A meat-free protein salad with quinoa, asparagus, and a sprinkle of feta and almonds. The lemon-honey-garlic vinaigrette is the perfect dressing!
This salad is so refreshing and light. Delicious as a main dish or served as a side. My picky eaters even like this salad. It is gluten-free, high in protein, and one of the only plants that contain all of nine essential amino acids. It’s high in fiber, vitamin B, magnesium, potassium, calcium, vitamin E, and has antioxidant benefits too. If that isn’t reason enough to eat it than I don’t know what is. But most importantly it’s delicious.
HOW TO MAKE TRI-COLOR QUINOA SALAD
- Preheat oven to 350 degree F.
- Toast almonds on a baking sheet for about 5 minutes.(Make sure to check often) Or toast almonds in a skillet on a stove top.
- Bring water in a saucepan to a boil; stir in quinoa and salt.
- Cover and reduce heat to low; simmer for 15 minutes or until water is absorbed.
- Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes.
- Fluff quinoa with a fork and let cool, uncovered.
- While the quinoa is cooking, bring a large pot of water to a boil.
- Lightly salt the water and add asparagus; cook, uncovered, until tender-crisp 2 to 3 minutes.
- With a slotted spoon, remove asparagus and transfer to an ice bath to stop the cooking.
- Let stand until cold; drain.
- In a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, honey, garlic, and Dijon; salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, add the cooled quinoa, asparagus, green onions, lemon zest, feta, and almonds.
- Pour dressing over the quinoa mixture and gently toss to coat.
- Serve with lemon wedges.
- Refrigerate for up to 3 days.
Tri-Color Quinoa Salad
A meat-free protein salad with quinoa, asparagus, and a sprinkle of feta and almonds. The lemon-honey-garlic vinaigrette is the perfect dressing!
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1 cup tri-color quinoa
- 2 cups water
- 1 bunch fresh asparagus, trimmed, cut into ¼-inch pieces
- 2 oz feta, crumbled
- ¼ cup sliced almonds, toasted
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 2 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves, optional
- 1 lemon, zested
Dressing:
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp honey
- 1 garlic clove
- 1½ tsp Dijon mustard
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degree F. Toast almonds on a baking sheet for about 5 minutes. Make sure to check often; set aside. Or toast almonds in a skillet on a stove top.
- Bring water in a saucepan to a boil; stir in quinoa and salt. Cover and reduce heat to low; simmer for 15 minutes or until water is absorbed. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff quinoa with a fork and let cool, uncovered.
- While the quinoa is cooking, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Lightly salt the water and add asparagus; cook uncovered, until tender-crisp 2 to 3 minutes. With a slotted spoon, remove asparagus and transfer to an ice bath to stop the cooking. Let stand until cold; drain.
- In a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, honey, garlic, and Dijon; salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, add the cooled quinoa, asparagus, green onions, lemon zest, feta, and almonds. Pour dressing over the quinoa mixture and gently toss to coat. Serve with lemon wedges. Refrigerate for up to 3 days.
