Quinoa, Tomato and Avocado Salad

A fresh, simple, and versatile summer salad. A perfect side dish for whatever you’re grilling up this summer.

Driving home from our vacation at Zion National Park I was reading my new Cooking Light. They had an article on quinoa, how great it is for you and fun ways to change it up. We were constantly eating on vacation, so something light and healthy was just what I was craving.

The combo that jumped out at me was the one they featured in the article with tomatoes and avocados drizzled with a little olive oil. I didn’t have any fresh cilantro, so I subbed parsley and globe basil from my garden. I also threw in some matchstick carrots.  I served it with grilled chicken.

Other combos in the article that I hope to try are the Rise and Shine verison with fresh blueberries, nuts and a little brown sugar and cinnamon. Or the Strawberry Fields with sliced strawberries, hazelnuts, arugula, and crumbled goat cheese.

I didn’t know how well this salad would go over with my non-avocado loving twins, but we all liked it. Matt  even had three servings. I cooked a double batch of quinoa and had it for breakfast with raspberries, brown sugar and almond milk. It’s a great grain. If you haven’t tried it yet, give it a try.

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Yield: approx. 3 cups

Quinoa, Tomato and Avocado Salad

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa, uncooked
• 1/2 cup matchstick carrots, steamed for 45 seconds in the microwave
• 1 cup grape tomatoes, havled
• 2 green onions, sliced
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh basil, minced
• 1 large California avocado, diced
• 1 - 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

1. Cook quinoa according to package directions and chill. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and add salt and pepper to taste.

More great salads you might like:

Chicken Apple Salad with Candied Walnuts, Barbara Bakes
Perfect Pasta Salad, Barbara Bakes
Roasted Tomato Caprese Panzanella, How Sweet It Is
Southwestern Quinoa Salad, Kalyn’s Kitchen
Greek Quinoa Salad, Two Peas and Their Pod

Join Dine & Dish and Cookin’ Canuck for the California Avocado 4th of July Blast, sponsored by the California Avocado Commission.”