If you are looking for a perfect meatless dish filled with tons of healthy veggies, this is your recipe!
A wonderfully easy recipe requiring only the chopping of the veggies and the boiling of the quinoa. No draining needed, toss together then add this fantastic dressing below.
Made once and eaten twice or more. If you don't have to share it with anyone, YOU will LOVE feasting on this all by yourself over a few days. I did 🙂
My MEAT loving hubby was intrigued, had a few bites and really liked it!
THAT says A LOT!
Seen here without the dressing at the time, but once tossed with......oh my! Be careful not too overeat on this salad.
Overeat on a salad?
Yes. I'm serious. You will really want to. 😉
Vegetable Quinoa Salad with Balsamic Dressing
[sc:Ziplist]
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup fresh (packed) spinach
- 1 stalk celery, chopped
- 1 cup sliced cucumber
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 scallions, chopped
- ¼ cup mild banana peppers rings
Balsamic Dressing
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
Directions
Place one cup of dry uncooked quinoa in a pot with water. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes until all water is absorbed. Remove from heat and allow to cool. In a large serving bowl add your chopped vegetables. In a small bowl whisk together dressing ingredients. Combine cooled quinoa with vegetables and toss with dressing. Makes about 4 ½ cups.
Nutrition Info
Servings: 4* Calories per serving: 247* Fat: 10g* Cholesterol: 0mg* Sodium: 318mg* Carbs: 33g* Fiber: 4g* Protein: 7g* Points+: 6*
Other Quinoa recipes you might like:
- Baked Quinoa Bites
- Cherry Peach Quinoa Salad
- Mango Black Bean Quinoa Salad with zesty orange low fat dressing
- Chickpea Quinoa Salad with Avocado Dressing
- Fruity Baked Quinoa
About Brenda
Brenda Bennett is a certified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, certified Sugar Detox Coach, certified Keto Coach and certified Life Coach. She has been Sugar Free & Refined carb free for 17 years and has written 2 cookbooks, Sugar-Free Mom, and Naturally Keto and her 3rd book The 30-Day Sugar Elimination Diet, is a four part program to help you detox from sugar, eliminate cravings, balance blood sugar and lose weight all while eating a delicious, nutrient dense whole foods. Meal plan offers two tracks to follow, low carb or keto. She is the founder of the Sugar Free Fresh Start course and Sugar Free Tribe weight loss membership. Learn more.
Clarice
I started the 3-day detox yesterday and had this salad today. Wonderful! The dressing along with the quinoa and veggies all paired awesomely! And YES! I could easily pig out on this.
Pat
Love your recipes. I made this for dinner last night as we still have some cherry tomatoes and cukes left from the garden. Loved it. Enough leftover for me to have some for lunch today.
Lila
Just tossed together a similar version using what I had on hand, with this as my inspiration, since I need something quick, easy, and healthy to take to work tomorrow. It's already SO good, bet it will be even better tomorrow. Thanks for the inspiration!
Rebecca Besaw
Started my sugar-free journey this past Saturday. I made this for my lunch today, and it was amazing!!! The dressing is soooo good! So thankful for you site! Thanks for all you do for the many people out there (that you'll never meet) that benefit from your hard work!
Karen
How long will this keep? I'm afraid the spinach will get slimy! 🙂 i am hoping to make it to take for lunch this week. Thank you! I'm a new reader, but I'm really enjoying and being inspired by your blog!
Good Food Good Friends
I love anything with quinoa, this looks amazing!
Megan
Hello, I am such a huge fan of your Blog!
I make a very similar dressing but I also add some mustard in it 🙂
Also as a naughty treat I tried this with roasted orange. It will blow your mind!
Brenda
thanks!