Zesty Quinoa Salad

I was a little disappointed based on the other reviews here. I thought this was way too salty, and the citrus from the limes was overpowering. If I make it again, I'd likely cut the salt and citrus in half. Also, I'm not sure the 1/4 cup of oil was worth the added calories. I may cut that by 1/2 as well.

Wow! This was outstanding! I only used one tsp. of cumin, but followed the rest faithfully. I also served it warm because I tried it on a fall evening. Can't wait to taste it cold. Very very tasty!! Note: My review above was several years ago. I have made this salad over and over these last few years and we absolutely LOVE it! Hot and cold. So does everyone we share it with. SO delicious!

Here are the changes i recommend: I first toasted the quinoa for about 10 minutes with a little olive oil. I also upped the quinoa to 1.25 cups (but same 2 cups water). I only used one lime. I added about a cup of fresh white corn (2 ears). I topped the dish with diced avocado. Perfect!!

This is a great recipe for summer parties. I'm sorry I followed some of the suggestions. I had no problem with the amount of lime juice, oil, or salt, but then I doubled the recipe, used a can of black beans and a can of garbanzo beans, used fresh tomatoes vs. canned, and added cucumbers, fresh minced garlic, and a little honey. I would caution folks to cook the quinoa al dente lest the salad becomes mushy.

This is my absolute favorite quinoa recipe! I have been looking for one my whole family would eat and not only did they like this...they asked for seconds!

This recipe was quick and easy and AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS! I made a couple changes to suit my taste... I cooked the Quinoa in vegetable broth, I used only 1/2 tsp salt and closer to 2 tsp of crushed red peppers. Then I added diced avocado. This will become a regular dish in my house for sure!

Loved everything about this dish. The lime juice, red pepper flakes, and cumin make an otherwise simple dish taste zesty and complex. Instead of canned black beans, I cooked my own (VERY low sodium this way) along with garbanzo beans (chickpeas) and edamame. I used 3/4 cup each black and garbanzo beans and 1/2 cup edamame.

Outstanding combination of flavors. I haven't been a Quinoa fan until this salad. I concluded I prefer Quinoa cooked a little on the al-dente side so I cooked it for 10 minutes and then strained (to remove the excess liquid) and cooled it in a mesh colander. Used a combination of red and white Quinoa, sundried tomatoes to taste instead of fresh and reduced the salt to 1/2 teaspoon. Perfect! Delicious fresh made and delicious after it's been chilled. This salad is "company" worthy and one I know I'll be enjoying often on its own or as a side when grilling. Thanks scrumdiddly for sharing.

Brought this to a Memorial Day celebration where no one had tried quinoa before. Everyone loved this salad! It's easy, refreshing and versatile. I followed the recipe with minor adjustments after reading the reviews: Used 1 and 1/2 cup quinoa, 3 cups water, 1 and 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp salt. Used about 1/3 cup red onion instead of green onion. I loved and will make again. Can't wait to try it with fresh corn or cucumbers, diced red/yellow peppers or sundried tomato. Thanks!

I love this recipe. It is one of my go-to's. best part is it's great served cold and I can keep it in the fridge for a few days for lunches. I've made this a few times and have tweaked it a little. First. I toast the quinoa before letting it cook (just a drizzle of olive oil in the bottom of the pan and stir in quinoa for a few minutes). I then cook the quinoa with a little bit of vegetable stock in the water. I halve the amount of olive oil and lime juice out of personal preference. The veggies in the recipe are great but I like adding pretty much whatever I have around that I need to use soon. Bell peppers, mushrooms, red onions, celery, avocado, etc.

The recipe is great. But I am wondering why none of the recipes calling for quinoa ever note that you must rinse it thoroughly before cooking unless the package states that it is pre-rinsed? Unrinsed quinoa has a decided bitter taste that is very unpleasant.

