A delicious, and texture-rich 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. Summer Quinoa Vegetable Salad with Fresh Mozzarella is a cold quinoa salad that’s vegetarian, easily vegan and gluten-free.
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!
_______________________
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.
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!
So good! I tell people it is everything I like about pasta salad but better.
Next time I will either double the dressing or at least increase the first four ingredients in the dressing. On leftovers I added a little more oil, mustard, and salt plus a higher proportion of balsamic to liven it up. Fantastic with some chicken breast chunks for those who want meat. I could not find mozzarella with the name Ciliegine, but used mozzarella pearls cut in half, which were perfect.
Hii Paula! Hooray for a tasty salad, made just how you like it :D . Thank you for your note and giving the recipe a go. Yes to mozzarella pearls.. they’re perfect for this fresh salad!
I made this salad for a camping trip. I shared it for one dinner then had leftovers in a wrap with olive tapenade hummus and micro greens
Hi Tara! What a delicious dinner for a camping trip. Thank you for your note and giving the recipe a go! That wrap has my attention :D !!
This was the most flavorfilled easy side I’ve made this summer.
Hooray! Hooray! Thank you for your note, Heather!
Thanks Traci, this salad was delicious! Fresh, fresh, fresh! I have made it with both fresh and frozen peas, both are excellent. Leftovers were great to add to my greens.
Thank you for your note, Nadean! SO happy to hear you’re enjoying the salad and with your greens – such a great idea!
How did I not notice this salad before? I’m so glad you reposted it and just in time for my trip to the farmer’s market this morning. I can already tell this will be on repeat along with my favorite Lemon Orzo Salad of yours.
Thank you Jean! Hooray for the farmers market! LMK if you give it a go :D
Wow this salad was so colorful and delish. I also love the dressing. I was always bringing containers to my favorite Italian restaurant for the dressing now I can make my own
Hi Jordana! I love this one too… so much texture and flavor! Thank you so much for sharing! :D
This is fantastic!!! I am not even throwing the mozzarella in because it is not needed! The salad is great without it as well!
Thank you, Dora! Agreed! Delicious too, without the mozzarella. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you, Christina! We love it! :D
Found this fantastic salad recipe on Pinterest and made it today using all the veggies I had in my kitchen! It was fabulous,healthy and pretty!!! Thanks for sharing! Loved it!!
Hey, Kim! Thanks for posting your success! So happy you enjoyed the recipe! :D
Yum! I’m making this!
:D !