Quinoa Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
Toasted slivered almonds, chewy golden raisins, and peppery arugula take center stage in this fresh and flavorful quinoa salad with lemon vinaigrette.
Servings: 4 as a side dish
Ingredients
For the dressing
- juice of half a lemon about 1 tablespoon
- 1 tablespoon chopped dill substitute 1 teaspoon dried dill or other dried herb of choice
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon honey
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- a few grinds of black pepper
- ¼ cup olive oil
For the salad
- ¼ cup slivered almonds toasted
- ¼ cup golden raisins
- a few handfuls of arugula
- ¼ cup crumbled feta or goat cheese optional
- 1 cup quinoa uncooked
Instructions
- Cook quinoa according to package directions.
- While the quinoa cooks, make the dressing. Combine the lemon juice, chopped dill, Dijon mustard, honey, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until the dressing emulsifies.
- Toast the almonds in a dry pan over medium heat for 4-5 minutes. They’re done when you start to smell them.
- To a large bowl, add the toasted slivered almonds, golden raisins, arugula and cheese (if using).
- Add the warm, fully cooked quinoa to the bowl. Pour in dressing to taste and mix the salad together to combine.
- Taste and adjust for seasoning. The dressing already has salt and pepper in it, but you may like a little extra.
Notes
The warm quinoa will absorb some of the dressing. Keep the extra dressing and add more as needed to leftovers.
You can use sliced almonds instead of slivered.