Avocado Quinoa Salad is fresh and flavorful, made with cucumbers, tomato, red onion, cilantro and lime juice. A great plant-based lunch or side dish!
Avocado Quinoa Salad
This Avocado Quinoa Salad is bright, zesty, and delicious, and the ingredients remind me of what I typically put in my guacamole. I love this quinoa salad on days I want to go meatless for lunch. I’ve published quite a few quinoa salads over the years, and I love all of them, but this might be my new favorite! Some other favorites are this Mediterranean Quinoa Salad and this Southwestern Black Bean Mango Quinoa Salad.
I’ve been getting tons of requests for more vegan and vegetarian recipes, so I plan on sharing at least one new plant-based recipe per week. Quinoa, the seed of an edible plant, is rich in both fiber and protein and and is very nutritious for our body. It’s also gluten-free and perfect for adding to salads.
Avocado Quinoa Salad Ingredients
This avocado quinoa salad has just a few simple ingredients.
- Quinoa: I prefer red or tricolor quinoa.
- Avocado: If you’re meal prepping this salad, combine everything and add the avocado right before eating.
- Cucumber
- Tomatoes: I used a large beefsteak tomato, but cherry or grape tomatoes would work.
- Red onion
- Jalapeño: Leave the jalapeño’s seeds and ribs in if you want a spicy salad. If you prefer milder food, remove them.
- Fresh cilantro: Skip the cilantro if you don’t like it.
- Dressing: Olive oil, lime juice, salt
How to Cook Quinoa for a Salad
The trick to making the perfect quinoa salads is to cook the quinoa properly. No mushy quinoa for me! I prefer to use red or tricolor quinoa, and make a batch in my Instant Pot (see Perfect Instant Pot Quinoa) to use throughout the week in bowls, salads, salmon burgers, etc. If making the quinoa on the stove, I use less water than recommended. For one cup of quinoa, I use 1 3/4 cups of liquid.
What to Serve with Avocado Quinoa Salad
This healthy quinoa salad makes a great vegan lunch, but if you want to serve it for dinner as a side dish, this would serve four and be great with any protein such as Tequila Lime Shrimp, or Cilantro Lime Chicken. Double this recipe for more servings for a crowd, adding the avocado just before serving.
More Quinoa Recipes You’ll Love:
- Protein Egg and Quinoa Salad Jars
- Southwestern Black Bean, Quinoa and Mango Salad
- Spinach and Quinoa Patties
- Lemon-Chili Shrimp Quinoa Bowls
- Quinoa Fiesta Enchilada Bake
Your comments are helpful!! If you’ve found this tutorial helpful for how to make quinoa salad or any other recipe on Skinnytaste, don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear your thoughts, variations and feedback. And if you took some photos of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can re-share on my stories!
Avocado Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa, red or tricolor
- 8 ounces haas avocado, from 2 small, diced
- juice of 1 lime
- 1 ripe beefsteak or heirloom tomato, diced
- 2 mini cucumbers, diced
- 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
- 1/3 cup chopped red onion
- 1 jalapeño, sliced thin with seeds
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients together in a bowl and eat right away.
- Taste for salt and lime juice, and adjust as needed.
- If meal prepping, combine all the ingredients except for the avocado, and add when ready to eat.
- Multiply the recipe for more servings.
Last Step:
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Notes
This healthy quinoa salad makes a great vegan lunch for 2 or a side dish for 4 with any protein. Double this recipe for more servings for a crowd, adding the avocado just before serving. Makes 3 1/4 cups.
I adore this quinoa salad recipe! It’s so light and refreshing. I love that the dressing is just a bit of olive oil and lime juice. It’s very adaptable to whatever ingredients you have on hand too. If I could give this recipe more than 5 stars, I would!
Thanks Linda!
I have an allergy to avocado and I absolutely LOVE guacamole! Is there anything I can substitute for the avocado in this recipe so I can keep up my protein?
This is delicious. It’s the first time I’ve made it and I will be making this on repeat. I appreciate the quinoa recipes since I’ve recently changed to a vegan diet and getting enough protein can be tricky.
Thank you Gina! This was refreshing and delicious! You make eating healthy fun! I also inhale your Mediterranean quinoa salad! Sooooo good!
Thanks Jackie!
Very tasty! I used what I had on hand – substituted the cilantro and lime juice for parsley and lemon juice, and omitted the cucumber because I didn’t have any. But it still turned out delicious!
Can you substitute with white quinoa for this recipie?
Another great recipe! Made this for a party at our house yesterday. I used an entire 8oz box of quinoa and doubled the other ingredients with the exception of the jalapeño. I used one small jalapeño since we’re not a fan of anything too spicey. It was a big hit and just the right amount of heat. Will definitely make this again.
Very refreshing and filling and easy!
This was FANTASTIC! I have a hard time cooking for my family, since my husband is low-carb/borderline diabetic and my daughter is a vegetarian. This recipe was PERFECT as a main dish for my daughter and a side for the rest of us. (Quinoa is an approved grain for my husband in smallish doses.) I made it thinking it would be fine, but it was DELICIOUS!
I’m so glad!
How do you cook it in a slow cooker??
SAY 3 CUPS OF QUINOA….
Great recipe. Prepared as directed except for cilantro (neither my husband or I care for the taste) It was very tasty and paired with air fryer chicken thighs. Will take leftovers for lunch and will definitely make again.
Excellent! And I love the instant pot recipe for the quinoa
I didn’t have quinoa so I used well cooked barley… it was great.
So yummy. Do you think this will be good as a cold salad?
yes!
It wasn’t outright bad tasting, but it was just very boring/bland
This salad was fabulous, very filling and scrumptious! Also have made with a lemon when I did not have a lime and also good! Yummy.
The calories as per serving or the whole recipe (2 servings in this case)?
Per serving.
Can you add this in Myfitnesspal? I tried but its not working.
Flavorful recipe that is Easy to make.
Outstanding! Fresh, easy, nutritious and delicious.
Perfection. I’m adding to regular rotation. User red quinoa and cooked as she recommended. Huge difference!
Super refreshing salad for summer! Added grilled chicken breast to the top to make a meal. Yum!
Loved it! Husband did too.
I was a little skeptical about if I would like this, but WOW! I loved it! I think I will be making and eating this all summer long. The flavor combination is terrific, especially with the addition of the jalapenos. Thank you so much for this recipe!
Tasty, fresh, and kept well in the fridge throughout the week. Nice healthy side.
Thank you for more vegetarian and vegan content! My partner and I have cooked your recipes for years but are now primarily vegetarian. I can modify some of your recipes with fake meat but I always appreciate just straight healthy and hearty vegetarian options.
Spring in a bowl! So good, I usually monkey around with recipes to tailor them to my taste preferences. This one is perfect as is. Recently required by my doctors to go dairy-free and gluten-free…it’s a huge nuisance. Thanks for easing the burden of finding healthy *and* yummy recipes that meet those criteria ❤️
Delicious! I added spinach & arugula. This will be in the mix for summer dinner parties.
Thanks, this is a very good recipe, I added a little salt. I love avocados and my husband loves them.
Made this today. I am in love. I did sub lime tajin seasoning for salt. Thank you!!!
Any hints/tops for making the Quinoa? I have never cooked it. Stovetop, not Instapot.
Thanks.
I always follow the package directions with a little less water.
This is a great salad! I used the juice of 2 limes and added a little more salt. It is really delicious!
I saw this recipe this morning, and several hours later here I am sitting here now having it for lunch. This is delicious, light and easy. I made it exactly as written and it’s perfect. Another winner!
Very nice and light. Perfect for lunch. I added some leftover grilled chicken.