This nutrient-packed Quinoa Avocado Salad only takes 25 minutes and it's full of healthy, energizing, plant-based goodness. (Vegan, gluten-free, oil-free)
Fluffy quinoa, spinach, and sweet cherry tomatoes join forces with creamy avocado in this fresh & tasty dish. We love this combination.
It's nutrient-packed, delicious, pleasantly filling, and energizing. Plus easy to make and it only takes 25 minutes!
Ingredients for Quinoa Avocado Salad
For this recipe you'll need:
- White quinoa
- Avocado
- Fresh baby spinach
- Grape/cherry tomatoes
- Green onion (scallion)
- Red wine vinegar
- Garlic
This dish is versatile, so play around with different variations and flavors. Add beans or seeds for additional protein. Fresh herbs (parsley, cilantro) are lovely as well.
It also makes an awesome take-along lunch that you can make ahead of time and store in the fridge. It also works great for picnics, potlucks, parties, etc. Hope you enjoy as well!
Quinoa Avocado Spinach Power Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup white quinoa (uncooked)
- 2 avocados
- 3 oz. baby spinach (more if desired)
- 8 oz. grape/cherry tomatoes
- 3 green onions (or finely diced red onion)
- 2 1/2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
- 1-2 cloves garlic (I use 2)
- 1/8 tsp. salt (more/less to taste)
Optional additions:
- Cucumber, fresh herbs (parsley, cilantro, etc.), lemon juice, Dijon mustard, 1 tsp. dried oregano/basil
Instructions
- Rinse and cook quinoa*.
- Meanwhile, roughly chop the spinach. Place in a large mixing bowl.
- Mince garlic, and add to spinach.
- Halve/quarter cherry tomatoes, slice green onions, and dice avocado.
- When quinoa is done cooking, immediately add it to the large bowl with spinach & garlic. Toss well to combine. (The heat from the quinoa will lightly wilt the spinach and mellow the garlic.)
- Add the tomatoes, green onions, red wine vinegar, and salt to taste. Stir to combine.
- Add the avocado and lightly toss. Serve immediately or refrigerate to let flavors blend/intensify.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving (Estimate)
Enjoying this Quinoa Avocado Salad? Also check out:
Come join The Garden Grazer on Instagram and then share a photo if you make this. (Also please leave a review & star rating below if you give it a try. Your feedback is greatly appreciated - thank you!)
Diane C
Loved this salad!!!! Instead of the vinegar, tossed it with some EVOO and lemon juice. Added a little grilled chicken. AMAZING!!!!!!
Kaitlin
Wonderful to hear you enjoyed it, Diane. Thanks for sharing!
CToth
A++++ Excellent!!! I have been making this salad for years. It is one of my favorites and it stores well in the fridge for a days. I usually add the avocado right before I have a serving. It is soo good, makes me feel great, I usually have some wonderful energy after I eat it. Thank you so much for such a great recipe.
Kaitlin McGinn
AWESOME! So glad you've been enjoying this one. Thanks so much for the kind feedback and recipe rating - very appreciated 🙂 And good call adding the avocado right before serving! Hope you have a lovely rest of the week. -Kaitlin
Jackie
Hi Kaitlin!
I just wanted to thank you for this recipe. I’ve had it in my “stash” for several years but never tried it until last week. WOW! Have we been missing out! It is so delicious and so easy. It’s now going to be a regular addition to our menu. We eat it as a main dish salad and it’s so satisfying and cool for hot, humid NC days. Thanks so much!
Kaitlin McGinn
Hi Jackie! That's amazing to hear! Appreciate you giving it a try and sharing your very kind feedback, thank you! Hope you continue to enjoy it throughout the summer 🙂 Take care!
Unknown
I just made this salad for lunch and OMG.....it's AMAZING!!!!! I love every ingredient in it!! ADDICTED!!!!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Awesome! Thanks for the feedback!
Unknown
I love this recipe! I make it pretty frequently and it's good to take to dinners with non vegans, as they all like it too! Also it's a super good left over.
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Fun to hear the carnivores enjoy it too - thanks for the feedback!
nannette storey
I love this. Thank you. I sprinkle a little feta before serving. It tastes better cold.
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Thanks for sharing!
Karon Skidmore
I made this for a picnic. It is very good. Next time I will double the spinach and add lemon juice or zest to the dressing. I love that it's good made ahead. Thanks for the recipe!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
So great! Thanks for your feedback 🙂
Marta Andujar
I was so late to shop but when I saw this recipe I was oh yeah we have all this in the cupboard and frig just need to run to the corner store for the green onions yay!I am going to have it with pollock delish can not wait thanks a bunch!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Hope you enjoy!
Sof Ray
Great recipe! I found adding fresh lemon juice prevented the avocados from turning brown if you want leftovers for the following days.
Sof Ray
Oh and I used the tricolor quinoa which made it look even prettier!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Love that - great tips! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Unknown
i love this recipe never tried quinoa before but thanks to this i love it had to change eating habits and this works well thanks for sharing
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
So great!
Leslie
This looks delicious! Do you have any suggestions for a substitute if I don't have red wine vinegar? Thanks so much!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Hi Leslie! Fresh lemon juice or another vinegar would be a great substitute - hope you enjoy! 🙂
Shlandrea Jackson
Just made this made this for dinner tonight and It was awesome!!!!!! Very light on the tummy and fulfilling at the same time. I added almonds to mine.
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Great idea with the almonds - thanks for sharing!
