Happy Sunday! Sundays are my day for prepping lunches for work throughout the week. My criteria for meal prep basically comes down to this: easy, quick and nutritious. One of my favourite go-to meals to prep is a quinoa spinach power salad bursting with tomatoes, cucumbers and raisins, dressed with a lemon vinaigrette. It's refreshing, it's colourful, and it's extremely good for you.
This salad is a fit-for-all salad. It satisfies almost every diet. It's gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, you name it!! So is that why I call this a power salad? Nope. The reason that this salad is a power salad is because it is packed with so many nutrients you wouldn't believe.
What is in Quinoa Spinach Salad?
This salad pretty much makes for a complete meal. And although it is complete in itself, you can consider this a "base" salad. Add any ingredients that you want to it. Some great additions include: avocado, kale and apples. Somehow whatever you add to this works! Just remember that if you are adding lots of ingredients, you may need to double up on the vinaigrette.
Quinoa
Quinoa is a super food (or power food). It is a tiny grain that is extremely nutrient dense. It completely stands out from any of the other traditional grains and does not even compare. Although termed a grain, quinoa is gluten-free and is not even part of the same plant family as wheat, oats, barley, or rye.
There are so many health benefits to quinoa consumption that to list them all would take up this entire blog post! So I will keep it brief. One of the main features of quinoa is its high protein content. It contains all the essential amino acids required and thus serves as a complete protein source. It is also a great source of healthy fats, fiber, B vitamins and other minerals.
Spinach
But quinoa is not the only super food in this salad. That's right, there is not just one super food, but two!! Spinach is another amazing super food. I list the many health benefits of spinach in my gomae spinach salad post.
Other Ingredients
- tomato
- cucumbers
- raisins
- for the lemon vinaigrette - lemon juice, extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper
How to Make the Best Quinoa Spinach Power Salad
- Cook the quinoa. In a medium bowl, rinse the quinoa a few times. In a medium saucepan, boil 2 cups of salted water. Add the quinoa and continue to boil for about 10 minutes until the quinoa is tender. Drain the quinoa and let it cool.
- Combine the salad ingredients. In a large bowl, combine the spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers, raisins and cooled quinoa.
- Prepare the lemon vinaigrette. In a small bowl, make your lemon vinaigrette. Combine the lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Pour onto the salad and toss to coat.
- Serve. Season to taste with more salt and pepper, if needed.
Tips on Making Quinoa Spinach Salad
- This salad is so easy to make and it lasts several days in the fridge. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
More Salad Recipes
- Apple Walnut Salad with Homemade Balsamic Vinaigrette
- Mediterranean Brown Rice Salad
- Strawberry Avocado Salad with Poppyseed Dressing
- Winter Kale Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette
Did you make this recipe? I would greatly appreciate a comment and rating below, letting me know what you thought of the recipe. You can also snap a picture and tag me on Instagram @aheadofthyme or share it on the Pinterest pin so that I can follow along.
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Recipe
Quinoa Spinach Power Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 1 large salad
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Take a bite into this refreshing, gluten-free quinoa spinach salad bursting with colourful tomatoes, cucumbers and raisins dressed with a lemon vinaigrette.
Ingredients
- ½ cup quinoa, uncooked
- 2 cups spinach, finely chopped
- 1 tomato, diced
- ½ cup cucumbers, diced
- ¼ cup raisins
- 1 + ½ tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 + ½ tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, rinse the quinoa a few times. In a medium saucepan, boil 2 cups of salted water. Add the quinoa and continue to boil for about 10 minutes until the quinoa is tender. Drain the quinoa and let it cool.
- In a large bowl, combine the spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers, raisins and cooled quinoa.
- In a small bowl, make your lemon vinaigrette. Combine the lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Pour onto the salad and toss to coat.
- Season to taste with more salt and pepper, if needed.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Salad
- Method: Assemble
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Carrie says
Absolutely love quinoa and salad as a meal! Have to try this one.
Ityqual says
Looks lovely. Will surely try it sometime soon!
Sam | Ahead of Thyme says
Thanks, Ityqual! 🙂
Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry says
You are never gonna guess what I had for lunch today. Yeap, this.
Sam | Ahead of Thyme says
That's awesome! I hope you loved it! 🙂
Marielle Altenor says
I wonder if I'm the only person that hasn't tried Quinoa yet. I've been seeing a lot of yummy recipes using it but I'm not very confident that it will turn out ok if I made it. Your salad looks really good though.
Sam | Ahead of Thyme says
I think you are definitely part of a very small group of people who have yet to try quinoa! It's very easy to make and yours will turn out great! Don't worry 🙂
Terri Beavers says
I've heard of quinoa before but I didn't realize that it was a protein source. I'll have to try it in your recipe to see how I like it.
Sam | Ahead of Thyme says
Let me know how you like it! 🙂
Amy Jones says
I've been looking for quinoa recipes and this one looks amazing love the combination and all the ingredients and easy to make what else can ask for?
Sam | Ahead of Thyme says
Thanks, Amy! 🙂