Chopped spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, currants and avocado combine with quinoa, and are tossed in a light lemon juice and olive oil dressing for this delicious Quinoa Spinach Salad with Avocado.
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YOU'LL LOVE THIS RECIPE
- it's loaded with fresh veggies
- an easy recipe with no fancy equipment needed
- basic ingredients and so many substitutions you could make to suit your tastes
INGREDIENTS & SUBSTITUTIONS
- red onions are recommended in this recipe, or you can use chopped sweet onions
- you can use any type of tomatoes in this recipe. Try the vine tomatoes or the small grape tomatoes chopped in half
- dried currants are delicious in this recipe or you could substitute golden raisins. They definitely add a lot of flavour to this salad!
- if you're out of feta cheese or looking for a substitute, we've rounded up the best substitutes for feta cheese to help you find the perfect cheese.
INSTRUCTIONS
Cook the quinoa
Place quinoa in a sieve and rinse well then drain. Combine 1 cup of quinoa with 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 15 to 18 minutes or until water has been absorbed. Once cooked, remove from heat and fluff with a fork. Set aside and prepare vegetables and dressing.
Prep the Vegetables
Spinach - fresh spinach is best for this recipe. I like to use my small Kitchen Aid food chopped. Alternatively, you can chop by hand finely as in photo below.
Tomatoes - Use a medium tomato and chop into cubes. You will notice in the photo I added some yellow cherry tomatoes from my potager garden that have recently ripened!
Currants - dried currants moisten up in the dressing and tomato juices and turn into plump and tasty additions to the salad. You may also substitute raisins or dried cranberries for the currants.
Red Onions - chopped red onions add both flavour and colour to this salad. You may substitute or combine finely chopped green onions.
Avocado - chop the avocado into bite-sized pieces.
Garlic - I like to add one clove of minced garlic but this can be omitted if you prefer to not have garlic.
Make the Dressing
This dressing has simple ingredients. Mix together fresh squeezed lemon juice (not the store-bought bottle) and extra virgin olive oil, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Next, combine all of the ingredients together and stir well to combine.
Other salad recipes you will want to try
Summertime is the perfect time for making salads as the fresh produce is in season. You might also like these salad recipes:
Mediterranean Pasta Salad with Chickpeas
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Quinoa Spinach Salad with Avocado
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings
Description
Chopped spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, currants and avocado combine with healthy quinoa are tossed in a light lemon juice and olive oil dressing for this bright salad.
Ingredients
2 cups cooked quinoa
2 cups fresh spinach, chopped
1 tomato, diced
½ cup red onion, chopped
1 avocado, chopped
¼ cup feta cheese, crumbled
¼ cup dried currants
1 clove minced garlic
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. lemon juice
¼ tsp. sea salt
¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
1. Place quinoa in sieve and rinse well under cold water.
2. Combine 1 cup of quinoa with 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 15 to 18 minutes or until water has been absorbed. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. Chop spinach, tomatoes, red onion, avocado, and cucumber.
4. Mince garlic and combine with other chopped veggies.
5. Add currants to vegetable mixture along with the cooked quinoa and feta cheese.
Dressing
6. In a mason jar or glass bowl, mix lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Whisk well to mix all ingredients.
7. Pour dressing over quinoa and vegetables and mix well.
8. Chill at least 30 minutes before serving.
Salad may be kept in refrigerator for up to three days.
Notes
Variations: Substitute raisins or dried cranberries for the currants
You will be left with one cup of cooked quinoa which can be added to the salad as well if you prefer a higher ratio of quinoa in your salad.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Salads
- Method: One-Pot
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 256
- Sugar: 5.8 g
- Sodium: 169 mg
- Fat: 13.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.6 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 29.3 g
- Fiber: 5.8 g
- Protein: 6.6 g
- Cholesterol: 5.6 mg
Keywords: summer
Tim
This salad is a burst of freshness in every bite. Love the lemon and quinoa combination!!
★★★★★