This bright salad is a breeze to make, especially if you have cooked quinoa on hand! See why Simple Quinoa Salad needs to be part of your repertoire.
It may surprise you to hear that I’ve been cooking up a storm lately, because I sure haven’t been blogging up a storm! In part that’s because I’ve been making a lot of other people’s recipes. Then there was the new take on porridge that I made for breakfast earlier this week, photographed and then ate, only to discover that it looked better (much) than it tasted. I’ve also made three cakes this month. That’s a lot, right? If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll have seen pretty (and sometimes pretty rustic) birthday cakes, here, here and here. So clearly, I’ve been busy in the kitchen, just not at the computer!
If you’re on Instagram, why not follow along and see what I’m up to? Lots of tasty things show up there that never make it to the blog. If you’re not on Instagram, you can check in online at this link.
Simple Quinoa Salad
Now that my Instagram commercial is over, I thought I’d pop in to share this fast and simple quinoa salad with you. One reason it’s so fast is that I made a big batch of quinoa the other day, simply following the package directions. I had bits and bobs of both red and “regular” quinoa tucked away in the back of the cupboard, so I mixed them together.
Pre-cooking grains and legumes is a great strategy to streamline future meal prep! So far, I’ve used my stash of quinoa in a tasty turkey/sweet potato hash dish, as well as in the lamentable aforementioned porridge (I think I got the spicing wrong, but that’s another story).
Anyway, having cooked quinoa on hand made this salad a breeze to put together. I diced a carrot, a celery stalk and a hunk of red onion, then measured out oil and vinegar. That was pretty much it, and the result was a quick and easy lunch this afternoon, with lots of crunch and zing. Just the thing for this grey day, or any day, really!
Simple Quinoa Salad
This bright and simple quinoa salad is a breeze to make, especially if you have pre-cooked quinoa on hand!
© Marlene Cornelis/Urban Cottage Life.com 2017
- 1 carrot, diced
- 1 stalk celery, diced
- small portion red onion, finely diced (about 2 tbsp)
- 1-1/2 cups cooked quinoa (red, white or a mix)
- 1 tbsp avocado oil or extra virgin olive oil
- 2 to 2-1/2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
- freshly ground pepper, to taste
Place the carrot, celery and red onion in a bowl. Add the quinoa, then measure the oil and 2 tbsp vinegar directly on top. Add a couple of pinches of salt and a good grinding of pepper, then mix well. Taste to see if you need more vinegar or seasonings. If you’re going to store the salad in the fridge for a while before eating it, taste again before serving to see if anything needs adjusting.
Published 2017 01 26
Updated 2019 03 09
Love quinoa and your sounds very delicious…..
Thank you, Suzanne. I just finished the leftovers for today’s lunch, and it was still crunchy and full of bright flavour. I’ll be making this again!
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