3 Salads With Quinoa That You Will Like To Try

Quinoa is a perfect element for salads and excellent nutritional properties, as a lto protein content. According to a publication in  Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition ,  quinoa also provides lipids, fibers, vitamins and minerals. Therefore, we show you some delicious salads with quinoa that you can enjoy at any lunch or dinner.

For these types of salads with quinoa, we recommend  washing the quinoa carefully before cooking. Thus we remove its usual natural bitter taste, due to the presence of saponin. On the other hand, we can cook the quinoa the day before and reserve it in an airtight container, since the seeds will hold without problems. Read on for the recipes.

Mediterranean-style quinoa salad

The consumption of Mediterranean-style quinoa salad can complement the daily diet in a healthy and balanced way. According to research published in Advances in Food and Nutrition Research , quinoa is composed of up to 15% protein and also provides a great balance of amino acids.

Now, it is in the Mediterranean style, since it combines feta cheese with tomato and basil, common ingredients in this eating model. Do you want to try it? Enjoy it!

Ingredients

• 1 cup of uncooked quinoa (170 g)
• ½ tablespoon of salt (5 g)
• 1 cup of cucumber diced and seeded (100 g)
• 1 cup diced tomatoes (100 g)
• Basil and oregano (to taste)
• 1 cup of sliced ​​olives (155 g)
• ⅓ cup of crumbled feta cheese (50 g)
• ¼ cup of chopped red onion (35 g)

Preparation

• First, we cook the quinoa with plenty of boiling water and add salt to taste.
• Meanwhile, combine the cucumber, drained tomatoes, olives, cheese, and onion in a large bowl. Once ready, we reserve it aside.
• We spread the cooked quinoa in a medium-sized baking dish. Afterwards, we chill the quinoa a little in the fridge for about 5 minutes. Finally, we add it to the mixture with the vegetables.

• To finish the recipe, we stir carefully so that everything mixes. Finally, we serve immediately if we want the salad warm, or we put it in the fridge for a few minutes if we prefer it cold.

Quinoa salad with corn and carrot

The second of these salads with quinoa will give more prominence to the flavor of vegetables, especially corn. It is even easier to prepare than the previous one, but just as delicious.

Ingredients

• ½ cup of uncooked quinoa (87 g)
• ¼ cup of sweet corn (35 g)
• ¼ cup of grated carrot (40 g)
• 12 cherry tomatoes
• 12 black olives
• 1 avocado
• Extra virgin olive oil (to taste)

Preparation

• First of all, we wash the quinoa well before cooking it.

• Cook the quinoa with an abundant amount of boiling water for a few minutes. It will be ready when the seeds reveal whitish rings. Next, we will let it cool slightly.
• Finally, we mix the quinoa with the carrot, the corn, the olives and the avocado, and stir the whole well. Season the whole with olive oil to taste.

Quinoa salads with asparagus and chicken

We can say that this recipe is ideal to obtain a good amount of protein. In addition to that provided by quinoa, it also concentrates that contained in chicken breast. According to a study published in Food & Nutrition Research , chicken is one of the white meats with the most nutritional benefits. 

Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa, uncooked (170)
• ⅓ of red cabbage (50 grams)
• 10 stalks of asparagus
• 1 carrot
• 1 chicken breast
• Salt to taste)
• 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil (15 ml)
• 1 tablespoon of lemon juice (15 ml)
• ½ tablespoon of sesame seeds (5 g)
• Grapes (to decorate)

Preparation

• We start by preparing the different vegetables that we are going to use so that we can cook all of them at the same time, along with the chicken breast and the quinoa.
• We wash the asparagus stalks and cut them into discs. We also cut the red cabbage into julienne strips and wash it. We peel the carrot and dice it.
• Next, we fill a saucepan with plenty of water, add a pinch of salt and bring it to a boil. We introduce the chicken breast and cook for 20 minutes.
• Remove, drain and let it temper for a few minutes before shredding it with the help of two forks so as not to burn.
• After this and while the chicken is cooking, we boil three different pans with water. In one of them we cook the asparagus for 2 minutes, drain and reserve. In another carrot dice for 4 minutes, drain and reserve. Finally, in the third, we cook the quinoa until it shows the white rings.

• Finally, we prepare a dressing with the extra virgin olive oil, the lemon juice and the salt. We will mix with the previous ingredients and plate the whole. Then we decorate the salad to taste with some fresh grapes.

Now that you know these easy alternatives to incorporate healthy quinoa into your diet, don’t hesitate to prepare them. It will not take long and you will have a healthier and more nutritious diet.