This light Quinoa and Cucumber Salad Recipe is a perfect addition to any healthy dinner!
Remember when I told you a couple weeks ago that I was working on eating healthier and losing a few pounds? Well, I can’t say that I have been doing remarkably well with that. I’m trying to really get serious now though, and this lovely little salad is a great start! It’s easy to put together, perfect for making ahead, and born to be served with chicken or fish.
This cucumber salad recipe could be made without the quinoa if you’d like. I might actually start making up a batch with just the vegetables a couple times a week so I have a healthy, tasty snack at the ready when I want to munch on something savory. This time, I chose to serve the quinoa salad over pan-seared Mahi Mahi for dinner, and the combination of flavors and textures was wonderful. My husband commented several times that he loved the meal, and I can’t wait to have it again!
Quinoa and Cucumber Salad Recipe
This healthy salad is a perfect light side dish and can be made ahead. Perfect for BBQs and potlucks!
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp. lemon juice
- 2 tbsp. white wine vinegar
- 3 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 clove garlic crushed
- 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp. dried basil
- 1 1/2 c. English cucumber sliced thin
- 1/2 sweet onion sliced thin
- 1–2 Roma tomatoes seeded and diced
- 3/4 c. uncooked quinoa
Instructions
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In a medium bowl, stir together lemon juice, vinegar, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and basil. Add cucumber, onion, and tomato, and stir to coat. Cover tightly and refrigerate at least one hour or up to 24 hours. (You could serve this cucumber salad on its own!)
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At least 30 minutes before ready to serve, bring quinoa, 1½ c. water, and a couple pinches of salt to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer, cover, and cook 20 minutes. Then, transfer cooked quinoa to a serving bowl, fluff with fork, and allow to cool at least 10 minutes.
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Stir cucumber mixture into quinoa and serve.
Notes
To prepare Mahi Mahi as pictured, sprinkle fish fillets lightly with kosher salt and lemon pepper. Heat 1 tsp. butter and 1 tsp. olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook fish on both sides until cooked through. (This method would also work great with tilapia or chicken.)
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 60
Looking for more fresh tasting salad recipes? Try these!
Sheena @ Hot Eats and Cool Reads says
This recipe looks fantastic! I love all the ingredients and am trying to make healthier recipes too! Pinning!
Andi says
Thank you, Sheena! It is so hard for me to eat healthy because I always want hearty dinners. I do usually try to lighten up my dinner recipes, but I want there to be a lot of food with plenty of carbs and meat ;) Tonight we ate a healthy chicken salad (that I will post later this week), and I was worried I wouldn’t have enough to fill me up. Believe me, it would take A WHILE before I went hungry! I’m trying to change my habits, but it’s tough! Thanks for coming over to visit :)
[email protected] says
I absolutely love quinoa salads, and this looks so fresh and delicious with all of those crisp veggies! :)
Andi says
Thanks, Marcie! I think you would really like this one if you enjoy quinoa salads. I have made couscous salads, but I think this is the first one I tried with quinoa. It definitely won’t be my last :)