This is insanely delicious. Like so delicious that I could eat the entire bowl myself (and I wouldn't feel guilty about it because it's QUINOA). I substituted the red pepper flakes for a dash of chili powder so it would have a fighting chance of being eaten by my picky, spicy food hating 5-year-old. I did everything else by the recipe and served it at about room temperature. SO GOOD.

OMG! I have never cooked Quinoa before and this was the first recipe I have tried. I followed the recipe and would not change a thing. We loved it!!!

I had some plain cooked Quinoa that was really not worth eating, so I searched allrecipes.com for the highest rated recipe using cooked quinoa and wound up trying this salad. I made the following changes: instead of fresh tomatoes, I used canned chopped tomatoes, used 1 tsp. dried cilantro, chopped white onion, and ground red pepper. Because I used canned tomatoes, I reduced the salt to about half. In addition, I added some sugar to give it a sweet flavor and refrigerated. I could not stop eating this salad! It is AMAZING!!!

I love this recipe and everyone who has tasted it said it's amazing too. I've used both green and regular onions (when I'm out) and even used canned petite diced tomatoes in a pinch. Still turns out nicely. Oh, and one time I didn't have lemons and used limes instead - still yummy although it needed more pepper. A great recipe that you can play with based on what you have in the house. And it's even yummier the next day - perfect for lunch!

I am a mother of four and an avid runner. Eating healthy is high on our priority list. This recipe is great. I substituted steamed edamame for black beans, added a little extra lime and honey to vinaigrette and the family loved it. I can't wait to serve it again!

We loved this and I highly recommend it. Personally I thought the lime was a tad bit overpowering and I would have given this a 4 star rating due to it but my hubby thought it was just right so maybe you should start with half and then add more if you want. The cumin was pretty stout too but it is one of my favorite spices. Again maybe start with half and add to suit your taste. Quinoa is fairly new to me but something tells me that I found a winner in this choice and this is one I will make often.

I give it 4 stars as-is, but with my modifications, it gets 5! I am a fan of spice, so I added a TBLS of crushed red pepper flakes, only used 1.5 tsp of cumin, 1 large lime, and half a teaspoon of salt (a teaspoon was just an insane amount of sodium). I also boiled my quinoa in vegetable broth for added flavor. I served cold; I prefer dishes like this that way. I did taste it warm though and it still had great flavor!

Great protein filled dish! I've used lentils in place of black beans and that works just as well. I don't care for cumin so I leave that out, but that is just personal preference. This is a go to summer recipe when the tomatoes and cilantro can be picked fresh from the garden!

I loved this salad. After reading reviews, I only used 1 lime and it was perfect. I used both teaspoons of cumin because I like it, if you don't only use one. I doubled the cilantro and will reduce the oil next time but not to half. I like it warm and cold. Will make again.

I made this salad for a party and it was wonderful! I didn't change anything. I would add avocado and cucumber next time. Loved it!!!!!

LOVED this recipe, my wife was so impressed I made it. It really isn't that hard. I did switch up a few things, I only added 1 lime and it was limey enough, and I added 1/2 red and 1/2 yellow diced peppers. I heated the veggies with the sauce in a pan for a few minutes and served hot. Really great taste. Thanks.

I had this at a family reunion in August and I could have eaten myself SICK ON IT. I DID follow some of the other cooks suggestions. I DOUBLED the recipe so I had to adjust a couple things. I cut back and used 1/3 cu olive oil in total, 3 t. ground cumin and only 3 limes. Everything else was double per the recipe amounts. If it's SUPER GOOD right away I know it will be DELISH tomorrow. I also plan on trying another cooks suggestion of gently browning the Quinoa in butter/garlic before putting it in the rice cooker next time. OHHH DID YOU KNOW YOU CAN PRODUCE PERFECT QUINOA BY COOKING IT IN YOUR RICE COOKER??? 1 cu. Quinoa with 2 cu. water. I have an inexpensive rice cooker (no temp controls.. just load and push the on button). PERFECT QUINOA with out having to babysit it! It's just the BEST!! I also may add some toasted pine nuts just for fun!

