Well that’s a mouthful, huh? In an attempt to amp up my boring lunches, a few weeks ago I whipped up a batch of this quinoa dish. I based it off of this Caprese Orzo Salad recipe, but changed quite a few things. What I loved about this dish was that it was filling, super flavorful and chock full of good stuff!
Ingredients
- 1 cup of quinoa
- 1 cup chopped seedless cucumber
- 1 cup chopped cherry tomatoes
- Corn from 1 ear of corn
- 1 big handful of spinach
- Goat Cheese (I just used maybe a tablespoon?)
- ½ cup EVOO
- ¼ cup White wine vinegar (or red wine)
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Few big shakes of crushed red pepper
- Juice from ½ a lemon
Directions
- Cook quinoa according to the back of the package. While that’s cooking, chop up your veggies.
2. Sautee or wilt the spinach as the quinoa is cooling.
3. Combine the EVOO, vinegar, S&P, crushed red pepper and lemon juice in a separate bowl.
4. Once the quinoa has cooled, add the spinach, corn, cucumber, tomato and cheese and mix together. Add in the ‘dressing’ and refrigerate for an hour before serving.
This dish lasted me throughout the week and I loved eating it alone, on top of my salad and even with some chicken mixed in.
Questions for you: What’s your favorite non-traditional salad? How do you “spice up” your salads?
Burpees to Bubbly 
ohhh this looks awesome! I’m starting to get bored with my salads so this would be a great add on or just as the salad itself! I usually add goat cheese/feta or nuts to help spice up a vegetable salad. Luckily we have a really great salad bar near work so when all else fails it’s my go to!
Thanks Fiona- It definitely helped break up the boredom of a regular ol’ salad. Cheese and nuts definitely help- and avocado!
This looks so good! I have tried to make a quinoa salad 3 times, with different ingredients and its come out mushy every time! I think maybe trying it with Red quinoa like you’ve done here might help! I’ll give this a try though!
Yum – that looks delicious – I love the color from all the veggies!!!
Thanks, Kim- It did have a lot of color, which always makes food more interesting to eat, right?!