Quinoa Arugula Salad
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This Quinoa Arugula Salad is fresh, filling, and oh so delicious. It goes perfectly with your favorite proteins or you can serve it all by itself. Make up a big bowl in just 20 minutes today!
Why We Love It
This Quinoa and Arugula salad is earthy, herby, light, and super satisfying! It’s totally perfect as a healthy, balanced lunch, and it’s equally awesome served as a holiday side dish.
It’s made with simple and delicious ingredients like tender baby arugula, crunchy walnuts, sweet golden raisins, nutty quinoa, lots of fresh dill and mint, and a homemade orange vinaigrette.
Baby arugula tastes lightly peppery and mildly bitter, so it pairs perfectly with sweet and herby flavors (I use it in my prosciutto wrapped pears).
And adding quinoa to a salad beefs it up (not literally), making it more filling and satisfying while keeping it vegan and vegetarian friendly.
Best of all, this salad only takes about 20 minutes to make it! That means you can whip it up on the fly for a quick lunch or as a healthy side to share at dinner.
Ingredients
Ingredients Notes
- Use any kind of quinoa you have or enjoy. White, red, black, or tri-color quinoa all work great in this recipe!
- Cook the quinoa in vegetable broth or chicken broth instead of water. The quinoa will have much more flavor!
- Make sure the cooked quinoa is completely cooled! If you use warm or hot quinoa, the heat will wilt the tender baby arugula.
- Chopped almonds, cashews, sunflower seeds, or pepitas can be substituted for the walnuts.
- Regular raisins, dried cranberries, or minced dates can be substituted for the golden raisins.
- Optionally, add 1/4 cup feta, gorgonzola, or goat cheese. It will add more savory, salty goodness to the salad.
- For more protein, add 1/2 cup cannellini beans to the salad, a can of drained tuna, or 1 cup diced grilled chicken.
Instructions
Step 1: Do the prep work.
Juice and zest the orange. Mince the mint and dill.
Tip: Remember to save the herb scraps to make homemade vegetable stock! The herb scraps will add a lot of herbaceous flavor.
Step 2: Make the dressing.
In a small dish, whisk the oil, apple cider vinegar, orange juice, and orange zest together.
Season the dressing with salt and pepper.
Step 3: Assemble the salad.
Add the arugula, walnuts, raisins, mint, and dill to a large bowl. Pour all of the salad dressing on top and toss it together.
Once the salad ingredients are coated and tossed together, add the quinoa and toss the salad again. This helps to ensure the quinoa doesn’t soak up all the salad dressing.
Season the salad lightly with salt and pepper, and it’s ready to serve!
Tips & FAQ
The beauty of this salad is that it goes with almost anything! Serve with roasted chicken, pork chops, turkey, boiled eggs, tuna, grilled chicken, or marinated salmon.
Yes! I recommend leaving the salad undressed. Cover it and store it in the refrigerator for up to a day before eating. Just before serving the salad, toss with the salad dressing.
This salad makes for great leftovers. Store it covered tightly in the refrigerator for 3-4 days, per USDA.
Quinoa is naturally gluten-free, however it can be contaminated with gluten if it’s processed alongside glutenous grains. For that reason, you should make sure to find the certified gluten-free label on the packaging if you have an allergy or sensitivity.
More Healthy Salad Recipes
I’d love to hear about your experience making this recipe!
Please leave a comment below or tag me on Instagram @cookathomemom.
Quinoa Arugula Salad
Ingredients
Salad
- 2 cups cooked quinoa
- 4 cups baby arugula (~3 oz.)
- 1/2 cup golden raisins
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 2 Tablespoons fresh mint, minced
- 1 Tablespoon fresh dill, minced
Dressing
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1.5 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 3 Tablespoons orange juice freshly squeezed
- 1 teaspoons orange zest
- pinch salt
- pinch pepper
Video
Instructions
- First, do all the prep work. Juice and zest the orange, and mince the mint and dill.
- Make the dressing by whisking the oil, apple cider vinegar, orange juice, and orange zest together. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add the arugula, walnuts, raisins, mint, and dill to a large bowl. Pour all of the salad dressing on top and toss it together. Add the quinoa and toss the salad again. Season lightly with salt and pepper, and it’s ready to serve!
Notes
- Be sure to use certified gluten-free quinoa if you have a gluten allergy or sensitivity!
- For more flavor, cook the quinoa in vegetable broth or chicken broth instead of water.
- To prevent the arugula from wilting, make sure the quinoa is completely cooled before tossing it with the salad.
- Walnut substitutes: Chopped almonds, cashews, sunflower seeds, or pepitas.
- Golden raisin substitutes: Regular raisins, dried cranberries, or minced dates.
- Optionally, add 1/4 cup feta, gorgonzola, or goat cheese.
- For more protein, add 1/2 cup cannellini beans to the salad, a can of drained tuna, or 1 cup diced grilled chicken.