I made this for a lunch and it was well liked. I found two limes to be too sharp, so cut the lime taste with 1 tsp honey which worked well. I only used three-quarters of the dressing because I don't like quinoa salad to be too wet and it was still very flavourful. I love cumin and spicy food but next time would reduce cumin to 1.5 tsp as 2 was a bit overpowering. Half a tsp salt was plenty. I tossed in one red and one orange pepper slivered, half a cup of thawed corn and half a cup of crumbled goat's feta, then served it with sliced avocado in a pinwheel on top and got lots of compliments for taste and presentation. It was served as a side dish to a frittata and there was lots left over with five women having it for lunch. The pepper flakes give it a nice after-kick without seeming overly spicy.

This recipe is amazing! Better than any other quinoa dish I have tried. I highly recommend everyone try this one!

Very good. I cut the olive oil to about 75%, used one 1 teaspoon cumin, and less salt. Great flavor and texture. This is the first time I've really enjoyed a quinoa dish. I'm always looking for new ways to get vegetarian protein. So very glad I found this quick and easy recipe.

This was great for lunch!

I made this for a ladies' lunch, so I followed the recipe exactly (if I'd been making it for my family, I'd have bumped the cilantro and red pepper a bit). I cooked the quinoa in chicken boullion, and thus did not need any additional salt at the end. I think it did benefit from sitting overnight in the fridge, and it was very well received by the group. As for me, I have found another staple salad to keep in the fridge for fast summer meals. Oh, and I think the serving size may be a bit off; if you only get six servings out of this, they must be very generous servings. I'd estimate at least 8 or 10 servings, even for an entree, served in a pita or over lettuce. It's a really, really tasty, fresh Mexican-ish take on quinoa. It'd be perfect for Cinco de Mayo, cause it can be hard to find Mexican dishes that are lighter and not slathered in cheese. I'll be making this often. Thanks!! UPDATE 8/12/15 I just made this again and didn't hold out much hope it would be as good as before, since I didn't have fresh cilantro or green onions. I used finely diced sweet white onion and a hefty shake (about 1.5 T) of dried cilantro flakes, and it came out amazing, again. It's an "OMG-that's so good" recipe for our household. Thanks again.

I was shocked that I didn't screw this up and that it tasted so great! I will use a bit less salt next time, but otherwise I won't change anything. I will be making this again and again!

This dish had a very nice flavor but was a tad too oily - would agree with the previous reviewer who suggested halving the olive oil. Since I served this dish during colder weather, my kids said they would have preferred it warm, so next time I may substitute canned, diced tomatoes for the grape tomatoes and serve it warm.

This recipe was really good! I've had quinoa before but never made it so I thought this recipe was a good start. I feel the flavors mix together beautifully but only after you let it sit for an hour or so before serving. Gives time for the lime juice and other spices to soak into the quinoa. I'll definitely be making this again!

This recipe is so flavorful! We absolutely loved it! I did cut down on the salt and oil, just personal preference, but otherwise kept it the same. This will be a regular dish at our home. Thanks, scrumdiddly for sharing an interesting recipe!

I love this recipe. I add a can (14oz) of artichoke hearts, a small can (4 oz) of fire roasted diced green chiles, and a can (14 oz) of corn. I used two teaspoons of cumin and add half teaspoon of smoked paprika. Yum!

Lovely dish.. I like it heated up a bit I used lemon instead of lime because that is all I had on hand and skipped the olive oil for lower calories. Next time I will add avocado as well.. very tasty nutritious dish.

I found this to be very unpleasant to my palate. Way too salty and the lime was over powering. You may want to double rinse the black beans.

It was absolutely delicious! I wouldn't change a thing. I didn't need to add additional salt. The serving size is perfect for the week of you're always on the go, like me. This will be made again!!

