Easy Quinoa Salad
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This Easy Quinoa Salad does not require you to cook meat, make your own dressing, or anything fancy. I use leftover quinoa, kale, Feta, cucumber, red onion, cranberries, and turkey deli meat for an insanely easy and delicious lunch!
If you're looking for more easy salad recipes, check out my Strawberry Balsamic Broccoli Salad, Simple Green Salad, or Kale Apple Salad.
Table of Contents
When I hear the word easy in front of salad, I think of two things. The first, being that I better not have to cook any meat. And the second, being that I better not have to make my own dressing. Those two things differentiate easy salad between more time consuming salad recipes, in my opinion.
I use the O Organics Lemon & Olive Oil Dressing, because it's so good, you don't even need to make your own. I buy this all the time, I'm sure you will love it! But, if you have a lemon dressing you usually make and you want to make your own salad dressing though, you totally can. Also, a balsamic or an apple cider vinegar dressing would also go really well with this salad.
I always make this organic salad when I have leftover quinoa. But, you can cook quinoa solely for making this salad as well. The quinoa is a great addition because it makes this salad more of a meal because you get some healthy carbs too. In addition to quinoa, I use kale, cucumber, red onion, feta cheese, dried cranberries, and turkey. If you want to leave out the turkey or even substitute it for chicken you could do either of those and it would still be delicious! I love the combination of the feta and the cranberries. And when I was eating this last week, I was thinking about how good this would actually be at Thanksgiving! This salad would make an amazing addition to your Thanksgiving table. So, keep this saved for Thanksgiving too!
Why You'll Love This Recipe
Quick and Easy: This organic salad doesn't require you to make meat or salad dressing, making it quick and easy to prepare for lunch when you don't want to spend a lot of time.
Healthy: This organic salad is so healthy because it checks all the boxes — veggies, protein, and healthy carbs!
Bold Flavor: I love this Easy Quinoa Salad because it has bold flavor for being so easy! The combination of the Feta with the dried cranberries and red onion really brings a burst of zesty flavor in every bite.
Ingredients & Health Benefits
- Quinoa: I love organic quinoa as it is a nutrient-dense whole grain that's a great healthy carb to keep you full.
- Kale: While I use organic kale, but spinach or mixed greens would also work here. Kale is a cruciferous veggie that can help improve your gut health.
- Red Onion: I love organic red onion as it has great flavor when enjoying raw. it's also loaded with antioxidants.
- Cucumber: Organic cucumbers are mostly water so they're great for extra hydration. They also have fiber that can help your body break down food and absorb nutrients.
- Feta: You must buy organic block Feta cheese, never crumbled. The crumbled has all kinds of additives in it, which are not good. My favorite is Organic Valley Feta.
- Dried Cranberries: Cranberries are a great for bladder health and they have amino acids and hydroxyproline that can help keep the skin hydrated and looking young! I used Food To Live Organic Dried Cranberries. If you're doing no seed oils, try these dried cranberries, as they are only ones I can find without sunflower oil.
- Turkey: I use Organic Prairie Roasted Turkey Deli Slices in this recipe. Turkey is a lean meat with protein, which is key for me if I'm having a salad as a meal.
- Dressing: I used the O Organics Lemon and Olive Oil Dressing here as it's really good and it's free of seed oils.
Tools Needed
- Cutting Board: Needed for cutting veggies.
- Knife: You'll also need a sharp knife to cut the veggies.
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Step by Step Instructions
Step 1
In a medium bowl, add the kale, quinoa, cucumber, onion, feta, cranberries, and turkey.
Step 2
Drizzle with dressing and toss to coat completely. Serve immediately.
FAQ's
Yes, feel free to use spinach, mixed greens, or even Romaine would be good with this.
Yes, if you want to meal prep this you totally can! Just don't add the dressing on until you're ready to eat it.
You can used raisins or dried apricots (chopped up) as well. I've made this with both and these are great substitutes!
Craving More?
Easy Quinoa Salad
Equipment
- Cutting Board
Ingredients
- 1 cup kale (chopped)
- ¼ cup quinoa
- ¼ cucumber (quartered)
- 2 slices red onion (diced)
- 2 ounces Organic Valley Feta Cheese (crumbled)
- ¼ cup dried cranberries
- 2 ounces turkey (diced, optional)
- lemon and olive oil dressing
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, add the kale, quinoa, cucumber, onion, feta, cranberries, and turkey.
- Drizzle with dressing and toss to coat completely.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
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