Filling Quinoa and Apple Salad

This quinoa salad recipe is not like other salads. It’s packed full of goodness and flavour and is perfect for your packed lunch. If you’re missing some of the ingredients, get creative and replace them with what you have and what’s in season. Missing apples? Add some kiwi or orange for a different taste.

If you suffer with food allergies or intolerance, please check the ingredients list carefully before making any recipe. It’s also important to check the individual ingredients for cross contamination or possible allergens. This post contains affiliate links.

Hearty Quinoa and Apple Salad

This salad is so filling, and perfect for packed lunches. It tastes great cold the next day, so you can make it the night before and know you've got a great lunch waiting for you.

Gluten Free

Dairy Free

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Servings: 3 people

Course: Packed Lunch, Salad

Cuisine: South American

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

For the salad

• 1/2 cup Tri-Colour Quinoa
• 1 cup Water
• 2/3 Romaine Lettuce
• 1/2 Red Bell Pepper
• 1/2 Cucumber
• 1 Red Apple
• 3 tbsp Lemon Juice
• 1/2 can Chickpeas 200g

For the dressing

• 1 small Garlic Clove
• 1 tsp Dried Parsley
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
• 2 tbsp Olive oil
• 1/2 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar

Method

 

1. Rinse the quinoa. Add it to a small pan with the cup of water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the water has all been absorbed. Remove from the heat and cover for 10 minutes so it can puff up and cool down.
2. Slice the romaine lettuce thinly, and wash it.
3. Cut the red bell pepper into bite sized pieces, removing the seeds.
4. Cut the cucumber into bite sized pieces, removing the seeds (the seeds would make the salad soggy).
5. Cut the apple into bite sized pieces and cover with the lemon juice. The juice stops the apple from turning brown.
6. Drain the chickpeas and place them in a large mixing bowl with the cucumber, red bell pepper, lettuce and apple (with lemon juice)
7. Crush the garlic and place it in a small bowl with the parsley, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper. Mix well.
8. Add the quinoa to the large mixing bowl. Add the dressing and mix well.

Notes

Storage

Store in an airtight container in the fridge and consume within 2 days.

Fancy a change?

Change the ingredients up for a bit of variety. You could add pomegranate seeds, orange, kiwi, tomatoes, or any other fruit depending on the season.

More about my quinoa salad recipe

Salad…for many of us this word conjures up a bowl of lettuce, cucumber and tomato. I’m here to tell you that salad is much more than that. Set your expectations high for this filling dish that is packed with flavour and full of healthy goodness. Add fruit for an extra special touch, and don’t be afraid to experiment by adding and changing ingredients.

If you’ve not come across tri-colour quinoa, here’s a link to some on Amazon.

When you first begin a gluten and dairy free diet, lunches can be especially tough. Ham sandwiches are no longer an option, unless you want to endure gluten free bread. Personally, I find good gluten free bread very difficult to find. For that reason, I turned to salads, but not boring salads. These salads need to be good enough to fill me for the day and please my taste buds too. I have more exciting and filling salad recipes available in my recipe journal, I encourage you to check them out.

If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a comment and review below. How about trying a totally different salad in the form of my best ever chicken salad recipe, available here.