I really messed up this recipe. Accidentally used Kasha instead of Quinoa, didn't have limes so used lemons, no green onions so used yellow, left out cilantro...turned out great. Nice combination of flavors. Can't mess up!

Awesome! Tastes like Chipotle Rice

My husband usually expects good meals, so when he gets something that is good, he doesn't say much. But when he gets something that is GREAT ... well, today his first words were "Mmmmm, YUM!" (which was rather funny coming from my husband). Absolutely perfect the way it was and is a definite 5* in my books!

This recipe is great! It was super simple to assemble, had a quick preparation time and is super healthy. The flavors paired well with the quinoa. The lime juice and cilantro combination made my mouth sing :)

This was very easy to make and I am in love with it! The flavors are wonderful. I made it for lunch last week and I am making it again for lunch this week. My 1 year old likes it too.

Delicious! Made this recipe as stated except did not add salt or pepper. We ate it fresh, again the next day and loved the light fresh taste. A wonderful ( and healthy) change from the pasta, potato and mayo salads, this will be a summer staple in our home!

I used brown rice instead because that's what I had on hand. The spicy dressing is perfect with any combo of veggie/bean/grain ingredients you have. I used orange/red/yellow bell peppers, yellow onion, green onions, black beans, and maybe tomatoes. Was entirely devoured at a potluck... and I'm making it again right now for another potluck! I left out the cilantro, since about 50% of people seem to think it tastes like soap. Glad to have this recipe!

This recipe won hands down....Instead of black beans I substituted pinto beans with jalepeno's and it added an extra kick. Also, a trick I learned to get the most juice from your limes is to cut them in half and micro for 30 seconds or so on a micro safe dish cut side down. Even my husband who is not fond of quinoa couldn't get enough of this of this recipe. I served it chilled, but it's good either way.

If I could give this ten stars, I would!!! This is so tasty and very easy to put together.

I never reviewed a recipe before, but this was sooo good! I also had never had quinoa before, so I was a little nervous. I added corn from a fresh cob; but other than that, followed the recipe. Scrumdiddly, you are responsible for my new quinoa addiction! I cooked the quinoa w/broth in my rice cooker and let it cool in the marinade in the fridge and it turned out great! Thank you so much!!!

This is a great recipe. I make a big batch over the weekend and then have it during the week. It's very tasty, keeps well and is probably 90% cheaper than buying it pre-made from a gourmet deli. Thanks very much.

This was so good! Followed the recipe & refrigerated it before serving! The perfect summer side dish!

This recipe is a staple in our household. It is easy enough for a quick weeknight dinner and pretty and tasty enough to impress at a potluck. My daughter brought it to a class party and the 9th graders devoured it. My kids and husband love it and any of them can whip it up when Mom works late or is tired. The quinoa is a complete protein so we just eat it as a main dish with a salad on the side. We make it exactly as written, no tweaking necessary. So easy to keep all the ingredients on hand. Try it, you won't be disappointed!!

best quinoa recipe ever! It is zesty and delicious. I made this last night to have for lunch today. I cannot wait to dig into it. I couldn't stop "testing" it last night, LOL! It is wonderful.

Used cucumber instead of onions. Yum.

Delicious! I had never tasted quinoa before, and this was the first recipe I tried. Glad I tried. Both me and my husband loved it, and we will certainly do it again!

This is my favourite quinoa recipe.I take it to pot lucks and always get asked for the recipe. If I have time I will toast the quinoa first for a little added flavour and I always put fresh sliced avocado on top because it just seems to go hand in hand. This is also one of those recipes that even tastes better the next day

This is my favorite way to eat quinoa. My friends made this for me a few years ago and I've been making it ever since. If you don't think you like quinoa, try it in this salad. You will fall in love.

woldn't change a thing, also you can try it adding english cucumber, the best!

This is absolutely amazing! It's one of my favorite recipes, I make it at least once a week!

