A delicious, and texture-rich cold quinoa salad made with the freshest seasonal ingredients. It features plump cherry tomatoes, fresh zucchini, sweet peas, and crisp bell pepper finished with a snappy balsamic vinaigrette.
Quinoa Vegetable Salad is Perfect for Summer
Getting enough salad with summer? This quinoa vegetable salad is a fresh and satisfying way to keep cool during the hottest months. With just a touch of stovetop cooking to pull it together, this hearty salad is a delicious side, lunch or dinner.
I find quinoa to be an endlessly versatile pantry staple. It’s neutral in flavor, adds hearty texture and bulk and easily takes on flavors it’s combined with. It’s featured in this Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad with Chickpeas, my Sweet Potato and Quinoa Stuffed Poblanos and this hearty reader favorite Quinoa Mango Black Bean Salad.
This Recipe Is
- so fresh
- hearty and satisfying
- chock full of veggies and crunch!
If you love making homemade dinner salads, you’ll enjoy this colorful and tasty salad.
Summertime Fresh
This quinoa salad features summer favorites like zucchini, peas, tomatoes and bell peppers. Use fresh shelling peas or frozen, whatever fits your schedule and/or farmer’s market finds.
Shelling peas take a bit of time, but fresh from the pod, those peas are so sweet, plump and juicy! I timed myself to see how long it would take to shuck 1 lb of shelling peas: 9 minutes. A bit longer than frozen, but worth the effort if available.
Love hearty summer salads? Check out my 12 Summer Salads to Try this Summer to get inspired!
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Let’s Put this Summer Veggie Quinoa Salad Together
About Fresh Mozzarella
Fresh mozzarella is delicious in this cold quinoa salad and comes in many different shapes/sizes to suit your cravings. Ovolini is a variety for slicing and a good choice for Caprese salads and pizza. Bocconcini and Ciliegine are smaller, spherical forms with Ciliegine being the smaller of the two and is about the size of a small cherry tomato.
Ciliegine is the variety I use in this recipe due to its small size. I quarter the little mozzarellas in order to distribute their texture and flavor more evenly throughout the salad.
If using dairy free mozzarella, tear it in small bite size pieces.
Traci’s Tips
- This quinoa salad recipe is best enjoyed on the same day it’s made. Zucchini is a high water content veggie, as are the tomatoes. Once the salt hits the veggies and its had time to set… the salad starts to get a bit soggy. Too, the bright green peas tend to get a bit dingy on day two. If serving the following day, prep all the ingredients then assemble before sharing/enjoying.
- Make it Dairy Free! Simply leave the mozzarella off the salad or use your favorite dairy free mozzarella torn into bite size pieces.
Summer Quinoa Vegetable Salad with Fresh Mozzarella
Ingredients
For the Salad:
- 3/4 cup (160 grams) Quinoa, white or multicolor, rinsed and drained
- 1 1/2 cups (350 grams) Water
- 1 cup (140 grams) Frozen Sweet Peas , or 1 lb fresh shelling peas works here too, yielding about 1 C shelled.
- 1 1/2 cups (225 grams) Cherry Tomatoes, halved and/or quartered, about 1/2 – 3/4 pint
- 1/4 cup (70 grams) Purple Onion, minced, about 1/4 of an onion
- 1 cup (125 grams) Yellow Bell Pepper, diced small, about 1 pepper
- 1 cup (125 grams) Red Bell Pepper, diced small, about 1 pepper
- 1 1/2 cups (170 grams) Zucchini, diced small, about 1 zucchini
- 3/4 cup (125 grams) fresh Ciliegine Mozzarella, quartered (see note* for vegan option)
- 2 – 3 tablespoons Fresh Parsley, chopped fine OR use fresh torn basil
- 10 grinds of fresh Pepper
- 3 – 4 Sprigs of Fresh Thyme Leaves and Flowers , for garnish (optional)
For the Dressing:
- 2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Lemon Juice
- 1/2 teaspoon Prepared Mustard
- 2 teaspoons Fresh Garlic, minced or grated
- 1/2 teaspoon Oregano, dried
- 3/4 teaspoon Fine Sea Salt, + more to taste
Instructions
For the Salad:
- In a medium saucepan bring water to a boil. Place rinsed quinoa in boiling water, turn the burner to medium-low, and simmer for about 15 minutes. Turn off heat and stir, making sure all the water is absorbed. Cover and allow to sit covered for 5 minutes. Fluff with fork then pop the quinoa in the fridge to cool, uncovered, for about 20 minutes, stirring a few times to release steam.
- While the quinoa is cooking/cooling, shell your fresh peas or measure out the frozen peas. Set aside. Fill a small pot half way with water and bring to a boil. Plunge the peas (fresh or frozen) into the boiling water and cook for one minute (no need to bring back to a boil). Strain then rinse the peas with cold water to stop the cooking. Drain and set aside.
- Prepare the tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, zucchini, fresh mozzarella, and parsley by chopping and dicing, placing each in a large bowl where all the mixing will happen. Add the peas, parsley and pepper.
- Remove the cooled quinoa from the refrigerator and place in the mixing bowl with all the veggies. Set aside.
For the Dressing:
- In a small lidded jar, add the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, garlic oregano and salt. Shake until an emulsion is formed. If too thick, add a splash of water to thin. Shake again.
To Assemble:
- Pour the dressing over the salad and gently mix until all ingredients are evenly distributed. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed.
- Garnish with fresh thyme leaves (if using), and more parsley or basil. Enjoy on the day made for the freshest taste and preservation of pea color (they tend to get a little dingy on day two), but it will store in the fridge for up to three days.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.
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This is the perfect summer salad! Like Tracy said in the recipe intro, we used many of the veggies we got at the farmer’s market this morning and it was just perfect. So fresh and so filling; we have lots of leftovers…but I don’t think they will last past tomorrow!