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Our easy Cold Quinoa Salad with Chickpeas and Rice is light, refreshing, and so easy to make in minutes! Complete with homemade lemon garlic vinaigrette and fresh vegetables, this is a perfect spring and summer salad recipe you will love.
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I love making easy salads to pair with my favorite summer grilling recipes, and this cold quinoa salad is by far one of my favorites. It’s fresh, light, and packed with fun and flavorful ingredients like chickpeas and bell peppers.
Our healthy quinoa salad is delicious enough to eat on its own, but it also works well as a side dish. The homemade garlic lemon vinaigrette drizzled on top brings all of its flavors together and makes it a truly irresistible dish.
What is quinoa?
Pronounced “KEEN-wah”, Quinoa is not actually a grain but a seed. According to the Healthline article, What is Quinoa, it is highly nutritious and healthy.
It’s a carbohydrate that’s rich in fiber and protein, plus B vitamins and minerals. 1 cup of quinoa has twice the protein and more fiber than 1 cup of cooked rice, so it’s a perfect choice for those on a vegetarian or vegan meal plan.
Quinoa is easy to make and has a neutral taste, so it pairs well with a wide variety of flavors – like our garlic lemon vinaigrette! For nutritional purposes, quinoa is considered to be a whole grain and is gluten-free.
Healthy quinoa salad is wholesome and filling!
How to Make Quinoa Taste Good
The secret to what makes our zesty quinoa salad taste so incredible is our lemon vinaigrette. This easy quinoa salad dressing is so flavorful and pairs deliciously with the ingredients of this salad.
Quinoa Salad Dressing
- Olive oil
- Lemon juice
- Red wine vinegar
- Minced garlic
We pair our cucumber quinoa salad with a homemade garlic lemon vinaigrette recipe. It pairs deliciously with the fresh vegetables, quinoa, and brown rice in this recipe, and is so easy to whip up.
How to Make Quinoa Salad
- Cook brown rice and quinoa and allow both to chill, ideally overnight.
- Mix together chickpeas, cucumber, bell pepper, onion, and parsley. Set aside.
- Whisk olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, and garlic together. Add to the chilled chickpea and rice mixture and combine.
- Drizzle dressing over the salad, add salt and pepper to taste, and toss together.
- Let the salad rest 5-10 minutes so the flavors fully combine. Serve, and enjoy!
Like cheese on your salads? Make this a quinoa feta salad! Feta is a delicious addition to the flavors in this cold quinoa salad recipe.
Is quinoa gluten free?
Yes! Quinoa is 100% gluten-free. This salad is a great choice for those on a gluten-free meal plan.
Recipe Tips
- Quinoa is sold pre-washed, but it’s best to rinse and drain it in a colander before you cook it, as its natural coating can taste bitter if unwashed.
- Cut the vegetables into even pieces so your healthy quinoa salad combines well.
- Make sure to cool quinoa and rice before adding to the salad. Cooling a day ahead of time will allow them to absorb flavors better.
- 1 cup dried quinoa = 3 cups cooked quinoa.
Substitutions
- Bell peppers: Use any color you like – we use red.
- Chickpeas: Cannellini beans are a popular substitute for chickpeas.
- You can make this salad with just quinoa. Just replace the rice with the same parts quinoa.
Additions
- Feta cheese: Quinoa feta salad is delicious! Try adding a little sprinkle of feta to yours.
- Tomatoes: Grape or cherry tomatoes work well in this cold quinoa salad.
- Beets: Beet quinoa salad is a great combination!
Can I make this dish ahead of time?
You can make cold quinoa salad up to a day ahead of time, but we recommend leaving out the cucumbers and mixing them in when ready to serve, as cut cucumbers quickly become too soft in the refrigerator. Store the dressing separately for best results.
In fact, we recommend making this Mediterranean quinoa and rice salad ahead of time as the flavor intensifies while refrigerated. This is an amazingly tasty summer salad!
What does quinoa pair well with?
This is the best quinoa salad for pairing with beef, chicken, and seafood. We love it most with our Lebanese Beef Kabobs – this pairing is out of this world delicious!
This recipe makes a great side dish for the holidays. Pair it with my other Side Dishes for Ham, Thanksgiving Dishes, Side Dishes for Prime Rib or Christmas Side Dishes!
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📋 Recipe
Cold Quinoa Salad with Chickpeas and Rice
Equipment
Ingredients
For cold quinoa salad
- 1 cup cooked brown rice
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- 1 can chickpeas drained & rinsed
- 1 cucumber seeded & chopped
- 1 red bell pepper chopped
- ¾ cup red onion chopped
- 1 cup fresh parsley chopped fine
For lemon vinaigrette
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook brown rice and quinoa and allow both to chill, ideally overnight. Mix together chickpeas, cucumber, bell pepper, onion, and parsley. Set aside.
- Whisk olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, and garlic together. Add to the chilled chickpea and rice mixture and combine.
- Drizzle dressing over the salad, add salt and pepper to taste, and toss together.
- Let the salad rest 5-10 minutes so the flavors fully combine. Serve, and enjoy!
Let us know what you think or ask a question about the recipe!