Herby Quinoa Salad | The Perfect Salad for any Meal

Published July 5 2019 Updated March 12 2021

This herby quinoa salad is just what you need as a healthy accompaniment to any meal. It's rich with flavors and textures, and really easy to prepare. Quinoa, as the salad base creates a nutritionally-rich meal that your whole family can enjoy. This herby Quinoa salad makes a wonderful low-calorie salad that's easy to pack for lunch or picnics.

I'm a self-confessed quinoa addict! Seriously!

Ever since I started looking out for anti-inflammatory foods, I've fallen in love with this nutrition-rich grain. In learning about quinoa, I've created a number of fun recipes that I've shared with you, like the quinoa dinner and quinoa breakfast.

I actually created this herby quinoa salad recipe by accident, but it tasted so light and refreshing, that I had to do it again and share with you. when I first tasted this healthy herby quinoa salad recipe the first word that came to my mind was traveling! I even whispered it, I felt like being on a voyage of flavors and textures. This quinoa salad is light and fresh.

It's funny because when I Googled searching for a name that could inspire me, I landed by luck on tabouleh!

I read some few blogs and I understood that tabouleh is actually a middle east specialty… So I had traveled in my mind!

In the Middle East tabouleh is made with bulghur, but I found people substituting it with quinoa. This quinoa salad recipe is much close to tabouleh, even if I'd no idea I was making one.

Last Wednesday, I went shopping for herbs and stocked up on quite a lot of them. I didn't get any cilantro, so I opted for parsley, which I should admit, I am not a great fan of.

However, I eat parsley occasionally because it's a wonderful source of vitamin C and contains loads of other health & healing benefits.

Do you love parsley? Learn how to grow it, so that you always have some at hand.

On my shopping trip, I also picked up some fresh mint and chives. I wanted to create a dynamic mix of flavors that would temper the strong aroma of parsley.

And you know what? In this quinoa salad recipe, you won't feel the parsley. The blended flavors of fresh mint, lemon, and parsley create a unique umami taste that's simultaneously sweet and tart. Simply delicious!!

This quinoa salad recipe is one of the must-haves to take to a party or picnic salad. It will create excitement as people try to figure out what the ingredients are. The herby taste will catch many by surprise. Every ingredient in this herby quinoa salad creates a dynamic blend of flavors, that keeps you wanting more.

What is Quinoa?

• Quinoa is a seed that escaped extinction thanks to the high Andes mountains in South America. The South Americans actually venerated quinoa, and referred to it as the "mother grain"). The Spanish found that the Incas were venerating quinoa, and destroyed the quinoa farms.
• Quinoa is high in nutritional value. It has all the 9 amino acids that are essential to humans, making its protein value close to that of milk.
• It's also rich in essential fatty acids and contains high concentrations of antioxidants.
• High in fiber, vitamin B complex, vitamins E and C. It also has minerals such as Calcium, Magnesium, Iron, Potassium, Phosphorus, Manganese, Zinc, Copper, and Sodium.
• Due to its antioxidant content, quinoa helps in reducing inflammation and also promoting gastrointestinal health. It has also shown its efficacy in reducing Cholesterol.

How To Cook Quinoa

Though quinoa is costly compared to other grains, it's a seed that you should consider incorporating in your cooking. Quinoa is a nutrition-rich alternative to your everyday grains. It's also great as a source of plant-based proteins.

Quinoa is a fantastic salad base. It's a soft grain to cook and doesn't have an over-bearing flavor. Quinoa's mild flavor means it can go well with almost any food combo.

This quinoa salad recipe is a great way to use up leftover quinoa, and it's wonderful when served as a cold salad.

Here is a step by step guide on how to cook perfect quinoa.

What I love about this herby quinoa salad is that it's way more than just another classic salad. It's an anti-inflammatory meal that's great for anyone suffering from food sensitivities, such as wheat intolerance. The ingredients in this quinoa salad have the best antioxidants to help your gut heal from inflammation.

I hope you'll enjoy this herby quinoa salad as much as I did creating it for you.

Please let me know how yours turned out - did you switch up any of the herbs? Did you make a dressing to go with it?
Do let me know in the comments, please.

Love you, Githu.

Get some more quinoa recipes

• Chocolate quinoa bowl
• Vegan quinoa buddha bowl
• Sweet quinoa breakfast
• Fresh apricot quinoa salad recipe
  

📖 Recipe

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5 from 13 votes

Herby Quinoa Salad

Ultra flavorful, healthy herby quinoa salad is a delicious accompaniment to any meal! It's easy to make, and great for picnics, barbecues or any other meal. You will love the blend of flavors and textures in this salad, as well as its light & fresh taste. A wonderful, low-calorie summer salad that's perfect for clean eating and vegan diets too.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Total Time10 minutes mins

Course: Main Course, Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine: anti-inflammatory, clean eating, gluten-free, healthy, Vegan

Keyword: Quinoa salad, quinoa salad recipe

Servings: 1 people

Calories:

Author: Githu

Cost: 5€

Equipment

• Chopping board
• knife
• large bowl

Ingredients

quinoa salad

• 1 clove garlic
• 1 small thumb ginger
• 1 green onion with roots
• 1 cup cucumber
• 1 cup chopped parsley, mint and chives
• 1 red chili pepper
• 1 cup cooked cold quinoa
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• pinch of salt
• ½ lemon

Instructions

• Dice the garlic and ginger and mix them in a large bowl.
• Dice the cucumber and the chili and put them in the bowl with the garlic & ginger.
• Chop the onion, white and green parts and add them into the large bowl.
• Chop up all the herbs and add to the other ingredients in the bowl.
• Finally add your quinoa, salt, oil and a squeeze the lemon juice. See how to cook quinoa
• Fold everything together slowly using 2 mixing spoon/ fork. Mix well.
• Serve immediately or leave the salad to sit for 15-20 mins in the fridge. Resting the salad allows the flavors to blend into each other. The result will be amazing!
• Do try this out and leave me a comment to let me know how yours turned out. Don't forget to share this with friends/ family.