Green Vegetable Quinoa Salad
Green vegetable quinoa salad with a savory, Japanese-inspired dressing is fresh, crisp, flavorful, and ready in minutes. It's vegan, gluten-free, and make-ahead and meal prep friendly.
Servings: 8
Calories: 219kcal
Ingredients
For the dressing
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) freshly squeezed lime juice
- 4 teaspoons (20 ml) reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon (21 grams) honey
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) mirin
For the salad
- 2 cups cooked quinoa
- 8 ounces green beans steamed and cut into segments
- 1 medium English cucumber diced
- 2 celery ribs diced small
- ⅓ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the dressing.
- Add the cooked quinoa, the vegetables, and the cilantro to the bowl.
- Toss well and serve.
Notes
- Toasted sesame oil (sometimes called dark sesame oil) has tons of great flavor and provides the backbone for the dressing. You can use the kind with or without hot chili, depending on your preference. But don't confuse it with light sesame oil, which has a lighter color and much less flavor.
- Mirin is a sweet Japanese rice wine that's pervasive in cooking and in dipping sauces. It's pretty easy to find in grocery stores these days, but you can also buy it here.
- If it's important to you that this salad be gluten-free, be sure to use certified GF versions of all the condiments, especially the soy sauce.
- To cook the green beans, bring an inch of well-salted water to a boil in a wide, lidded pan. Add green beans, cover, and cook until crisp-tender, 2-4 minutes depending on your preference. Drain and place into a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking and retain bright green color.
- The total quantity of chopped vegetables will be about 5 cups, give or take. The exact amount isn't critical, and you can adjust it to your preference.
- This salad is very flexible, and the flavors work well with a wide variety of green vegetables. Either in addition or to substitute, try steamed broccoli, steamed or sautéed zucchini, raw or sautéed baby spinach, diced green pepper, steamed asparagus cut into segments, or lightly cooked fresh green peas, snap peas, or snow peas. For herbs, you can easily substitute parsley for the cilantro, or use a combination. To add protein while keeping it green, steamed, shelled edamame work beautifully.
- Serve salad right away or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. Salad is great at room temperature or cold.
Nutrition
Calories: 219kcal | Carbohydrates: 38.4g | Protein: 8.3g | Fat: 4g | Fiber: 5.2g