Lemon quinoa salad recipe with crunchy cucumber, parsley and hemp hearts. Protein loaded, super easy, oil-free and good for you. The best ever!
Like a healthy spin on Tabbouleh, only using gluten-free quinoa seeds.
Yes my friends, and to take it over the top I actually mixed my lemon quinoa salad with lots of supernatural hemp. So good I can’t even talk about it.
100% Whole Foods Plant-Based Vegan!
You can get fancy if you insist and turn this lemony quinoa salad into some sort of Buddha bowl. Add some spring veggies to the mix, heirloom tomatoes, avocado, chickpeas, olives, roasted beets, pomegranate seeds, cranberries or toasted pine nuts.
I prefer to keep it simple and refreshing, perfect for the first spring garden party and Easter holiday just around the corner. Note the purple basil blossoms garnish, I simply couldn’t resist!
Lemon Quinoa Cucumber Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup golden quinoa -rinsed and drained well, ( or 2 cups cooked and chilled)
- 4 Persian cucumbers -finely chopped
- 1.5 cups filtered water
- 1/3 cup hemp seeds
- 3 scallions -finely chopped
- 1/2 cup Italian Parsley -chopped
- 1 lemon -juiced & zested
- 1 pinch sea salt +more to taste
- freshly cracked black pepper -to taste
Instructions
- Bring the rinsed quinoa with the water and a good pinch of sea salt to a simmer over medium high heat. Cover with a lid, reduce the flame to low and cook for about 10 to 15 minutes until all the water is absorbed. Remove from heat and allow it to sit covered for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and refrigerate until chilled.
- Transfer two cups of the cooked and chilled quinoa to a salad bowl together with the hemp seeds, cucumbers, scallions and parsley. Add the lemon juice and zest and toss to coat well.
- Taste and adjust seasonings with more sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste. Serve chilled!
Finally a quinoa recipe after my own heart. I’m going to be making this salad until the day I die LOL. I swear it’s a wonderful recipe espaecailly if You happen to love lemon and cucumbers as much as I do. Now I can eat quinoa all the time. Happy mama over here!