Strawberry Quinoa Salad with Feta
This strawberry quinoa salad has ripe strawberries, salty feta, crunchy pistachios, and nutty quinoa tossed in a 2-minute poppyseed dressing. This is the salad I make when I want a side that looks like I tried and tastes like summer. It holds up for cookouts, lunch all week, or a full dinner with grilled chicken on top.
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Servings: 8 servings
INGREDIENTS
Quinoa Salad
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa or 3 cups of cooked quinoa
- 2 cups strawberries hulled and halved
- 8 ounces feta cheese crumbled or cubed
- 1 large ripe avocado pitted and diced
- 1 cup raw unsalted pistachios (Note 1)
- 1/2 small red onion diced
- 1/4 cup fresh chopped basil
- 1 1/2 cups shredded kale
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
Salad Dressing
- ½ cup light olive oil or avocado oil
- ¼ cup white wine vinegar or champagne vinegar
- 2-3 tablespoons honey
- 2 teaspoons poppy seeds
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground mustard
- 2 Tablespoons mayonnaise
INSTRUCTIONS
- Cook 1 cup of quinoa according to the package directions. They usually require you to rinse the quinoa well using a fine mesh strainer until the water runs clean. Add it to a medium saucepan with 1 cup of water Add 1 3/4 cup of quinoa, bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Fluff the quinoa with a fork and allow it to cool almost completely. You can also use 3 cups of pre-cooked quinoao.
- Add the quinoa, strawberries, feta, avocado, pistachios, red onion, and basil to a large salad bowl. Toss the shredded kale with the olive oil and use your fingers to rub it into the kale. This helps soften the texture and makes it easier to work with.
- Whisk together the dressing ingredients. Pour the dressing over the quinoa salad and toss well to coat. Serve right away or store in the fridge for up to 3 day.
Recipe Equipment
Large bowl
Medium Saucepan
Notes
Note 1. Pistachios. You could also use chopped almonds or pecans.
Note 2. Make-ahead. Hold the avocado and dressing separately. Toss the salad through everything else and store up to 3 days. Add the avocado and dressing right before serving.
Note 3. Scaling down. Halve the salad and keep the full dressing recipe. The leftover dressing keeps in the fridge for 2 weeks.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 453kcal | Carbohydrates: 28.7g | Protein: 11.1g | Fat: 34.6g | Cholesterol: 26.5mg | Sodium: 440.6mg | Fiber: 5.4g | Sugar: 8.9g | Vitamin A: 58.5IU | Vitamin C: 28.8mg
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