This recipe is great! I loved the flavors. I would probably cut the oil to 1/8 of a cup instead, especially if you're using olive oil. Contrary to belief, there is very little to no benefits in olive oil, from a micronutrient standpoint. Just fat and calories. I would use hemp oil or other nutritive oils in place. Otherwise, it's excellent!

This recipe is excellent! It also works wonderfully with couscous. ...which make the recipe even faster. The key ingredients are the cilantro, lime, and cumin. I tend to double the dressing but half the salt. Perfect! Though I haven't tried it yet, I suspect that the basic recipe would work just fine with white or brown rice if you have that on hand. Definitely worth a try! All around a solid keeper!

This is probably my favorite quinoa recipe. But note: it's called 'zesty' for a reason! If you have a sensitive palette, consider reducing the cumin and/or lime. Otherwise, leave it as is and enjoy!

Perfection! I suddenly have to avoid animal protein and found that quinoa is full of it - so I tried this salad for the whole family. I love cilantro and the like so I doubled the recipe. I'm so glad I did! Great the first day - better the second. My husband put chicken on it the next day and I added avocado. I will keep it in my fridge from now on! Teril

It was OK..kind of bla. But then I haven't found any Quinoa Salads that aren't. So maybe I just don't like Quinoa.

Very good -- I had to make a few slight tweaks due to ingredient shortages: Instead of cumin, I used coriander, and instead of olive oil I used sunflower seed oil. I can't say much about the oil replacement (not as much flavor), but the coriander worked out great. If you have leftovers, top a serving with 1 avocado, 1 hard boiled egg, and a dollop of both salsa and sour cream. Makes a meal that's full of flavor and nutrients!

Wonderful!! This is a refreshing way to gussy up quinoa for all vegans and food lovers alike. Wouldn't change a thing....maybe I'd double the recipe so there'd be more leftovers for the week.

This recipe was the bomb!! I made it for my sister and I. My sister is extremely picky when it comes to food, but she loved it..and was upset when I finished the last of it. I will be making this again!!!

Eating and enjoying this now. The only changes I made was subbing greek yogurt for the olive oil and I didn't have tomatoes so used diced red peppers. Great quick, healthy lunch.

Loved it. Added chopped orange bell pepper for crunch and more cilantro, and a little less salt and oil. The lime is a huge win, keeps it light. Thank You srumdiddly!

This is one of my very favorite recipes on allrecipes.com. It's so easy to make, delicious, and healthy. I usually just make a large batch early in the week, and try to ration it all week long. Alas by Wednesday, I'm all out.

Love this dish. The only thing I change is adding less water (I prefer my quinoa less mushy) and sometimes I will add avocado. It's also good in a flour tortilla with greek yogurt for sour cream :)

This is the best salad. I followed the recipe exactly except adding some extra cilantro and it was hard not to eat the whole thing. Great for a group or just a dinner for one. I bought the frozen quinoa which just needed to be defrosted so it was very easy and quick. My favorite recipe!

Excellent recipe - and very simple to make - even my picky husband who is very meat and potatoes liked it. Great to serve with grilled anything...everyone loved it and it is a nice alternative to potato or pasta salad.....(I did leave out the red pepper flakes, because we don't like too much spice, but I think I will try it with them the next time I make it)

have made this many times,,,great go to salad as a side, or a vegetarian main. This is one of the few salads that I have never doctored! Great the way it is.

Hearty, excellent flavor. The cumin really has a great taste in this almost perfect quinoa dish. The fresh vegetables add a wonderful light balance to the heartiness of the quinoa.

Just be sure to use smaller limes so that the lime isn't too overpowering. Make it a healthy, filling meal by stirring in half of a diced avocado and serving over greens. Drizzle yogurt sauce on top and you're really in business. Of course, delicious on its own too. :)

This is a wonderful recipe - very flavorful. After a few tries I made two changes that I always incorporate now. I used purple onion instead of green onion. It adds a great color and flavor to the salad. I also add a can of corn, rinsed and drained, along with the black beans. Again, great flavor and nice color. The dressing is really tasty. My family loves it, and I plan to serve it at Bunco.

