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I made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious! My husband is not a fan of quinoa but he liked this dish. So glad I can add this to my list to make again. Great recipe!
Ashley
Freshy fresh in my mouth! Sometimes salads can be so so good.
This week it was my birthday! Wait, did I already say that? I think I might have also already mentioned that special love that I have for pressies and gifts and pretty things with bows on them. I am so lucky because I got to have three little birthday shindigs – one with my family, one with Bjork’s family, and one with Bjork. Romantical birthday dinner dates are his specialty.
But then something not so lucky called I logged into Amazon two days before my birthday happened. Nononononono. Sometimes it’s like my brain is not even on.
How To Make Our Spring Quinoa Salad:
Right there at the top of the order history was this gorgeous new Canon lens burning a hole through the screen. Mmk, let’s think this through. We share an Amazon prime account (♥) so our purchases are listed together. I did not order a lens, and Bjork did not tell me he ordered a lens. My birthday is in two days.
So then I have to either a) jump up and down on the couch to express my joy about this most awesome ever gift, or b) cry, because I love love love surprises and my birthday surprise is not going to be a real surprise. I went with option A because A NEW LENS!
Bjork knew that I knew, but obvi he still wrapped up the present and let me open it on my real birthday because he’s sweet like that.
So here is the debut of the new lens with this spingy quinoa salad and honey lemon vinaigrette! I am kind of paranoid to tell you that this is its debut because I took these photos in such a pre-salad-eating hungry girl flurry. I love two or three of them (and a few of my unpictured practice shots) aaand the other ones are sort of struggling to get by thanks to my Minnesota nasty weather late afternoon light. But regardless of the light, I knew right from the first shot that I was going to like this lens. I literally I took one single photo of a lemon on the wood table and birthday-present-screamed to Bjork into the other room: OMG I LUV IT!!!!!!
Thank goodness none of the rest of you have to live with me. Up down and all around.
For you photography peeps who like to know all the techno-details, this is a Canon 2.8 100mm lens. I have a Canon 7D and up until now I was using a 50mm 1.4 (which I also lovey) but sometimes I like to get in really obnoxiously close to the food so you feel like it’s right up in your face. And this lens is how I’m going to be able to make that happen! I have a lot to learn about photography in gen and also about using this lens. And I couldn’t be more excited. Learning is good.
Rah rah for birthday gifts that inspire learning!
Rah rah for salads that taste like a fresh party! Think about these ingredients for a second: quinoa. peas. feta. bacon. fresh basil. fresh cilantro. almonds. honey lemon vinaigrette.
Now think about yourself eating those ingredients and feeling healthy and happy and full. I can imagine this easily because it’s all I’ve been eating in the last 24 hours. Tossed with some spinach and a handful of good crackers (okay fine sweet potato chips) and BAM. Power meal.
How many hours till lunch?
Spring Quinoa Salad with Honey Lemon Vinaigrette
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
Description
This Spring Quinoa Salad has quinoa tossed with peas, fresh herbs, feta, bacon, and almonds, plus a homemade Honey Lemon Vinaigrette.
Ingredients
For the salad
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa
- 2–3 cups frozen peas
- 1/2 cup feta cheese
- 6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 1/2 cup freshly chopped basil and cilantro
- 1/2 cup almonds, pulsed in a food processor until crushed
For the dressing
- 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (1–2 large juicy lemons)
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt (more to taste)
- a few tablespoons honey (I did 3, but adjust to taste)
Instructions
- Cook the quinoa according to package directions. I make this the night before and let it chill in the fridge so it separates better for the salad.
- Bring a pot of water to boil and then turn off the heat. Add the peas and cover until bright green. I do this instead of regular boiling so they don’t get wrinkly! Toss the quinoa with the peas, feta, bacon, herbs, and almonds.
- Puree all the dressing ingredients in the food processor. Toss the dressing with the salad ingredients. Season generously with salt and pepper. Serve tossed with fresh baby spinach, on crackers, or just by itself!
Notes
The tossed salad can be kept for up to two days without getting weird – it actually soaks up the dressing, and it works great to toss the leftovers with fresh greens. Also, in my opinion, you can never have too much fresh herb-age and mint would be a great addition.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Category: Lunch
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: quinoa salad, healthy salad, salad recipe, spring salad
It’s Wednesday! Baby steppin’ our way to the weekend.
