It’s hot out there! As the month of August is in full swing, I’ve gotten numerous requests over the last couple of weeks for cold quinoa salad recipes. I have to admit that I fear that I am becoming a quinoa salad junkie. I picked up some quinoa in the bulk bins at whole foods for $2.99 a pound and I have literally been cooking quinoa salad four or five times a week. Since I have been focusing on finding more quinoa breakfast recipes, there have even been a few days that I’ve eaten quinoa more than once! The good news are that there are so many options out there so even my picky husband is not getting bored. (Thank goodness my family has grown to love quinoa as much as I have or I would be in trouble.)
Tips for Making Cold Quinoa Salad Recipes
One thing I love about cold quinoa salad recipes is that they are so easy to make ahead. I think most of the time they actually taste better the next day. One thing I will do is make a little extra dressing if I know I am going to be eating the quinoa left over. Then, right before I serve it I toss in some fresh dressing. The original dressing has already absorbed into the quinoa making for a very tasty dish. If you don’t have extra dressing on hand, most cold quinoa salad recipes work well with a dash of either balsamic or red wine vinegar.
Don’t forget to rinse your quinoa thoroughly before cooking it, even if it isn’t mentioned in the quinoa recipe you are preparing. This is especially true if you are buying your quinoa from bulk bins. Some of the quinoa that you get in packages is pre-rinsed, but very often quinoa from bulk bins is not. When you cook quinoa that has not been rinsed it results in bitter quinoa that very often will upset your stomach. I cook quinoa all the time and I should know better, but the other day I was in a hurry and failed to make sure that the water was running clear. My results were disappointing because even though I had rinsed the quinoa some, it was still a little bitter. (I was lucky that it didn’t upset my stomach!)
When you are making cold quinoa salad recipes, it is a great time to be creative. If you don’t have all of the ingredients on hand just substitute something you do have. Who knows, you may come up with a new favorite! Cold quinoa salad recipes are some of the most forgiving dishes that you will ever make.
Here are some cold quinoa salads for you to try.
Cold Quinoa Salad Recipes
Roasted Garlic Quinoa Salad – A Great Summer Quinoa Salad
Curried Quinoa Salad – A Super Cold Quinoa Salad
Quinoa Black Bean Recipes
Looking for more quinoa recipes? Try a gluten free cookbook, especially if you have a wheat intolerance! Vegan cookbooks are also great sources for quinoa recipes!
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Hi,
I love the website but am finding alot of broken links… sorry to miss out on some of the great information such as 'quinoa and weight loss'
Best regards with the clean eating.
Dawna
Dawna, We had a major issue with the database server and had to rebuilt the site entirely, so that may be partially to blame. If you find any links that need to be corrected, please do not hesitate to contact me. wendy at wendypolisi dot com and I will get them corrected. Thanks!
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