Rainbow quinoa salad with all the gorgeous colors of the rainbow with a sweet and light honey citrus vinaigrette.
I have become newly obsessed with quinoa and last week and made a huge batch to keep in the fridge for on the go salads like this. With veggies prepped and dressing made, this gorgeous and eye-popping salad was my go to lunch on busy days and it was pure bliss. The quinoa was hearty enough to keep me full and was amazing the the ultra sweet strawberries and spicy arugula.
On the other side of the salad was the most peppery arugula we have ever had! Our other neighbors M and E have a small garden plot they they tend to every year. M will often leave bags of peppers, oranges and arugula and whatever else is growing wild at our doorstep time to time. Last week it looks like arugula was sprouting like crazy! Their arugula is so hearty and spicy, you need something sweet to counteract the peppery-ness. But my oh my..it is wonderful!
The fun thing about this salad is that you can either have it in a beautiful rainbow pattern or you can chop it all up and enjoy all the colors in one delicious bite!
If you are planning on making this salad for week lunches, I suggest making the vinaigrette in a little mason jar and keeping it separate from everything else. I think the dressing would sog the leaves quickly so add it as soon as you're ready to enjoy your salad.
And honestly, this salad is so versatile, you can include any of your favorite fruits and vegetables. Later in the week I added blackberries and avocado!
Rainbow Quinoa Salad with Honey Citrus Vinaigrette
LittleFerraroKitchen.com
Ingredients
- ½ cup quinoa cooked
- 1 cup strawberries sliced
- 1 cup arugula
- 1 carrot any color, peeled into strips with a vegetable peeler
- 1 yellow beet roasted, peeled and sliced
Other salad additions
- Avocado cubed
- Blackberries
- Blueberries
- Spinach
Honey Citrus Vinaigrette
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 1 Tb honey
- ½ lemon zested and juiced
- ½ orange zested and juiced
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- 1) Add all your salad ingredients to your bowl in a rainbow pattern or you can chop it all up.
- 2) Add all the vinaigrette ingredients into a mason jar, close the lid tightly and shake vigorously. The dressing should thicken. Taste for seasoning.
- 3) Dress the salad right before eating.
Dordogne says
blackberries and avocados sound great!! You truly have beautiful neighbors! This serving of mixed greens is beautiful
Naelo says
What a wonderful serving of mixed greens, love everything about this. Continuously good to be encircled by incredible individuals
Js says
Wonderful! I love quinoa. I didn't know there were yellow beets - I'll look for them the next time. Where can we get Rainbow Quinoa?
Samantha says
Hi Js! Yup...yellow beets do exist..lol I find them right next to the fresh red beets at my local store (usually whole foods may have them if you have that by you). As far as rainbow quinoa..I've seen that in the bulk section of my local store as well! Hope you find them!
Julie @ Julie's Eats & Treats says
This is my kind of rainbow! It's totally packed with flavors. Nice neighbors 🙂
Samantha says
Thanks Julie! Isn't awesome to eat the rainbow? 🙂
Tanya says
Ooo blackberries and avocados sound good!! You really do have lovely neighbors! This salad is gorgeous!
Samantha says
Thank you so much Tanya!
cheri says
What a beautiful salad, love everything about this. Always nice to be surrounded by great people!
Karla @ Foodologie says
I absolutely love this! I'm a huge fan of big salads like this. Recently, all I want to eat is vegetables, which is a good thing in my book!
Also yay for beet greens! I wish more people used them!