Description
Looking for a summer quinoa salad? You’ll love this strawberry quinoa salad with goat cheese, cucumbers, candied nuts and a homemade vinaigrette!
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa, uncooked
- 1 cup cooked chickpeas*
- 1/2 cucumber, diced
- 1/2 yellow (or green) bell pepper, diced
- 2 cups fresh strawberries, diced
- 1/2 cup pepitas
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
- 1/2 cup healthy candied walnuts or candied pecans
- 1/2 cup goat cheese, crumbled
Vinaigrette
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Add the uncooked quinoa to a saucepan along with 2 cups of water or vegetable stock and turn the heat to medium-high. Once the liquid starts simmering, turn the temperature down to low and place the lid on, cooking for about 15 minutes. Remove the saucepan from heat and allow it to sit for 10-15 minutes before removing to a large salad bowl and allowing it to cool.
- Once cooled, add the cooked (or crispy) chickpeas, cucumber, bell pepper, fresh strawberries, pepitas, sunflower seeds, candied nuts and goat cheese.
- Prepare the vinaigrette by whisking together the dressing ingredients. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss everything to combine. Serve immediately or store in the fridge for later use.
Store leftover salad in the fridge for up to 2-3 days.
**Make ahead tip: Make the salad up to 1-2 days ahead of time, keeping it in the fridge until ready to serve.
Notes
*If you want to use crispy chickpeas, rinse and dry a can of chickpeas and scatter them on a baking sheet. Add some olive oil to the chickpeas, along with a little sea salt, and roast them on a baking sheet at 425 F for about 20 minutes or until crispy, shaking once or twice while cooking.
**If making this salad ahead to keep in the fridge, do not add the crispy chickpeas or candied nuts until ready to serve, as they’ll go soft after some time in the fridge.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: salad
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: american
