Nutrient-packed Quinoa Vegetable Salad with a fresh lemon-basil dressing! Easy to assemble, and also great for make-ahead meals, take-along lunches, picnics, potlucks, etc. (Vegan, gluten-free, oil-free.)
This healthy lemony quinoa salad is such a great recipe for take-along lunches and meal prep. The quinoa and garbanzo beans provide a hearty, satisfying protein punch, and the lemon-basil dressing is so simple, light, and fresh.
Quinoa is such a versatile, nutrient-packed food, and simple to cook. Plus this is a great recipe to make ahead of time as we find the flavors only intensify as it chills.
How to Make Quinoa Vegetable Salad
- Rinse and cook quinoa.
- Whisk together dressing.
- Prepare and chop your vegetables.
- Then combine everything in a bowl and toss.
- Enjoy immediately, or refrigerate first to help amplify the flavors.
See the notes below the recipe for optional additions and also modifications to the dressing.
This is a wonderful choice for take-along lunches, meal prep, picnics, potlucks, BBQs, and gatherings.
Quinoa Vegetable Salad with Lemon-Basil Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 cup white quinoa (uncooked)
- 15 oz. can garbanzo beans
- 6 oz. grape/cherry tomatoes (or 3 roma)
- 1 orange bell pepper
- 4 green onions
- 1 1/2 cups sweet corn (cooked)
- 2-3 Tbsp. fresh basil (optional, but recommended)
For the lemon-basil dressing:
- 3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice* (about 1 lemon, or more to taste)
- 2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
- 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 tsp. dried basil
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- Optional: lemon zest
Instructions
- Cook the quinoa: place 1 cup quinoa (rinsed and drained) in a small saucepan with 1 1/2 cups water (or vegetable broth for more flavor). Bring to a light boil over medium-high heat. Then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the dressing: in a small bowl combine all dressing ingredients. Whisk to combine.
- Dice tomatoes and bell pepper. Slice green onions. Rinse and drain garbanzo beans. Roughly chop fresh basil, if using.
- When quinoa is done cooking, let cool for a few minutes. Then place all salad ingredients in a large bowl.
- Pour dressing over top and toss well to combine. Taste and adjust flavors if desired.
- Can serve immediately or chill covered in the refrigerator for a few hours to let flavors intensify. (Also great served with diced avocado!)
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving (Estimate)
If you are enjoying this salad, also browse all quinoa recipes or check out:
Please leave a review and rating if you make this recipe - thank you!
Follow The Garden Grazer on Instagram, Pinterest, or RSS for more updates and inspiration.
Jessica
I just made this and it's fantastic! I added a bit of pepper, extra lemon juice and olive oil, and a bit of cayenne peeper to add more flavor.
Kaitlin
Thanks for sharing!
Annemarie Doolin
Hi, this dish introduced me to Quinoa. I actually added just about everything going in this dish. Not only did my husband love it but his other "non-veggie", red blooded "I don't do salads" guy had 3 HELPINGS! For the record I added kale, cherry tomatoes, raisins, celery, pumpkin seeds, pine nuts, artichokes with a drizzle of their oil from the jar, red peppers, grated carrot, mushrooms, cucumber, chick peas in halves... tossed it in your dressing recommendation and then sprinkled sesame seeds on top. Fabulous if you have guests coming because it's plenty to go around. Thanks!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Hi Annemarie! Wow, such fantastic additions! Thank you so much for sharing.
LitKnitter
Thanks for this recipe. I didn't have garbanzo beans on hand so used pinto beans & added cumin. So easy, healthy, and plenty of leftovers for lunches. It's going into my regular rotation -- thanks again!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Wonderful idea, thank you for sharing!
Pamela Elliott
love this recipe - it's quickly become a weekly favorite for me! thank you!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Great to hear!
Anonymous
LOVE your recipes. Tried this one and the Mexican quinoa dish and they are amazing.
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
So great to hear that! Thank you for the kind feedback.
Kmayb2009
How many does this serve if used as a side dish at a BBQ?
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Hi! I'd guess it would serve about 6 as a side (maybe a little more if the servings were small!)
Anonymous
I'm in a pre-diabetic workshop and I've been making this recipe a lot. I add any veggies that I have in the fridge - red onion, cucumber, summer squash etc. I also added garlic to the dressing and added more lemon juice and less oil. It's very versatile. Thanks for sharing.
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Wonderful, thank you so much for sharing!
Anonymous
Just made this and boy was it easy and tasty! I made a little bit more of the dressing for more taste. So good!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Can't go wrong with a little more dressing. So glad you enjoyed it!
Lacy Dean
I made this for a cook out and even my very picky, veggie hating friends loved this! It's so good. I love quinoa and I love that this one is a cold dish.
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
So great! Glad everyone enjoyed it. Thanks for the message!
Carrie Barnett
Any suggestions for things that would taste good to replace the corn and bell pepper? I can't eat either but would still want the same colors and crunch that those give.
Lacy Dean
Kale, summer squash, zucchini? I've made this and really a lot of veggies would be good in this. Just pick veggies you think go well with lemon and basil.
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Hi Carrie! Lacy has some awesome suggestions. And as far as color, you could find different colored tomatoes as well (yellow, orange, and red).
Katie & Ryun
I don't comment very much on strangers' blogs, but this was soo good! we added the feta too and put it on top of toasted bread and it was so good. I think we're going to try spreading a little hummus on naan and then this stuff on top. This was awesome.
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Hi! I'm honored you came back to comment, thank you! So great to hear you enjoyed it. I love your idea of putting this on top of naan with hummus!
Laura
I've made this twice now and my husband loves it (so do I)! It's a perfect easy meal for him to take on trips. I also LOVE the dressing. Quinoa by itself doesn't taste very good, but the dressing does a great job of masking the flavor. The only change I make is cooking the garbanzo beans for 5 minutes - I prefer them to be soft rather than a little crunchy.
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
So great to hear! Thanks for your kind and thoughtful feedback, Laura.