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.
Quinoa, Tomato and Avocado Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa uncooked
- ½ 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
- 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.”
Jessica Payne
I tried this out today. Soooooooo delicious! Thanks for posting this!!!!
Barbara
So glad you let me know you made it! I’ll have to post more healthy dishes just for you!
Jen @ Savory Simple
A perfect summer side!
Good Food Good Friends
Beautiful plate of food. Looks like summer to me!
Baker Street
Now that’s my kinda salad! LOVE that first picture Barb! 🙂
Barbara
Thanks! Foodgawker didn’t lol.
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella
I’m not surprised that everyone including the twins loved it, it looks delicious. I love quinoa too and recently have had it fried so that it is nice and crunchy (although I don’t know if it is deep fried or shallow fried). I must try figure out how they do it! 😀 xxx
Sommer@ASpicyPerspective
This looks fabulous! We ate a lot of quinoa, and avocados sound so good with it.
RecipeNewZ
This salad must be delicious! It’s been a while since I’ve made anything with quinoa – thank you for the reminder! And avocados are on my shopping list for today 🙂
Angie@Angie's Recipes
A wonderful salad loaded with freshness and deliciousness. Right up my alley!
Megan
I love all kinds of quinoa salads — this avocado variety sounds fantastic!
Bonnie
This looks delicious Barbara. Pass me a plate. We eat a lot of quinoa but I have never had it for breakfast. I just picked a counterful of raspberries this morning so maybe I’ll try this tomorrow.
bakingaddict
Your salad looks delicious! I’ve never tried a quinoa salad – I usually use couscous but I’ll have to give this a try next time.
Amy
I eat salad at least 5 days out of a week in the Summer! This gotta be one great recipe for me to try….soon. I love your ingredients combination.
Marianne
Looks Yummy!
Julia
We drove through Zion one summer in the middle of a thunderstorm. SO crazy and beautiful! This salad looks great!
Kalyn
I’m really liking quinoa more and more as I use it more often. Your salad has so many of my favorite flavors; sounds like a winner!
Lynda
Your salad is vibrant and healthy looking….I just bought quinoa and have been looking for recipes, so this is bookmarked. Anything with avocados in it gets my vote!
JG
I’ve never tasted quinoa, so I’m bookmarking this. Looks so appetizing!
~Judy
Alison @ Ingredients, Inc
This just might be going on my menu this weekend! YUM!! By the way.. will I see you in Park City in a few weeks? Hope so!
kelley {mountain mama cooks}
Can’t wait to hear about your trip. I love quinoa. It’s so versatile and I love all the healthy benefits from it! Great looking salad, Barbara!!
Rosa
A wonderful salad! Summery and healthy. A great accompaniment to chicken.
Cheers,
Rosa