Natalie Lindquist
Doing a 10 Day Clean Eating Challenge and this was today's lunch. YUM! Thanks so much for sharing! (Your website and salads are playing a big part in my challenge.)
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Great to hear, Natalie!
Stephanie
My family and I recently started eating more healthy foods, and this recipe was one I saw on Pinterest that I just had to try. It looked so delicious. We had this for dinner tonight and it tasted just as delicious as it looked! I added chickpeas to make it a bit more filling. Like you point out in your post, it's amazing how such simple ingredients can create such complex and delicious flavors. My daughter had three servings. I'm excited to try some of your other recipes, thanks for all the great, healthy inspiration!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
That's so great! Love the chickpea addition!
Veronica Villanua
This was amazing! Even my 7 year old loved it! I doubled the spinach and added lemon … YUUUUMM! Thank you for a great recipe!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Great additions, thanks for sharing!
Unknown
Enjoying every bite of it right now!! Pleasantly surprised!! Thank you!!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Awesome - thank you!
Kim Weis
This was super good! Thank you!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
So great to hear!
JQsat
Love this! Wish you had a print button for your recipes.
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Hi! You can find the "Print" button in the recipe card! 🙂
Jenny Triplett
I don't have any quinoa on hand but have everything else! Do you think brown rice would work?
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Hey Jenny! I've never tried this with rice, but I think it could still could work 🙂
Eleni
I saw this on Pinterest and I was so excited that I had all the ingredients on hand. I made it right away for lunch. It was soooo good! Thanks for the awesome recipe. I'll be making this over and over again.
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Love when that happens! Glad you enjoyed!
Samantha Harris
GREAT summer salad! I LOVED it!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Yay! So great to hear 🙂
Holly Avery
I just made this tonight--so light and refreshing! Awesome. Thanks!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
So great! Thanks for the feedback!
K Ridley
The sounds delicious. You sound very similar to me.:)
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Hope you enjoy!
Jody
Do you think I could use Balsamic instead of red wine vinegar for the dressing?
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Hi Jody! I'm guessing that'd work great too!
Candace Cole
Just made this and it is amazing!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Thank you for giving it a try! Glad you enjoyed 🙂
Jodi Jackson
OMG, this is sooooooo good! Thank you for sharing
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Great to hear!
Rhonda Mesnick
I used WW recipe builder and came up with 8 points for 5 servings and 6 points for 6 servings.
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Thanks for sharing!
Jena Gribble
Just made this. AMAZING!!!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
So great! Thank you!
Carolyn Childs
We ate all our spinach in last night's green salad so I cubed up some zucchini. Otherwise, followed your recipe to use the rest of my leftover quinoa. PERFECT!!! mmm
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Great addition! Thanks for your helpful feedback!
Danielle Lewis
Hi Kaitlin! Just wanted to say that this recipe was absolutely delicious and has filled my lunch all week. I loved this so much I had to share it with all the readers on my blog. Thank you for sharing - I cannot wait to try more of your recipes.
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Thanks for sharing, Danielle!
Roni
We made this for dinner last night, and it was fabulous! Used red bell pepper instead of tomato, since daughter doesn't care for tomato, and it added a nice kick. Thanks for sharing this easy and delicious recipe! Doesn't hurt that it's good for you, too!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
That's a great idea! So glad you enjoyed it, thanks so much for the sweet message 🙂
Allie
Yum! I can't wait to try this 🙂
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Hope you enjoy!
Cecille M
I just finished making this! I had to substitute cucumber for avocado and added sugar to the dressing. I can't wait for my coworkers to try it.
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
So great! Thanks for sharing!
Jennie Nelson
This sounds great! I would love to make it and portion it out for my lunches this week. Will it stay good refrigerated for a few days, or is it a dish that doesn't last more than a day or two?
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Hi Jennie! Yes! I've kept this in the fridge for about 3-4 days before. The avocado will brown a little so if that's an issue you could leave it out and add it right before serving. I don't mind, so I just do it all in the beginning 🙂 Hope you enjoy!
GlamCat
Hello, new to the site but was wondering if you post nutrition information?
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Hi and welcome! The estimated nutritional content is now provided on the site! (You can find it below each recipe.) Hope that helps!
Shan
I loved this salad! Even my little 7 year old liked it. Very tasty. I ended up doubling the spinach. Packing up leftovers for hubby's lunch. Thanks for the quick easy meal, the only thing I didn't have on hand was the avacado. 🙂
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
So great to hear! Love that you doubled the spinach 🙂
Sarah Bell
If you are having this the next day should you eat it cold or heat it up?
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Hi Sarah! I always eat the leftovers cold 🙂
Cookin' Canuck
This is the kind of salad I could happily eat everyday for lunch. Great dish, Kaitlin!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Thank you!
Jazzegurl
This is soooo delish!! I have so much energy after eating this power salad. This is a must try!!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Great to hear!
Anonymous
Just made this dish. It's real good! 🙂 Thanks!
I love your recipes. Have made several of them!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
So great to hear that - thank you!
Angie
How many does this serve?
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Hi Angie! Depends on if you're using it as a main dish or side dish. I'd estimate main dish servings to be about 3-4, and side dish servings about 6-8. It can really vary based on your serving size preference, so I split the difference and call it 5 medium bowls 🙂
Angie
Thanks! Going to make this tonight!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Hope you enjoy!
Mary Jane DiCresce
Made this to go with some grilled chicken; fabulous!!! I also added some goat cheese. This is a GREAT salad and easy!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Thanks for sharing!
LittleMonsterx14
yes! this looks so simple but incredibly delicious! Yum!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Thank you!