Vegan Citrus Quinoa Salad

This vegan citrus quinoa salad is so refreshing and satisfying. It makes a great lunch on-the-go to take to work, school or to a picnic. It's also great for dinner when you want something quick, healthy and filling. Moreover, this citrus quinoa salad is packed with nutrients - plant protein and iron from the quinoa and vitamin C from the citrus fruits.

This Vegan Citrus Quinoa Salad Comes Together in 20 Minutes

This recipe only takes as long as the quinoa takes to cook! I admit, quinoa is not the fastest-cooking grain (~15-20 minutes)... But while the quinoa is cooking, you can prepare all the remaining ingredients and then you're good to go! What I love about quinoa is that by varying the cooking time, you can easily change the texture of it. If you cook it a little shorter (15 minutes), you get some slightly crunchy quinoa. If you cook it a little longer (20 minutes) it's super soft and creamy. So you can choose what you prefer!

Clementines and Oranges Make a Great Addition to This Salad

I'm a big fan of adding sweet things to savory dishes! I just think it adds such a lovely contrast and it makes any dish instantly 100 times fancier. Like adding raisins to a rice bowl. Or peaches on a tarte flambée. Or citrus fruits to a salad. Plus, you'll also get some important minerals and vitamins like vitamin C and fiber!

Why Quinoa Should Be A Staple For you

Quinoa definitely is a staple for me. I like to serve it with curries, add it to salads to take to work, make quinoa bowls or have quinoa porridge in the morning. Quinoa is very nutritious as it is high in fiber, iron, copper and zinc. It''s also an excellent source of plant proteoin since it contains all essential amino acids. What I love is that it's sooo versatile and it also tastes great cold (which is important when making things to-go)!

Ingredients

- 65 g uncooked quinoa (⅓ cup) or 180 g cooked quinoa

- 4 small clementines

- 100 g cherry tomatoes

- 100 g spinach

- 30 g walnuts

- salt

- pepper

Dressing

- 1 tsp tahini

- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar

- juice of ½ lemon

Instructions

Start by cooking the quinoa in vegetable broth for approximately 15 minutes until the quinoa is soft and has absorbed all the liquid.
In the meantime, peel the clementines and cut into bite-sized pieces. Wash the cherry tomatoes and cut in half. Roughly chop the walnuts.
To make the dressing, add all ingredients to a small bowl and mix well.
Add the washed spinach, chopped citrus fruits, tomatoes and walnuts to a mixing bowl. Add the cooked quinoa while it is still warm and the dressing.
Give it a good mix and enjoy warm or cold.