This is 1 of my favorite recipes! I make it every easter because it’s such a wonderfully well rounded recipe
I made the lemon dressing and it was perfect. I modified it though.
I used honey mustard to make it a creamy dressing instead of a vinaigrette. I added 2 T. of honey and 1 + of honey mustard, which came out delicious.
Thank you for your recipe!
Love this recipe! It’s great for meal prep and the flavours are so fresh!
Give the is recipe a try – you won’t be disappointed.
I am an avid cook, and never leave reviews… but this is a phenomenal recipe. I have made it countless times, as written, and it has never failed me. My children devour it, it stores well for a healthy lunch for a few days (sometimes needs a bit of a refresher with olive oil and lemon), pairs with most proteins, just a total winner.
Love this salad! For quick lunches I always keep cooked quinoa with this dressing and some herbs in my fridge. Then I add whatever I have at home. 💖
This recipe is AMAZING! Even my husband loves it.
This salad turned out amazing. I chopped my almonds by hand so that I wouldn’t have to use the food processor. I also made the full dressing but only mixed half of it into the salad and I loved it that way. I think the vinaigrette would also be great in other salads. Would definitely make this again!
I made this for lunch this week and it tastes great. It tastes fresh and I love how the peas pop in your mouth and they definitely add something extra to the dish. The dressing is also yummy and is a perfect pairing.
This recipe is delicious and perfect for hot humid evenings! I’ve only used quinoa once before and this time I neglected to use a day-old-quinoa; but still so fresh and delicious. In
Glad you enjoyed this, Justine!
This is truly the best quinoa dish I have ever had in my life. I made six servings, then ate three of them, then made six more so I would still have dinner for my fam. We are veg, so we made it sans bacon.
Glad you enjoyed this salad, Margie!
Delicious!
Always a little bummed at how many people give your recipes 5 stars without making them. Only because I want to read reviews of how it actually is.
I typically love all of your recipes. This one included! I would definitely add mint and double the almonds next time!
Please explain why we need to boil peas, and why we cannot just toss frozen peas in a salad
I don’t really like peas but I may be willing to eat them in this. I like the flavors you have mixed
Raw or roasted almonds?
Either will work, but roasted would be great!
Will definitely try this one! I recently roasted cauliflower and was amazed by how wonderful it tasted. I wondered if I could do the same with broccoli.
I must have done something wrong but I really couldn’t find a way to like it. It was kinda sweet and not as savory as I had expected.
Has anyone tried freezing this please?
Awesome!! Was looking for a new quinoa recipe and as luck had it, I had all the ingredients in fridge and freezer. This is a great recipe, the whole family rated it as probably the best ever salad I have made and that is a lot of salads. Of course bacon is always a winner but I think it would have been almost as good without it. Did use a macadamia oil vinegarette with some Dijon mustard. Can’t wait to have it again
Made this salad tonite, it was so good. I added some celery for a little more crunch and just threw in the sliced almonds, I didn’t grind them up( only because I was lazy) might try that next time to see if it makes a difference. I added a bit more honey to the dressing because AJ like it a little sweeter. Great salad and pretty quick and easy !!!
I added peas, roasted zucchini and roasted asparagus and omitted the cheese. This was incredible. The lemon dressing was the best.
This is soooo delicious!!! Will definitely make again!
I just cooked this! It’s beautiful, but I’d suggest a few alterations that I made:
– I used mint instead of basil and coriander. I found it complimented the peas and feta a lot better.
– I also added in a tonne of baby spinach to add some volume to the salad (and nutrition!)
Awesome recipe, thanks!
This recipe is AMAZING.
For Passover, I was put in charge of making a quinoa salad. This looks perfect, however I have a nephew who is highly allergic to nuts. But I don’t want to leave out that crunchy component!
Do you have any suggestions for something that I can replace it with?
Thank you!!
Lisa
Some pepitas would be a great alternative!
That does sound yum! A pepita is a seed – who knew. I will check to see if he came eat that! Thank you!