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
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.
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.
Prepare the homemade vinaigrette and pour half over the cooked quinoa, stirring to combine.
How To Make Party Quinoa Salad
- 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.
Add all of your chopped vegetables and ingredients to the 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.
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
Quinoa Party Salad
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. Â 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.
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