Vegan Quinoa Salad is delicious and super easy to make! Comes together in under 20 minutes and is perfect for get togethers, quick lunches, and more!
The first time I ever saw quinoa salad, I had no idea what quinoa even was. It looked weird and I wasn’t up for trying new foods. Fast forward and it’s one of my favorite salads in the world. This vegan quinoa salad is easy to make and is a hit at get togethers all year round.
I love an easy recipe and this one comes together in under 20 minutes and can also be prepped in advance. Perfect if you are planning a get-together or even if you are looking for a new idea for a lunch prep for the week!
There are so many ways to use this vegan quinoa salad. I can wait to hear how you like it!
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What ingredients do you need for a vegan quinoa salad?
First, let me say that this recipe is completely customizable. You could add, omit, or replace so many of the ingredients to suit your liking.
There are two parts of the recipe, the quinoa and vegetable mixture, and then a homemade dressing. Together, they all come together really quickly and you’ll absolutely love the recipe.
The ingredients that you need are:
- Quinoa
- Vegetable broth
- Chickpeas
- Cucumber
- Red bell pepper
- Red onion
- Parsley (from 1 large bunch)
- Cilantro
- Cherry tomatoes
- Vegan Feta (optional)
For the homemade vegan dressing recipe, you’ll also need:
- Olive oil
- Lemons
- Balsamic vinegar
- Garlic
- Salt
- Black pepper, to taste 1/4 tsp I did
How do you make vegan quinoa salad?
This is such an easy recipe, you are going to be blown away by how fast you prep it.
To start, you are going to cook quinoa according to directions. Instead of using water, you are going to swap with the vegetable broth. It gives more flavor to the dish which is why we make that recommendation. Of course, you can always use water.
While your quinoa is cooking, you want to chop up all your vegetables and drain and rinse your chickpeas. Put all those ingredients into a bowl while you wait for your quinoa to finish cooking.
In a separate small bowl, combine all the ingredients for your dressing.
Once your quinoa is done, add it to your bowl of chopped vegetables and drizzle the dressing all over. Combine really well and then top with the optional vegan feta cheese.
Can be served warm, but best if let sit in the fridge for at least an hour to cool down and let the flavor come together.
Where do you buy vegan feta cheese?
The vegan feta cheese on top of this vegan quinoa salad is completely optional. We make it optional because of allergies reasons, but also because it’s not inexpensive or particularly easy to find.
That being said, we have seen it at a local natural health store and our Whole Foods carries it. The only one we have seen is made by the Violife brand.
Can I make this a Top 8 Allergen Friendly Quinoa Salad?
The optional vegan feta in this dish is the only ingredients that contains a Top 8 Allergen. Otherwise, this entire vegan quinoa salad is free from any of the Top 8 allergens, as well as corn, mustard and sesame.
The vegan feta does contain coconut oil. If you live in the US, then that is considered a Top 8 allergen as it’s listed as a tree nut; however, if you live outside the US, then this usually isn’t considered a top allergen.
This vegan quinoa salad is very allergy friendly!
Can I make this without oil?
Yes! We know that many people are oil free. You can either just omit the olive oil entirely and add 1 more tbsp of balsamic vinegar.
Or you could make a creamy dressing by combine 1/2 an avocado with the lemon juice and balsamic vinegar.
Can I prep this vegan quinoa salad ahead of time?
Absolutely! You can make the entire salad a day in advance, waiting until right before to add the vegan feta if adding.
If you want to prep it for the week, say for lunches, we would recommend that you store the tomatoes and cucumbers in a separate container and add those the day you plan to eat, in addition to the vegan feta if adding.
What are other vegan side dishes I could create?
There are endless possibilities, but here are some of our favorite vegan side dishes that we think everyone will like:
- Italian Vegan Pasta Salad
- Vegan Potato Salad
- Vegan Green Bean Salad
- The Best Vegan Baked Beans
- Vegan Glazed Carrots
- Vegan Green Bean Casserole
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Vegan Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered
- 1 cucumber, cut into 1/2 in quartered pieces
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 small red onion, chopped
- 1/4 cup parsley, chopped
- 2 tbsp cilantro, chopped
For the Dressing
- 1/4 cup olive oil (see post for oil free version)
- 1/2 cup lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Optional
- 1/2 cup vegan feta cheese
Instructions
- Cook quinoa according to directions. Swapping out the water for vegetable broth.
- While quinoa is cooking, chop all vegetables and drain and rinse chickpeas. Put all those ingredients into a bowl.
- In a separate small bowl, combine all the ingredients for dressing.
- Once quinoa is done, add it to bowl of chopped vegetables and drizzle the dressing all over.
- Combine really well and then top with the optional vegan feta cheese.
- Can be served warm, but best if let sit in the fridge for at least an hour to cool down and let the flavor come together.
Notes
Nutrition
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This recipe was so easy to make & absolutely delicious! I didn’t have any cucumber so I replaced with zucchini & yellow squash. Still very refreshing & filling. Will definitely make more often!
Thanks for sharing your swaps, we love seeing that. We are so excited to hear that you liked the recipe. Thank you for taking the time to write a review. We appreciate it!