Quinoa Salad Recipe with strawberries and a sweet basil dressing
This quinoa salad recipe with strawberries and a sweet basil dressing has all the flavours of summer on one plate! It combines nutty quinoa, juicy strawberries, a mix of fresh veggies and sharp feta—all tossed in the most delicious sweet basil dressing.
Ingredients
Quinoa:
- 230 g quinoa or 2 cups
- 430 ml water or 1 3/4 cups
- 1 tsp salt
Salad:
- 250 g strawberries halved
- 1/2 cucumber seeds removed and cubed
- 150 g cooked corn
- 1 avocat cubed
- 125 g cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 shallot thinly sliced
- 100 g feta cheese
Dressing:
- 30 g fresh basil
- 180 ml oil see below
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 small clove of garlic crushed
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp honey
Instructions
- First, cook the quinoa. I like to do this in my rice cooker as it makes the process incredibly easy. Rinse the quinoa in cold water, then add it to the rice cooker with the water. Add the salt and turn the rice cooker on. The quinoa cooks perfectly in around 20-25 mins. Make sure you turn the rice cooker off once the quinoa is cooked, as it will keep it warm.
- If you prefer to make quinoa in a saucepan, follow the same instructions as for the rice cooker, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for approx 15 mins.
- Leave the quinoa to cool completely before assembling the salad.
- When the quinoa is cool, prepare the vegetables by halving the tomatoes and strawberries, cubing the cucumber and avocado, slicing the shallots and draining the corn (if using canned). I prefer to remove the seeds of my cucumber before cubing them. Large cubes work best in this salad, I aim for around 2.5 cm pieces.
- For the dressing, place all of the ingredients in a jam jar and blend with an immersion until smooth. Make sure to crush the garlic before blending the dressing.
- Place the quinoa, strawberries, veggies and all of the vinaigrette in a large bowl and toss to combine. Top the salad with crumbled feta cheese.
Notes
This recipe calls for a large amount of dressing in order to flavour the quinoa.
Serve this salad cold as a BBQ side dish or for a light lunch.