After savoring the bounty of the fall and winter months in my Roasted Butternut Squash Quinoa Salad, Quinoa Black Bean Corn Salad and Thai Quinoa Salad recipes it only made sense to create another mouthwatering quinoa salad recipe that is perfect for the warmer seasons. Fan of quinoa? Be sure to check out our collection of easy quinoa recipes. If you’ve tried any of my other quinoa salad recipes, like my Southwest Quinoa Salad, Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad, Lentil Quinoa Salad, Kale and Quinoa Salad and Quinoa Salad with Chickpeas you’ll love this light, but satiating and delicious Quinoa Avocado Salad recipe.
Why I Love This Recipe:
There is so much to love about this Quinoa Avocado Feta Salad recipe, but if you need some convincing here are a few reasons why it deserves a spot on your table for dinner tonight. It is:
Ingredient Checklist
I love that this simple quinoa salad with avocado can be enhanced with just about any protein source and an array of toppings to suit even the pickiest of palates. This recipe uses fresh baby spinach leaves and cooked and cooled quinoa as a base. It is topped off with a mix of sliced cherry tomatoes, diced mini cucumbers, green onions, baby bell peppers, red onion, creamy avocado, and crumbled feta cheese for added flavor and variety. In the end, it is drizzled with a bright, citrusy lemon salad dressing, which happens to be my go-to easy recipe for quinoa salads. It does a great job to bring the whole dish together.
How to Make Avocado Quinoa Salad?
As long as you have about 10-15 minutes of time to slice and chop the individual elements for your salad, you’ve already done the hard part. All that’s left to do is to bring your masterpiece together. To make this Summer Quinoa Salad with Avocado: Here’s how to assemble:
Variations and Ways to Serve:
There are plenty of ways to switch up the ingredients to make it perfect for your personal taste.
Quinoa: You can use any variety of cooked quinoa that you like or have on hand. You can make it a red quinoa salad with avocado, or use white or tricolor quinoa if you prefer. Greens: If you don’t have spinach on hand or prefer to use something else, this salad tastes delicious with other leafy greens as well. Try using a lighter option like arugula, butter lettuce or make a hearty kale quinoa avocado salad if desired. You can also omit the greens and serve this as more of a quinoa avocado bowl for a main course or side dish recipe.Cheese: I used feta cheese, but mozzarella, crumbled queso fresco, or even shredded cheddar cheese would work. Protein: This salad works well with a variety of protein sources too. If you want to add some bulk to your quinoa creation, you could add seared yellowfin tuna, baked bone in chicken breasts, grilled chicken (as I did it in this Southwestern Chicken Salad), or even sliced steak on top.Lime Dressing: If you want to switch things up, try my chili lime dressing to turn this into more of a Southwestern-inspired salad. Or you can follow my lemon dressing recipe but swap lemon juice with fresh lime juice for more of a lime flavor.Add fresh herbs: If you have on hand, feel free to sprinkle it with fresh parsley or fresh cilantro for a next level quinoa salad recipe.
Can I Make This Salad Vegan?
Absolutely! It’s simple to make this cold quinoa salad vegan. Simply omit the cheese or use a vegan cheese-style product instead. You could also incorporate other vegan proteins like diced tofu or chickpeas if you desire.
Make-Ahead & Storage Instructions:
To make ahead: You can indeed make this salad a day in advance and store it in your fridge. In fact, it tastes even better the next day, after the flavors of the vinaigrette have had time to meld together with the rest of the ingredients.If you’re worried about the avocado browning, you can even store the different elements of the salad separately. Simply prepare all of the ingredients (minus the avocado) in advance. Store them in individual containers in your fridge until you’re ready to use them. When it’s time to assemble it, you’ll have all of the ingredients prepped and ready to go. All you’ll need to do is add the avocado, toss the salad together, and serve.Best way to store: Store your prepared salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days for the best results.
Helpful Tips:
More Healthy Salad Recipes:
If you liked this healthy quinoa salad with avocado, below are a few other quinoa salads that I know you will love:
Kale Quinoa Avocado SaladLentil Quinoa SaladSouthwestern Quinoa SaladGreek Quinoa Salad with ChickpeasQuinoa TabouliPeach Avocado SaladMango Avocado Salad Recipe
