Favorite Quinoa Salad
This quinoa salad recipe is the best! Everyone loves this healthy quinoa salad made with quinoa, chickpeas, red bell pepper, cucumber, parsley and lemon.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on September 5, 2024
Introducing my favorite quinoa salad! I’ve published more than a few quinoa salads over the years and I genuinely love all of them, but this recipe is officially my favorite.
This quinoa salad is refreshing, crisp and delicious. It’s made simply with fresh cucumber, red bell pepper, red onion, chickpeas, fresh parsley and a garlicky olive oil and lemon dressing. The salad sort of reminds me of tabouleh, an herbed Lebanese salad with tomatoes and bulgur.
The Best Quinoa Salad
Three reasons to love this recipe:
- This quinoa salad recipe is also very easy to toss together, especially if you use leftover quinoa (see recipe note). The recipe uses my preferred quinoa cooking method, which yields fluffy quinoa every time.
- This salad packs great for lunch, picnics, road trips and plane rides.
- Bring this allergy-friendly salad along to your next potluck—it’s vegan/dairy free, gluten free, and nut free, for all to enjoy.
This recipe doesn’t taste “basic,” but it has a lot of merits that make it a staple recipe in my kitchen. I hope it becomes your go-to quinoa salad recipe, too! Please let me know how it turns out for you in the comments.
Watch How to Make Quinoa Salad
My summer has been punctuated by fun, casual get-togethers with friends. Spontaneous afternoons at the pool, walks around the park, and potlucks—yes to all of the above. It’s nice to have supplies at the ready. My pool bag is packed with magazines and sunscreen, and my fridge is stocked with quinoa salad and Bota Box Wine (thank you, Bota Box!).
The “Bota Mini” size is super portable and easy to grab for an evening picnic at the park. The small boxes are convenient because you don’t have to remember to bring a bottle opener, and the empty boxes are lightweight and recyclable. Each 500 mL mini contains three glasses of wine, or just over half of a standard wine bottle. I recommend pairing their light, crisp Sauvignon blanc with this refreshing summer salad.
Please let me know how this recipe turns out for you in the comments! I love hearing from you and hope this quinoa salad becomes your favorite, too.
Craving more fresh and delicious salads? Here are a few more:
- Quinoa Broccoli Slaw
- Sun-Dried Tomato, Quinoa and Spinach Salad
- Mexican(ish) Kale and Quinoa Salad
- Herbed Quinoa and Chickpea Salad
Favorite Quinoa Salad
This quinoa salad recipe is the best! Everyone loves this healthy quinoa salad made with quinoa, chickpeas, red bell pepper, cucumber, parsley and lemon. It’s vegan and gluten free, too! Recipe yields 4 medium salads or 8 side salads.
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed in a fine-mesh colander
- 2 cups water
- 1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas, rinsed and drained, or 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas
- 1 medium cucumber, seeded and chopped
- 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
- ¾ cup chopped red onion (from 1 small red onion)
- 1 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley (from 1 large bunch)
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup lemon juice (from 2 to 3 lemons)
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- To cook the quinoa: Combine the rinsed quinoa and the water in a medium saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, then decrease the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook, uncovered, until the quinoa has absorbed all of the water, about 15 minutes, reducing heat as time goes on to maintain a gentle simmer. Remove from heat, cover, and let the quinoa rest for 5 minutes, to give it time to fluff up.
- In a large serving bowl, combine the chickpeas, cucumber, bell pepper, onion and parsley. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, garlic and salt. Whisk until blended, then set aside.
- Once the quinoa is mostly cool, add it to the serving bowl, and drizzle the dressing on top. Toss until the mixture is thoroughly combined. Season with black pepper, to taste, and add an extra pinch of salt if necessary. For best flavor, let the salad rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
- This salad keeps well in the refrigerator, covered, for about 4 days. Serve chilled or at room temperature.
Notes
Recipe inspired by the outrageous herbaceous chickpea salad in my cookbook (page 71) and my quinoa tabbouli.
*Quinoa note: If you happen to have 3 cups of leftover cooked quinoa, you can use it instead of cooking more.
Change it up: This salad is awesome as written. You can serve it on fresh greens with an extra drizzle of olive oil and squeeze of lemon juice for dressing. Feel free to top it with crumbled feta cheese or a dollop of cashew sour cream (recipe in my cookbook, page 217).
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
This post was sponsored by Bota Box and I received compensation for my participation. Opinions are my own, always. Thank you for supporting the sponsors who support C+K!
I don’t usually leave comments but I have made this salad several times now and it’s my favourite. I now double the recipe so I can eat it all week long. I never get tired of it. Super delicious. Thanks.
Hi Eve, I’m so glad you enjoy it. Thanks for taking the time to rate and review.
This was easy and so good! It will definitely be on my favorite salad list.
This recipe is so easy to make and it’s full of freshness. We really adore it! And we brought it to social gatherings as well.
This was so tasty! I added cherry tomatoes and added to the dressing garlic & onion powder and 1/2 teaspoon of maple syrup.
Tried this as a side for a Salmon dinner. Loved it . Tastes fresh and its very light. Was super easy to prepare as well .
It’s summer in a bowl! Love it! So refreshing and tasty. It’s fabulous as is – but one could definitely add other ingredients to change it up.
Can you freeze this quinoa salad
Hi Sava, I don’t recommend freezing this recipe. If you do, I would freshen it with some lemon and olive oil.
Can I substitute black beans for the chickpeas? I have not made this yet.
Hi Elaine, if I was using black beans, I would swap lime juice for the lemon and cilantro for the parsley, but that’s just my preference for flavor combinations.
What a fantastic and easy recipe! I had to get dinner going fast and this was the solution. Served it with baked tilapia. I added cut up tomatoes and have enough for another mealtime.
I often make this quinoa salad for my book group get-togethers because I can make it ahead of time. Then I add mango or mandarin oranges as well as the dressing when I arrive. It is always appreciated!
That’s really good salad I like it
This is fantastic. It is my goto for potluck events because people always ask me for the recipe. I make this recipe with all the ingredients and mesurements as written. Then I always add feta cheese.
This last time I was out of fresh parsley so I used dried parsley, but I wanted that deep green health benefits. I had fresh spinach. I chopped the spinach up finely, just as called for the parsley. It was great.
Thanks for sharing this healthy and super tasty recipe that is so satifying!!!
Hi KA, spinach is a wonderful addition to keep it full of leafy greens. Glad it’s your favorite, too!
I love this salad and make it at least every week. When I am hungry and need a quick snack, it is perfect. It keeps me away from the something sweet quick grab.
This is wonderful! I made it for a family gathering and everyone wanted the recipe! It’s so fresh and healthy!
really good. doubled the recipe and did more bell pepper and cucumber, less parsley and red onion.
This salad is so delicious and full of flavor! You would never believe it is so good for you. I love that it is adaptable and easy to make. I put cilantro instead of parsley because it was what I had on hand. We make it all the time to have for lunch or just a snack anytime. Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe!
I never comment on recipes but I keep coming back to this one! I first had quinoa salad at a spa in NY and I loved it so much I had to figure out how to make it, this is the first recipe I tried and it’s almost identical to what I had there. Sometimes I add anchovies for a little more saltiness, but it’s perfect as is, and has enough protein to keep me satiated which I love.