Tri-colored quinoa works best
- 1 Teaspoon Olive Oil - Avocado Oil and Coconut Oil also work well
- 1/2 Cup Red Bell Peppers - Finely chopped
- 1/2 Cup Yellow Bell Peppers - Finely chopped
- 1/2 Cup Orange Bell Peppers - Finely chopped
- 1/4 Cup Onion - Sweet, Finely chopped
- 1 Medium Green Chili Pepper - Finely chopped. Vary to taste
- 1 Tablespoon Cilantro - Finely chopped
- 3 Teaspoons Lemon Juice
- 2 Teaspoons Balsamic Vinegar
- 1/4 Teaspoon Himalayan Pink Salt - Or to taste
Instructions
- Wash quinoa, drain, add filtered water to cover the seeds and let soak for a couple of hours. If you don't have time, you can cook right away (see the next step).
- If soaking, drain the water. Add 2 cups of filtered water, a teaspoon olive/avocado/coconut oil and cook until done. Fluff with fork and store in refrigerator, if you want to serve a chilled salad. Otherwise, leave at room temperature.
- Chop bell peppers, onion, cilantro, green chilies and mix everything in a large bowl.
- Add the fluffed quinoa, salt, lemon juice and balsamic vinegar to the veggie bowl and mix well.
- Serve as a dish by itself or as a salad preceding a meal.
Tried out this recipe…not with the TRI colour Quinoa though….but equally refreshing and yummy
Thanks for the feedback! I do hope you come back and check out other recipes on this blog.
Thank you for sharing this fresh, healthy, flavorful, aesthetic salad!!!! I used lime instead of lemon bc that’s all I had😋 I am looking forward to trying other recipes from you!:)
Hi! Thank YOU for writing and making this salad. This is one of my summer favs when it gets too hot in Texas to stand in front of a stove for too long. Lime works just as well. Do revisit and try some of our other recipes.