Quinoa Almond Salad Recipes

QUINOA-ALMOND SALAD

Steps:

• Heat quinoa, water and salt to boiling in 2-quart saucepan, stirring once or twice; reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 12 to 15 minutes or until tender.
• Remove saucepan from heat; let stand 5 minutes. Fluff quinoa with fork; cool 15 minutes.
• In small bowl, beat all vinaigrette ingredients with whisk.
• Mix vinaigrette, quinoa and remaining salad ingredients in large bowl. Serve warm, or cover and refrigerate about 4 hours or until chilled.

QUINOA SALAD WITH TOASTED ALMONDS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toast almonds until crisp, lightly browned, and fragrant, about 7 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside. Meanwhile, place quinoa in a fine sieve and rinse under cold running water until the water runs clear; drain well.
• In a medium saucepan, heat 2 teaspoons olive oil over medium heat. Add yellow pepper, garlic, scallions, and red-pepper flakes; cook until the pepper is crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in quinoa, thyme, 1 cup water, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook 7 minutes. Stir in zucchini, cover, and cook until quinoa is tender but not mushy, 5 to 8 minutes longer. Remove the saucepan from heat.
• Stir in celery, almonds, and remaining 2 teaspoons oil, season with salt, and fluff with a fork. Cool to room temperature before packing into 2 containers and refrigerating. When ready to eat, squeeze lime over salad, if desired. Serve with additional lime wedge and thyme, if desired.

VEGGIE, ALMOND, AND RAISIN QUINOA SALAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spread almonds onto a baking sheet.
• Bake almonds in the preheated oven until lightly toasted and fragrant, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Bring vegetable stock and quinoa to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until quinoa is tender and stock has been absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer quinoa to a bowl and refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes.
• Mix almonds, cucumber, tomatoes, parsley, orange bell pepper, feta cheese, raisins, olives, and scallions into quinoa.
• Whisk lemon juice and olive oil together in a bowl; pour over quinoa mixture and stir until quinoa mixture is coated.

GLUTEN-FREE CRANBERRY-ALMOND QUINOA SALAD

Steps:

• For the dressing: Whisk together the oil, lemon juice, honey, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Set aside.
• For the salad: Bring 2 1/2 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. Place the cranberries in a small bowl. Ladle out 1/2 cup of the boiling water over the cranberries to rehydrate. Pour the quinoa into the pot with the remaining boiling water, cover and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook until the quinoa absorbs the water, 12 to 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork, and transfer to a large bowl.
• Drain the cranberries and scatter them over the quinoa. Add the scallions, almonds and vinaigrette, and fold into the salad until evenly distributed. Add the mint and serve, or chill overnight if desired.