This incredibly delicious salad is loaded with foods in season, like summer squash, bell pepper, and tomatoes. All of those fresh ingredients combined with protein-packed quinoa and a tasty lemon dressing offers a light yet flavorful dish you and your loved ones will enjoy.
Although this recipe uses simple, whole food ingredients, I can assure you it doesn’t take away from its deliciousness. It’s super light but still packed with belly-filling, protein, thanks to the garbanzo beans and quinoa, and bright flavors thanks to the fresh veggies and homemade lemon dressing.
There is nothing artificial or processed in this recipe, which is always my goal when creating one for you all. It still shocks me to learn how delicious a recipe can be when you just stick with simple, whole food ingredients. This is a perfect example of that.
The tasty homemade lemon dressing only requires 3 ingredients; lemon juice, olive oil, and white balsamic vinegar – how easy is that?!?! Make extra and use it on spinach, or as a marinade for chicken or pork!
You could even use this dressing instead of the honey lemon tahini dressing in this Easy Roasted Sweet Potato & Kale Salad with Honey Lemon Tahini Dressing for a savory version! Or on this Easy Brussels Sprout Salad instead of the honey dijon dressing.
Simple Summer Veggie Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups quinoa - rinsed
- 3 cups water
- 1 cup zucchini - chopped
- 1 cup yellow summer squash - chopped
- 1 cup grape tomatoes
- 2 orange bell peppers - chopped
- 1 15oz can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 T white balsamic vinegar
- Basil - for garnish
Instructions
- Bring quinoa and water to a boil. Reduce to a slow simmer for 10-12 minutes, or until all water is gone.
- Remove quinoa from heat and place a lid on it for 10 minutes then let cool.
- While the quinoa is cooking, prepare the veggies.
- In a bowl, whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, and vinegar.
- Once quinoa is cooled, combine the chopped veggies, salt, garlic, pepper, garbanzo beans, salt, garlic, pepper, and lemon dressing. Toss together until combined.
- Transfer to a dish, garnish with basil and serve immediately.
- This salad can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Notes
- This salad is delicious, served warm or chilled. I enjoyed it right out of the fridge, and it was delish!
- Feel free to garnish with your favorite herb, like parsley or rosemary. You can also add a bit more and mix it into the salad.
- This recipe makes a lot of salad. If it’s too much, you can either freeze it or cut the recipe in half.
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