Ryan and I are not picky eaters and generally like similar foods with a few exceptions. For a long time, I thought quinoa was one such exception. Ryan would always eat quinoa if I made it but never raved about the protein and fiber-rich grain and simply said it “wasn’t his favorite.” We went on a bit of a quinoa hiatus after that and I began making it a couple of times a month rather than every week like I had been doing for quite a while.
Well, two weekends ago, when we had some friends over for a casual cookout, our friend Laura brought a cold quinoa salad to share. I didn’t even realize Ryan loaded up his plate with her salad until I heard him ask her what was in it. When I saw his plate filled with quinoa, I was shocked and immediately added some of the salad to my plate, too. After one bite, I instantly understood why Ryan loved it so much. It was packed with some of his favorite foods and flavors: Pineapple and cilantro.
Quick side note: I know cilantro is a polarizing herb and if you are on Team I Hate Cilantro, you can easily substitute mint for cilantro in this recipe!
The next day, Laura texted me loose instructions for how she made her quinoa salad and I gave it a shot in our kitchen. We loved it just as much as we did the first time, so I decided to measure everything out when I made another batch yesterday afternoon so I could share the cold quinoa salad recipe on the blog with you guys just in time for spring!
The recipe makes a great side dish but can easily be transformed into a more satiating main course by adding grilled chicken, steak or shrimp or even black beans on top!
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Cold Quinoa Salad
- Yield: Seven 1/2 cup servings 1x
Description
Cold quinoa salad will quickly become a spring and summertime staple in your house thanks to the bright, refreshing flavors of cucumber, pineapple and cilantro. This recipe for cold quinoa salad makes a perfect side dish for a cookout with friends or a simple meal at home. Top it with grilled chicken or shrimp for a delicious and nutritious lunch or dinner!
Ingredients
- 3 cups chilled cooked quinoa
- 1 English (seedless) cucumber, peeled and diced
- 1 8-ounce can pineapple tidbits + 2 tablespoons pineapple juice
- 1/2 red onion, diced
- 1 small bunch cilantro
- juice and zest of one lime
- 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Pinch cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Place diced onion in a small bowl of ice water for approximately 10 minutes. (This will remove the bite from the raw onion. Do not skip this step!)
- Remove leaves from cilantro bunch, discard the stems and chop remaining leaves.
- Combine all remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Drain the water from the onion and add the onion to the mix. Add chopped cilantro. Toss everything to combine.
- Serve chilled and refrigerate remaining leftovers in an airtight container.
Notes
Ingredient Notes:
- Approximately one cup of uncooked quinoa yields three cups of cooked quinoa. This recipe calls for chilled cooked quinoa but before cooking your quinoa, try toasting the quinoa lightly in a dry skillet to give it a more roasted flavor before boiling it.
- Regular cucumbers may be used in this recipe but I prefer English/seedless cucumbers to avoid any cucumber seeds in this dish.
- For an incredibly fast shortcut, simply combining the cold quinoa with Whole Foods’ pre-made pineapple salsa (the kind without tomatoes) and adding peeled, chopped cucumbers and a sprinkle of feta cheese works well in a pinch!
- Our local grocery store sells cans of pineapple tidbits but if you have trouble finding them, finely diced pineapple (fresh or canned) will also work.
- For an added dose of healthy fats, try dicing up an avocado and tossing it in the salad immediately before serving.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/2 cup
- Calories: 133 calories
- Sugar: 5g
- Sodium: 221mg
- Fat: 3g
- Carbohydrates: 23g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 4g
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This looks so good! My sister is coming to stay with me for a few days later this week and I was trying to think of something easy to have on hand for lunches, this will be perfect!
Have fun during her visit! Hope you guys enjoy this dish!!
Yay thanks for posting this!! Adding it to the menu plan this week! 🙂
Hope you had a good weekend!!
Yum! My sister makes an amazing Greek style quinoa dish and it’s a game changer as well. I love your flavor combination for the warmer months!
Yum! This looks so good and it’s definitely perfect for the first day of spring being today! I’m a big fan of quinoa, except when I end up finding little pieces that I somehow dropped all over. Please tell me I’m not the only one! haha!
Totally!!! Always ends up all over the place somehow!
What can I replace the cilantro with? Really don’t like it
You can definitely just omit it or I think fresh parsley would be delicious in its place!
Oh this sounds delicious an like the perfect side for summer BBQ’s. I def prefer eating quinoa when it’s in some type of salad rather than plain.
Ooh yum this looks so good! I love how versatile quinoa is!
This looks great! I’m looking forward to vegetable packed easy salads I can throw together for dinners!
Oh yum! This is great for spring picnics!
We’ve had the exact same quinoa conversations. I’ll have to try this one! lol!
