I used to think quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) was a rather strange ingredient. And I vowed to never post recipes on this blog that call for strange ingredients. But it seems as though quinoa is becoming more commonplace, and I am certain some of 
you have a bag of it sitting in your pantry and don’t know what to do with it. I admittedly let our first bag of quinoa just chill for about six months before I worked up enough courage to try something so unusual and different. It’s funny how new ingredients can do that to us.
Long story short quinoa is very similar to couscous. You can eat it plain or add all sorts of seasonings and other fresh flavors to it. And we happen to think this recipe below is a real crowd pleaser. It can be eaten as a side with your lunch or dinner or brought along as the perfect addition to a potluck gathering. We also brought this salad camping the other weekend, and it would work great at an outdoor cookout as well. Trust me – you can’t go wrong so just make it, and I promise it will be gone in no time!
Lime-Cilantro Quinoa Salad (pronounced keen-wah)
Adapted from the Joy of Cooking
Ingredients
Salad
- 3 cups cooked quinoa (1 cup dry)
- ¾ cup dried fruit – we used raisins, golden raisins, chopped dried apricots, and dried currants
- ¼ pine nuts, toasted
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
- 1 bell pepper of any color, diced
Dressing
- ¼ cup lime juice
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- Pinch of salt
Directions
- Mix all salad ingredients together in a large bowl.
- In a separate, smaller bowl whisk together all dressing ingredients.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and mix thoroughly.
- Can be stored in an air tight container in the fridge.
Yield: 6 – 8 servings
In other news: Check out my weekly syndicated newspaper column that ran in some of today’s papers including the Miami Herald. If you like it click “like” next to the title. As always, thanks for your support!
“Real food is the minority” http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/06/13/2264323/real-food-is-the-minority.html
This looks great! I look forward to trying it. Though I’m not a big dried fruit person, I think I will try substituting with fresh sliced grapes.
Thanks for sharing!
I can relate to letting a bag of quinoa sit for awhile! I have a bag of mixed color (black, white, and brown) that I bought about 2 months ago and it’s been sitting on my counter staring begging to be cooked. But now, I have a the perfect summer recipe to try thanks to you. I might even have enough time to make it for today’s cookout.
The salad was a HUGE hit at yesterday’s cookout. Everyone loved it! I’ll be making it again next weekend for a girl’s beach weekend but will be tweaking it a little. Maybe use a yellow pepper instead of green one and add some grape tomatoes cut in half to give it a little more color.
Thanks for sharing such a fabulous recipe with us.
I’m a big quinoa fan. I love to make cold quinoa salads this time of year. My favorite recipe is from the Passionate Vegetarian and includes fresh raw corn, buckwheat noddles, quinoa and a ginger dressing. It’s to die for.
I also good warm or used to make patties. Do you also know that it’s considered the mother grain by the peole of the Andes? It’s high in protein and contains I believe most of the amino acids. A close cousin but smaller in size is Amaranth.
One important rule with quinoa is to always rince it. It contains a natural “insecticide”: saponin, so the best is to put it in a mesh strainer and rince it under the water before cooking it.
I was fortunate enough to get to sample this yummy salad while camping! It was great not only the first time but the 2nd and 3rd as a side for our other meals. Some leftovers aren’t that great but this one is a keeper.
Everything is delicious with quinoa!
I agree with Jennifer! Yum!
Dumb question since I have an unopened bag in the pantry… how do you cook quinoa?
Sarah, cook it just like you would white rice, using the same 1:1 ratio. Just be sure to rinse the quinoa before you cook it, as it is naturally coated with saponin ( a self produced insecticide) and will be bitter tasting if you don’t.
The directions on my bag say 2 cups water to 1 cup quinoa, bring to a boil, then lower the heat and cover for 15 – 20 minutes. Just like rice!
I usually rinse 1 cup quinoa in a sieve then use 1 and 3/4 cup of water. Add quinoa, bring to boil and then simmer for 20 minutes. Always comes out perfect. My favorite is to add the quinoa to red onion, chopped cranberries, walnuts, fresh lemon juice, olive oil, salt/pepper.
You’ve got great insights about recipes, keep up the good work!
Lisa, I recently found you via Fed Up With Lunch. Your site is phenomenal! I’ve read Michael Pollan’s books (except Botany of Desire which I have on deck for reading this summer) but nothing compares to seeing his recommendations in action. A thousand thank yous for sharing all this incredibly useful info! Your quinoa salad recipe looks very appealing and I bought a bag of quinoa for the first time last week so I think it’s a sign that I have to make it ;o)
Thanks so much!
Great recipe! Always have wanted to give quinoa a try. This blog is a great way to encourage people to eat “real food”. Have you had any restaurants pick up recipes from your blog or have you inspired them to change some of their menu items that you’ve heard?
I just want to point out that while quinoa and couscous have a similar consistency and are both tasty and great for a variety of salads, couscous is usually a processed wheat product while quinoa is a whole grain. Their “nutrition information” is therefore quite different. You could certainly use them in the same recipes, but quinoa would certainly be recommended in a whole foods/real food diet while couscous might not make the cut.
FYI – They do make whole-wheat couscous, but you are right if it doesn’t say that on the package then it is not whole grain!
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[...] you can enjoy that helps you meet your goals. I made this quinoa bean salad that I adapted from this recipe at 100 Days of Real Food. Quinoa bean [...]
This is the 1st quinoa recipe I’ve made that I really like. It is delicious. I thought the dried fruit would be wierd, but it is really a nice touch.
Yes, this is great. I forgot the pine nuts when I was shopping, so I made it without them and it was still really good – and even better the next day.
this looks yummy – it’s on my list to try – would love to see a “print friendly” button added for ease of printing
I’ve added “print friendly button” to my to-do list…hopefully I can figure it out! Thanks for the suggestion.
I just made this a few nights ago and it was fantastic! Even better than I thought it would be. I love Quinoa but I thought the dried fruit with lime was a weird combo – it was NOT! Loved it! Very simple and quick too.
Had it with salmon burgers – perfect summer dinner…
Thanks Lisa!
I make something very similar to this only instead of Quinoa I use Barley. It is delish!
I made quinoa the other day and my husband didnt like it. I made THIS one tonight and he couldnt stop eating it. Another great one!!!
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Oooohhh…I will need to try this recipe. I love quinoa. One of my favorite go to foods is this…my 2 year old daughter GOOBLES IT UP! I make it for dinner and then have the left overs for breakfast. It’s sooo good! Enjoy!
http://gooddealgal.blogspot.com/2010/08/recipe-of-week-quinoa-waldorf-salad.html
[...] Lunch: Lime Cilantro Quinoa Salad [...]
I recently made this and it was kind of bitter. I didn’t know about rinsing the quinoa before cooking it. I should have read the comments first. I’ll have to try it again.
Just wanted to tell you how much I love this recipe! I loved it last summer and just pulled it out to start making again now that the weather is warming up (love to take grain salads to work for lunch when it’s warm outside!). I use red quinoa b/c it’s what I had on hand the first time – makes a pretty salad!
[...] flour) http://www.foodonthetable.com/recipes/353331-coconut-crusted-chicken, lime- cilantro quinoa http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/06/14/recipe-lime-cilantro-quinoa-salad/, and carrot [...]