This Cucumber Quinoa Salad is easy to make ahead of time, naturally gluten-free, and full of fresh, feel-good flavors that everyone will love!
Doesn’t it feel so easy to cook this time of year?!?
Man, I don’t know about you, but one glance at the rainbow of gorgeous summer produce available at the farmers market feels like — poof! — instant inspiration to want to run home and cook something fresh and healthy and yummy. I love it!!! Yet one more reason why I believe summer is the most wonderful time of the year. ;)
With all of the fresh greens in season (and showing up in abundance my CSA) lately, I’ve been making kale and arugula and spring greens salads galore, which always feel so good. But for something different last week, I decided to make a refreshing little cucumber salad. I seem to be obsessed with English cucumbers lately, so I grabbed one from the fridge and tossed it with some fresh basil, red onion, and feta I had on hand. And then added in some quinoa for extra protein, and tossed it all with a simple lemony vinaigrette.
The result?
This fresh, fun, and fabulously flavorful salad that I already can’t wait to make again.
Cucumber Quinoa Salad Recipe | 1-Minute Video
Truly, it’s super easy to make. Just chop up a big English cucumber, some red onion, and lots fresh basil. Toss those together with some crumbled feta (or Parmesan, or any cheese that sounds good) and chilled (<– you don’t want it to be too hot and melt the cheese and wilt the basil) quinoa.
Then drizzle it all with a simple lemony vinaigrette.
Give it all a good toss.
And then this beautiful, healthy salad will be ready to share and enjoy.
It’s the perfect salad to make ahead for nights when you want to grill out, or to take along for a picnic or potluck, or to bring to work for a fresh lunch, or — really — anytime you’re craving a healthy and zesty little salad. Feel free to add in whatever vinaigrette you have on hand, or even add in some cooked chicken if you’d like some extra protein. I just recommend that you make this one…soon. :)
Enjoy!
Cucumber Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
Cucumber Quinoa Salad Ingredients:
- 1 English cucumber, diced
- 2 cups chilled* cooked quinoa (see this tutorial for how to cook quinoa)
- 1/2 cup diced red onion
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1/3 cup julienned or roughly-chopped fresh basil leaves
- 1 batch Lemony Italian vinaigrette (see below)
Lemony Italian Vinaigrette Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning, homemade or store-bought
- pinch of salt and black pepper
Instructions
To Make The Cucumber Quinoa Salad:
- Toss all ingredients together until combined. Serve immediately.
To Make The Lemony Italian Vinaigrette:
- Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl until combined.
Notes
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
This looks delicious! I know what I’m going to have for lunch now :D
Awesome, Patricia — we hope you love it! :)
We recently moved our daughter home after her college graduation. Since I had kind of gotten into an empty nest rut, I was happy she found this and wanted to try it. *A plus that you too are in KC! :-) I made it as instructed with the exception of adding a bit of honey to dressing. And while I do like feta, I may try it with a different cheese next time.
Thanks for sharing, Lori, we’re so glad you enjoyed it! :)
Delicious! Realized halfway through I didn’t have vinegar of any kind so I poured a couple tablespoons of the white wine out of my glass for the vinegrette! Worked great! :)
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Kristi, and we LOVE that you did that with your wine (very resourceful)! ;)
This looks great! I have been looking for things I can make ahead and then just eat as soon as I get home from work… how does it keep in the fridge over the course of a few days? Should I leave the vinagrette out so it doesn’t get soggy?
Thanks, Kelly, we hope you enjoy! This should hold up fine in the fridge for a few days, but yes, we would recommend leaving the vinaigrette out. Also, after a few days, the cucumber may start to get soggy too, so you may want to cut that up before serving each time (depending on how many days you wanted to make it in advance that is). We hope this is helpful!
We’re so glad to hear you enjoyed it, Sharon!
I calculated on weight watchers site, aimed for 5 servings receive as written comes to 7 smart points per serving , that’s really pretty good considering the protein levels will be great with the quinoa.
Thank you making this tonight!
Lisa
Awesome, we hope you enjoyed it, Lisa! :)
This recipe is fantastic! I was sure I’d love it beacuse it has all the foods i love in it, but the dressing really set it off. I meal prep, and this is my current lunch for the week. I’m eating it along side 2 poached eggs. I also added scallions to the dish just because I believe scallions make everything better. This will probably become a regular meal for me.
Thanks, Amber, we’re so happy you love it! And we love that you added scallions to it (good call)! :)
I was looking for a healthy, protein-rich, easy dish to make for a potluck and found this. Just finished making it- it is delicious! I did make a change. I added 1.5 tablespoon of raw honey (heated it with a bit of water to easily whisk in) to the dressing and a tiny bit of balsamic. The first batch tasted too much like straight up apple cider vinegar. Thank you!!
Thank you for this, Sharon — we’re so glad you enjoyed it! :)
Would I be able to make this a day ahead of time ?
Hi Shannon! Its best enjoyed the day you make it, but yes you could make it a day ahead of time. We hope you enjoy!
LOVE this recipe!
Made it for a potluck last evening and it was a hit. I actually was worried about mixing the sauce in too early because I thought it might get soggy, but I had some leftovers for lunch today and I must say it actually tastes better the next day! Thanks for the delicious recipe I will be making this again.