Recipe: Quinoa Salad "Your Way"

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I call this delicious Quinoa salad "your way" because you can easily make it your own recipe by substituting some of the ingredients. The opportunities are endless, and each salad will have its own taste and personality!

Serves 8
Prep time: 15 minutes
Total time: 2:15

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups chicken broth, low sodium
  • 1 cup quinoa, well rinsed
  • 1 cup sliced green, red, and/or orange sweet bell pepper
  • 1 cup toasted pecans
  • 1/2 cup slightly steamed broccoli florets
  • 1/2 cup chopped purple onion
  • 1/2 cup sweet potato diced and roasted with dash of freshly cracked black pepper
  • 1/4 cup celery

    Vinaigrette:

  • 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon fresh mixed herbs,chopped (such as basil, thyme, parsley, oregano)

Instructions:

In a small saucepan, combine the broth and quinoa.

Bring to boiling; reduce heat.

Cover and simmer about 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.

Remove from heat and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine sweet pepper, pecans, sweet potato, onions, and celery.

Add the cooked quinoa and mix well.

Combine vinegar and mustard and whisk until well blended.

Add herbs.

Add to quinoa.

Can cover and refrigerate for 2 to 4 hours before serving.


Cooking Wiser:



  • If you are watching your sugars substitute the sugar in the vinaigrette for your favorite artificial sweetener (1 packet = 2 teaspoons sugar). You could also use Agave syrup, a food with a low glycemic index, the syrup won’t raise your blood glucose levels as much as sugar or honey do. Plus, it’s sweeter than sugar, so you’ll use less.

      Create your own
      Substitute and use any of the following

    • -- Garbanzo beans, olives, feta cheese, tomatoes (when in season) with lime, cilantro and olive oil vinaigrette
    • -- Corn, black beans, tomatoes, cilantro with ranch or thousand island dressing
    • -- Summer vegetables such as cucumbers, peppers, grape tomatoes, broccoli with Italian dressing
    • Although this recipe calls for fresh herbs, you can substitute with dry herbs by using 1/3 the amount. I used parsley, basil and lemon thyme which all compliment the other ingredients.
    • Sauté the quinoa in 1 tablespoon olive oil on medium high heat for 4 minutes to toast and release more flavor, then continue with directions.
    • The pecans and sweet potatoes add sweetness to the recipe without adding sugar.