Quinoa salad - Real Recipes from Mums

Serves 4
20 minutes
Difficulty Easy
13 Ingredients

For a healthy meal, you can’t go past this quick but substantial salad. Low in fat, high in protein, gluten-free and bursting with flavour. Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) has a nutty flavour with a slightly chewy texture. It is being called the new ‘super grain’ (even though it is a seed) because of its amazing health benefits. This recipe is the perfect way to use leftover roast pumpkin. So next time you are cooking a roast, double up on the roast pumpkin and you will have an easy head start.

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Ingredients (serves 4)

1 cup quinoa
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
50 g sugar snap peas or snow peas
400 g roasted pumpkin
4 handfuls rocket leaves
½ red onion, finely sliced
1 handful mint leaves
1 handful flaked almonds, toasted
50 g feta, crumbled
DRESSING
2 tablespoons white condiment (white balsamic vinegar)
6 tablespoons olive oil
½ tablespoon honey

Method

Heat saucepan and add quinoa to toast for a few minutes until it starts to crackle. Remove, rinse and then place back in the saucepan. Add stock and bring to the boil. Place a lid on the saucepan, reduce heat to medium–low and simmer for 15 minutes. Don’t lift the lid. When time is up, remove from the heat and stand for a further 5 minutes (without lifting the lid). Allow to cool slightly.
Steam peas for 1 minute until they are bright green but still crisp. Drain, fill pot with cold water and drain again to stop them from cooking.
To make dressing, shake ingredients in a jar until combined. Taste and adjust to your liking.
Toss cooked quinoa, peas, pumpkin, rocket, onion and mint leaves together in a large bowl. Pour dressing over salad and combine. Sprinkle with flaked almonds and feta. Serve cold or warm.

Notes

Don’t skip the rinsing. The quinoa seeds are coated with saponins, which if not rinsed gives the quinoa a bitter taste. When cooked perfectly, the quinoa will be slightly translucent, with a visible ‘tail’, which is actually part of the hull.

27 Comments
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- - mom336285 said
  - 07 Apr 2022
    2:32 pm
Yum that sounds delicious! Might give this a go for an Easter lunch salad!

Reply
- - meedee said
  - 03 Aug 2021
    7:33 am
Great salad. Sounds awesome and would be prefect for those hot summer days.

Reply
- - Lizbef said
  - 02 Apr 2019
    12:37 pm
Looks delicious and super easy and filling. I love anything with pumpkin and feta!

Reply
- - mom93821 said
  - 03 May 2017
    5:34 am
A salad with crunchy and delish snow peas will always win me over.

Reply
- - ella12 said
  - 30 Aug 2016
    4:00 pm
I think I would like this minus the quinoa.

Reply
- - jodiev1980 said
  - 17 Jun 2016
    8:22 pm
Yum! I’m always looking for great quinoa recipes. This would be perfect for winter with pumpkins so cheap.

Reply
- - deb_gs said
  - 30 Apr 2016
    9:50 pm
It is great to have another pumpkin recipe as when pumpkin is in season, I have s much to use in a window of time. I have also been looking for quinoa receipes as my husband has stocked up big time. A nice alternative to cous cous.

Reply
- - rovermum said
  - 04 Apr 2016
    9:24 am
I absolutely love everything about this salad except the quinoa. I have not yet tried this as I’ve heard mixed reactions. But love every other ingredient.

Reply
- - robyn_smithwick said
  - 03 Apr 2016
    12:09 pm
We love delicious salads at our place! Quinoa is quite expensive so we don’t have it very often.

Reply
- - mom134803 said
  - 02 Apr 2016
    2:26 am
Mmm, we love salads !

Reply
- - mom71820 said
  - 01 Apr 2016
    12:00 pm
Looks & sounds delicious!

Reply
- - renae said
  - 22 Feb 2016
    8:45 am
Im not too good at making quinoa!

Reply
- - meljware said
  - 05 Jan 2016
    5:26 pm
Looks delicious. Can’t wait to make it and share at my next bbq.

Reply
- - mom64736 said
  - 02 Jan 2016
    2:53 am
This looks like a perfect salad to add to our lot. Anything with feta and snow peas wins!

Reply
- - mom134803 said
  - 26 Dec 2015
    12:55 pm
Sounds good, although we’re not dressing fans and I would make it without it.

Reply
- - mars2370 said
  - 26 Dec 2015
    2:44 am
I had a beautiful quinoa salad tonight. I’ve always wanted to try it and now I have I think it might have to become a regular in a house.

Reply
- - mom101628 said
  - 17 Dec 2015
    9:29 am
Haven’t liked quinoa so much try your way. Like the pumpkin salad though and would have that without the quinoa.

Reply
- - rovermum said
  - 17 Dec 2015
    9:23 am
This salad looks yummy and I love the majority of the ingredients but… I’m not an adopter of quinoa yet. Not loving the texture. So I would not include it, or would replace it.
- Summer TABLE replied
  
  17 Dec 2015 , 8:53 pm
  Maybe you could try it with couscous.
Reply
- - ella12 said
  - 16 Dec 2015
    9:30 pm
I would like this minus the quinoa.

Reply
- - paulah2 said
  - 13 Dec 2015
    11:41 pm
I’ve had no joy with quinoa or kale or anything like it…might stick to hot chippies and pizza this time

Thanks for sharing
Maybe the extra rinsing is the secret
- Summer TABLE replied
  
  14 Dec 2015 , 8:28 pm
  Hey Paulah2, I agree. I had no joy cooking quinoa by the packet instructions – tasteless and soggy. But I promise you my way is delicious. I think toasting the quinoa at the beginning is actually the key. It gives it a really tasty almost nutty flavour. The other is not lifting the lid on the saucepan and also letting it rest for another 5 mins off the stove. Give it a go my way. You may change your mind.
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