Quinoa Party Salad

This Quinoa Salad is the perfect party salad for serving a crowd. It’s a quick and easy side or appetizer recipe that’s packed with your favorite salad ingredients!

quinoa salad in large serving bowl over arugula

Quinoa Salad

Your next party is about to get even more delicious with my Quinoa Party Salad! Great for game day gatherings, Sunday dinners, baby showers, birthdays….you name it, this one is a colorful crowd favorite.

Be sure to check out my Blueberry Pomegranate Quinoa Kale Salad. Follow Picky Palate on Instagram for daily recipe inspiration.

quinoa salad ingredients on counter

What You’ll Need

You’ll need some of your favorite salad ingredients to get started. The good news is, you can interchange vegetables, nuts and cheese to your own liking. It’s a nice time to go through your produce in the refrigerator and see what you can use up. The ingredients above are my favorites, but feel free to mix it up!

  • extra virgin olive oil- Olive oil is used to make the dressing.
  • red wine vinegar– Red wine vinegar is part of the dressing as well.
  • honey– You’ll add honey to the dressing portion.
  • kosher salt– Kosher salt is a coarse salt commonly used in cooking and baking. I prefer it over table salt.
  • black pepper– For best tasting results use fresh cracked black pepper.
  • cooked quinoa– Follow instructions of quinoa packages to cook in advance.
  • green onion– Sliced green onion is added to the salad.
  • kalamata olives– Find kalamata olives near the salad dressing isle. They have a nice salty flavor perfect inside salads.
  • pistachios– I use roasted and salted pistachios for my salad.
  • sweet peppers– Check the salad dressing isle for sweet peppers in a jar. Often times near the olives.
  • cucumbers– I quarter my cucumber for the salad.
  • feta cheese– Often times you can find feta cheese already crumbled in a package. You can also get a block of feta and crumble yourself.
  • arugula leaves– Find arugula leaves near the bags of salad in the produce area of the grocery store.

pouring dressing over quinoa salad

Prepare the homemade vinaigrette and pour half over the cooked quinoa, stirring to combine.

How To Make Party Quinoa Salad

  1. To prepare vinaigrette, place olive oil, vinegar, honey, salt and pepper into a small mixing bowl.  Whisk until well combined.  Set aside.
  2. To prepare quinoa salad, place cooked, cooled quinoa into a large mixing bowl. Add half of dressing, stirring to combine.  Add green onion, olives, pistachios, peppers, cucumbers, Feta Cheese and Parmesan Cheese.  Gently toss to combine.  Slowly pour in remaining dressing, stirring to combine.  Take a spoon to taste, add kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper as needed.  Store in an airtight container, chilled in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
  3. To serve, place a bed of arugula onto a large serving tray.  Top with quinoa salad.  Serve chilled.

adding cucumbers to quinoa salad

Add all of your chopped vegetables and ingredients to the mixing bowl

quinoa salad in mixing bowl

Give the Salad a good mix, drizzle the remaining dressing, stirring to combine. Store in an airtight container, chilled until ready to serve.

quinoa salad in serving bowl

How To Serve

Use a nice large serving tray to serve your Quinoa Party Salad. Customize your Quinoa Party Salad with your favorite chopped vegetables, cheeses and nuts. Add cooked shredded chicken for another variety.

How To Store Leftovers

Store leftover salad in an airtight container for 3-5 days in the refrigerator.

Try These Other Salad Recipes

Weeknight Chicken Rice Soup

Quinoa Party Salad

This Quinoa Party Salad is perfect for serving a crowd. It's a quick and easy side or appetizer recipe that's packed with your favorite salad ingredients!
Course: Salad
Cuisine: American
Prep Time 20 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings: 15 servings
Calories: 296kcal
Author: Jenny
Cost: $25
Print Pin

Equipment

  • Bowl
  • cutting board
  • chef knife
  • measuring cups
  • mixing spoon
  • large serving platter

Ingredients

Homemade Vinaigrette

  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Quinoa Salad

  • 4 cups cooked quinoa
  • 1 cup fresh chopped green onion
  • 1 cup chopped pitted kalamata olives
  • 1/2 cup roasted salted pistachios
  • 1 cup finely chopped sweet mild red peppers
  • 2 cups quartered English Cucumbers
  • 1/2 cup crumbled Feta Cheese
  • 4 cups loosely packed Arugula leaves

Instructions

  • To prepare vinaigrette, place olive oil, vinegar, honey, salt and pepper into a small mixing bowl. Whisk until well combined. Set aside.
  • To prepare quinoa salad, place cooked, cooled quinoa into a large mixing bowl. Add half of dressing, stirring to combine.  Add green onion, olives, pistachios, peppers, cucumbers, Feta Cheese and Parmesan Cheese. Gently toss to combine. Slowly pour in remaining dressing, stirring to combine. Take a spoon to taste, add kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper as needed. Store in an airtight container, chilled in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
  • To serve, place a bed of arugula onto a large serving tray. Top with quinoa salad. Serve chilled.

Nutrition

Calories: 296kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 50mg | Sodium: 137mg | Potassium: 474mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 540IU | Vitamin C: 15.3mg | Calcium: 58mg | Iron: 1.7mg
Keywords: appetizer for a party, best quinoa salad recipe, best salad recipe, easy appetizer for a crowd, easy salad recipe with chicken, quinoa salad recipe, vegetarian appetizers, vegetarian salad, vegetarian salad recipe, vegetarian side dish

photo collage of quinoa salad

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