Vegetarian Quinoa Salad – naturally gluten-free

Hi all, today I want to show you my vegetarian quinoa salad – naturally gluten-free . It’s a favourite among my friends and family and i think you’ll like it, too!

Now, before you stop reading, before you see eggs – I’ve made this picture before I decided to try out the whole Vegan thing! I will add a Vegan option below! 🙂

This salad is the ultimate comfort food for me – it’s delicious and 100% satisfying, but also healthy – so nothing to feel guilty about after.

Enjoy the salad, which is perfect alone or as a side for barbecues, etc.

Happy cooking! 🙂

What you’ll need:

Ingredients (non-vegan)

1 cup quinoa tricolore

2 cups water

1 tsp vegetable broth (if you use organic: you might want to add a little more, because the taste is less intense)

1 courgette

Half a bunch radishes

A handful dried tomatoes (in oil)

Pitted black olives

(Feta cheese + 1 hard boiled egg per person)

Salat dressing:

Mustard

Olive Oil

Balsamico vinegar

Salt & pepper

Garnish: (cracked) Linseed, sunflower seeds, hemp seeds (what ever you’ve got at home really!)

For the vegan option, simply add vegan cheese instead of feta cheese and for extra protein intake you could add some smoked tofu (goes well with the tomatoes and olives). The tofu is especially nice, if you cut little chunks and roast them before adding them.

I usually add some cooked green lentils as well, because I love the taste and they bring extra fibres, iron & protein. You can just cook them together with the quinoa (after soaking them in water) or you could just use your leftovers, if you have any.

How to:

First, wash the quinoa. It’s important to wash & rinse it very well or it’ll be bitter and starchy afterwards.

Next, bring the water with the broth to boil and add the quinoa. Leave to simmer at low heat for about 10 minutes – keep the los on.

After 10 minutes, turn the heat off and leave the quinoa on the hot plate – leaving the lid slightly inclined so the remaining water can evaporate and the quinoa will be nice and fluffy.

While the quinoa cools down, you can start cutting the remaining ingredients, I usually take out the inner bit of the courgette to get rid of the watery parts, but if you don’t want to waste any food leave it in.

Lastly, just mix everything together and top with the garnish of your choice.

For the dressing, just mix 1 part balsamic with 2 parts olive oil and 1 tsp of mustard. You can also use some of the oil from the dried tomatoes to include more of its taste and instead of balsamic you can add some lemon juice.

Btw, my gluten-free bread is also great with it. Get the recipe here.

As always, I’m happy to see your results. Show me your version my vegetarian quinoa salad – naturally gluten-free.

If you have any questions, simply leave a comment. 🙂