Summer Quinoa Salad
Published on July 21, 2023
Quick Summary
Summertime means salads are on repeat, but that doesn’t mean boring salads. I am talking GOOD salads, like this colorful Summer Quinoa Salad. It’s loaded with all of summer’s finest ingredients. If you love my Easy Quinoa Salad and Southwest Quinoa Salad, I know you will love this recipe too!
This salad is easy to make, and with quinoa as a base, it’s hearty enough to eat as a lunch or dinner. Plus, it’s loaded with all of summer’s finest ingredients: tomatoes, corn, peaches, basil, and MORE!
It’s perfect for those hot months when you want a light, refreshing, and delicious meal.
Table of Contents
How to Make Quinoa
Cooking quinoa is simple. To make sure your quinoa turns out perfect every time, follow these tips!
- Always rinse your quinoa before you get started. Rinsing removes quinoa’s natural coating, called saponin, which can make it taste bitter.
- Start with a medium saucepan, one cup of dry quinoa, and 2 cups of water. Bring the water to a boil, then cover the pan with a lid.
- Reduce the heat to low, until it’s just a simmer, and let it cook for 15 minutes. At this point the quinoa should be tender and the small grains will look like they’ve popped open.
- Pull your pan off the stove and let it rest for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and that’s it! Your quinoa is ready to go!
Salad Ingredients
I love this blend of summertime produce and delicious, wholesome flavors! It’s such a fresh and filling salad. The quinoa is a perfect base, and then I add…
- Peaches
- Tomatoes
- Fresh sweet corn
- Avocado
- Red onion
- Feta cheese
- Fresh basil
If you wanted to add a protein, you could mix in shredded or grilled chicken or chickpeas!
How to Make Summer Quinoa Salad
Are you ready to make your new favorite salad? Let’s get started!
- Once your quinoa is cooked, let it cool while you make the dressing.
- You are going to love this simple lemon dressing. It’s a mix of olive oil, lemon juice, golden balsamic vinegar, honey, and garlic. Give it all a good whisk (or shake in a jar!) and it’s ready to go. If you want to mix things up, this salad would also be good with my basil vinaigrette or balsamic vinaigrette.
- In a large bowl, add the quinoa, peaches, tomatoes, corn, avocado, onion, feta cheese, and basil. Step back and admire your colorful summertime salad!
- Drizzle the dressing over the top and toss it gently to distribute the yummy flavors. You can serve this salad cold or at room temperature–delicious both ways!
Prepping and Storing
This is a great meal prep salad because you can make a lot of it in advance. The dressing and cooked quinoa will keep in the fridge for up to one week. So you can get those done and out of the way.
You can also cut the corn off of the cob and dice the red onion ahead of time. I would wait to slice the tomatoes, peaches, avocado, and basil until you are ready to serve so the ingredients stay super fresh.
This salad is best the day it is made, but you can keep it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days. I always enjoy the leftovers:)
Serving Suggestions
This salad is great on it’s own, but if you want to serve it with other recipes, here are a few of our favorites.
- Lemon Butter Chicken
- Steak Kabobs
- Best Grilled Chicken Sandwich
- Turkey Burgers
- Honey Mustard Chicken
- Corn & Zucchini Enchiladas
More Summer Salad Recipes
- Favorite Fruit Salad
- Summer Pasta Salad
- Easy Cucumber Salad
- Panzanella Salad
- Caprese Pasta Salad
- Watermelon Feta Salad
Find all of our salad recipes HERE! There are lots to choose from! I love a good salad!
Summer Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
For the Salad:
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa
- 2 cups water
- 2 small peaches, pitted and sliced
- 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
- 1 cup fresh sweet corn, 1 large ear
- 1 large ripe avocado, pitted and sliced
- 1/2 small red onion, diced
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
For the Dressing:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon golden balsamic vinegar or champagne vinegar
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- First, make your quinoa. In a medium saucepan, bring quinoa and water to a boil. Cover with a lid, reduce heat to low, and simmer until for 15 minutes, or until quinoa is tender. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes, covered. Remove lid and fluff with a fork. Transfer quinoa to a large bowl and let it cool while you make the dressing.
- In a small bowl or jar, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, honey, garlic, salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Add the peaches, tomatoes, corn, avocado, onion, feta cheese, and basil to the large bowl of quinoa.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and gently toss to combine. Serve at room temp or cold.