A fresh and delicious vegan quinoa salad with lots of zucchini, carrots, and a mustard vinaigrette is just right for the summer months. This salad is perfect for a picnic!
When summer arrives, I always pull out my salad recipes and start making my favorites. We love coleslaw, vegan potato salad, and other salads, too.
We’ve always been big fans of quinoa salads, and I wanted to try something new with this one, so I added lots of vegetables, and then topped it with an easy mustard vinaigrette. The result is a light, flavorful vegan quinoa salad that’s perfect for a picnic lunch!
If you love quinoa, you’ll want to try this slow cooker sweet potato quinoa chili as well as this honey mustard quinoa salad.
Ingredient Notes
- Quinoa – I used white quinoa, but red would work just as well.
- Mustard – I like regular yellow mustard in this dressing, but you could use Dijon or brown mustard if you prefer.
- Lemon Juice – Lemon gives this dressing a bright citrus flavor, but you could also try lime juice, or if you’re out of those, vinegar would also work.
Substitutions
- This salad could easily be made with millet, white or brown rice, or even a small pasta like orzo if you prefer.
- You can use different veggies if you like – try cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, or broccoli.
Storage
Store this salad in the refrigerator in an airtight container. It should stay fresh for about 4 days. You may need to add more dressing as time goes on, because the quinoa can absorb a lot of the flavor.
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Recipe
Vegan Quinoa Salad with Zucchini.
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa
- 1 small onion chopped
- 1 small zucchini chopped
- 1 cup baby carrots chopped
- 1 orange bell pepper chopped
- ¾ cup frozen peas thawed
- ½ cup chopped celery
Instructions
- Prepare the quinoa according to package directions. Set aside to cool.
- Once the quinoa is cool, place it in a large bowl along with all of the chopped vegetables.
- Make the dressing: place the lemon juice, sugar, olive oil, mustard, and salt in a small jar with a lid. Shake well.
- Pour the dressing over the quinoa and vegetables and toss to coat.
- Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator.
Brandi
I can’t wait to try this recipe!
Could I substitute honey or maple syrup for the sugar in the dressing?
Thanks!
Kelly Roenicke
Certainly!
Katie
Delicious recipe!
Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice
This is such a pretty salad, Kelly! I love the zucchini in here…gives it such a gorgeous pop of color!
Julia
Ah jeez, I don’t know why people do such crazy things. That would make me super paranoid! I hope the police catch him soon.
This salad is rockin it, girl. So simple, vibrant and healthful. A definite win!
Kristy @ Southern In Law
I love quinoa salads and this one sounds perfect! What a great lunch or side dish!
Kelly
Thank you, Kristy!