Cilantro is one of my favorite herbs, so bring this salad on! We love quinoa around here and this looks like a perfect salad recipe for the upcoming warmer months! Thanks for sharing Julie! Hope you have a great Monday!
Yum! Love the simplicity of this, anything easy and I’m in!
This looks so good! And YES to cilantro! I love it, but get this – I’ve always heard it was genetic whether or not you liked it because apparently some people who don’t think it tastes like soap. Isn’t that bizarre?? My old boss always swore it tasted like soap!
Yum! I will be adding this to my list of recipes to try, particularly for lunches since it’s cold and keeps well! It actually took me a while to warm up to quinoa, too. Like many healthy things: it can be bland until you learn how to bring out its potential with other food and flavor combos. My lunches this week include a cold salad with quinoa + arugula, roasted sweet potato cubes, feta cheese, and a mustard/oil/balsamic dressing.
I LOVE cold quinoa salads! I’ve recently started to sprinkle Kaffir lime powder on my salads and am like “where have you been all my life??”
Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Oooh! I need to try this! Where do you get it?
I got mine originally through Raw Spice Bar, but I bet a specialty food grocer like Whole Foods has it! It’s especially good on Asian or Indian dishes.
This is right up my alley! Made a big batch of quinoa last night, can’t wait to make this!
This looks so good! Perfect for warmer weather (that I seriously hope is on its way).
Yes! I’ve been making quinoa with black beans, corn, and pico for lunch, but this is the perfect way to switch it up without going too crazy! 🙂
P.S. I really really appreciate that you list serving sizes AND nutritional facts on your recipes! I feel so lost a lot of times trying to figure out if blog recipes are for one, two, or ten!
Thanks for sharing the recipe! It looks delicious!
This looks so good! If I wanted to pack more greens in to it do you think kale or spinach would also go well with this or is it best with cilantro and mint? Thanks!
This looks delicious. I am definitely on team I hate cilantro, but I will certainly be trying this out with mint this spring!
Love this recipe, but one note about quinoa — be sure to rinse it WELL before cooking, otherwise it contains a coating that can cause stomach problems. I use a rice washer rather than a regular colander so that it doesn’t slip through the holes. It makes it a little messier to cook with but it’s made it so I now can enjoy quinoa!
This salad looks delicious and perfect for the start of spring! I love quinoa because it is so versatile and tastes great warm or cold and in both sweet and savory dishes. Can’t wait to give this recipe a try!
Yum! This is pretty exciting! I’m surprised but not afraid of the pineapple in this, it sounds intriguing!
I haven’t been online much so I haven’t been able to comment lately, but per usual, loving all your posts! Thanks for including the nutritional info., it is SO helpful!
Thank you, Kim!! <3
I make quinoa salad all the time but haven’t ever tried it with pineapple. Love that addition! Pinning. 🙂
This looks amazing!! And so refreshing for spring!
If I would use the pineapple salsa, would I still need to add the cilantro? I’m currently expecting and cilantro isn’t top of my list for tastes right now :-P!
This sounds like a perfect warm weather food to share! I’m not on team cilantro, and I think parsley would be a tasty substitution!! 🙂
This sounds SO good! I love pineapple and cilantro together, reminds me of al pastor tacos 🙂 Thanks for the lunch idea.
I don’t know if you do this already but if not you need to try it! When cooking your quinoa, use half chicken broth and half water. So if you need 2 cups of liquid, use 1 cup of each. The flavor that the broth gives the quinoa is AMAZING!!!
Love this idea for summer cookouts!
Julie I made this yesterday for a girls day of movies and chatting! We had a cheese plate with meats and bread and crackers… so I had to lighten things up a bit. It was a hit and I love all the leftovers I had hehehe 🙂 throwing some grilled chicken in it for lunch leftovers! Great recipe! I was surprised by how far the quinoa went!!
I’m so glad you liked it, Hillary! Thank you for letting me know! 🙂
I’ve been holding on to this recipe for weeks and I am SO glad I finally made it – DELISH!!! It is so refreshing and can be paired with so many other great picnic/BBQ recipes. Thanks for sharing!
I’m so glad you liked it!!! <3
I finally made this recipe tonight–it’s finally warm enough up here in Canada for summery food and OHMYGOSH YUM! I seriously had to refrain myself from eating way too much of this. I can’t wait to make it again with mint, or even a 50/50 mix of mint and cilantro. This will be a summer staple for me, for many years to come! Thanks Julie!
Hooray!!! I am so glad you liked it!!
I saw you mention this on your Instagram stories and I realized I had everything on hand (specifically quinoa, cucumber, and cilantro that needed to be used) so I figured I’d give it a shot for dinner tonight
OMG this is delicious!!! Definitely a keeper recipe!! I’m going to add chicken on top for some extra protein.
Thanks for such a great dish!