This is a good recipe. The second time I made it with edammame instead of black beans and tossed in some toasted walnuts. Soooo good.

Made it for my son’s vegan girlfriend, but even my totally non-vegan husband raved about it and told me to make it again!

Really simple and good recipe for a tasty salad. I found that once you make it , it can be a little to acidic (see other reviewers mention this) but if you leave it in the fridge overnight the acidity tones down and it's excellent the next day. So, I recommend if you need to serve it immediately then, use less lime juice. Another great addition is feta cheese - the saltiness of the cheese balances the lime juice well.

It would have been delicious if not for the overpowering of the limes. Next time I will just use one lime. I didn't have the beans and used avocado instead.

I loved it! I used a mixture of red and white quinoa and made it with chicken broth instead of water, so deleted the salt. Also added red pepper and black olives. Yum!!

This was my first time making this dish and although it was a little salty for me (I'll reduce it next time I make it) - it was delicious! I wasn't a big quinoa fan before - until this dish! I'll be making this weekly!

This was a hit at my friends vegan Christmas dinner and I was happy to take home the leftovers. So delicious!

Absolutely loved it but I'm a tweaker so used chicken broth as liquid to cook quinoa. I served at a bridal shower and needed to increase quantity so cooked additional quinoa and added a can of mixed marinated beans and some chick peas. I sprinkled a bit of feta cheese over the top. Everyone loved it - will definitely make it again - has such a fresh taste and it definitely is just as good or better the next day!

Original recipe has a bit too much cumin. I now use 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin, 3/8 to 1/2 cup cilantro, and about 2 cups cherry tomatoes, quartered (up to the whole pint container.) Yum!

Big hit! Followed the recipe closely but we didn't have cilantro and it was still delicious. I'm already looking forward to batch No. 2 with cilantro.

This is seriously the best quinoa salad there is, it combines every nutrition you need and it's just so FRIGGIN DELICIOUS !! I made it to my family too and they LOVED it. I make it all the time, thanks for the amazing recipe!

Absolutely loved the colour, texture and flavour of this salad. It has opened up a whole new world of quinoa for me. Easy 5 stars!

Wow, wasn't sure what I was expecting but this was very good. I used less lime because I usually prefer less than recipes call for, and the only other change was to use garlic salt, because shouldn't garlic be in everything? I will need to double next time because there won't be leftovers today.

I doubled the recipe exactly with the exception of the lime juice, because my limes were quite large (limes vary immensely in size which those who thought it had too much lime should keep in mind) so that I could rate the recipe truly. (You can't make changes and then rate a recipe. I found it delicious! (probably a 4 1/2 star- great for me...a little spicy for some) After tasting and rating it, I added more fresh tomatoes, finely chopped carrots, 3 small orange/red peppers chopped, frozen corn 1 1/2 cups, and chopped avocado shortly before serving. Great recipe to add whatever you have on hand or desire! It would be great with finely chopped chicken breast to make a meal for the men who can't seem to do without meat.

Looove it! The first time I made this I allowed the olive oil and seasonings to sit for a while in the bowl before adding to the quinoa. It looked like more oil than was necessary, so I added the oil mixture by spoonfuls to the quinoa and other veggies, until I had all that I wanted. We also aren't huge tomato eaters, so I reduced this amount considerably. Second time around I used just over 1/8 cup of oil and nearly doubled the red pepper flakes. (I like a little spice.) Definitely a new favorite!

Delicious! I didn't add extra salt, as it was perfect without! I added chopped up chicken for a nice grilled chicken salad! It was also nice rolled up in a warm tortilla with a little cheese:).

Very good salad. I make it quite often. I like to add some chopped green and red bell pepper and some diced avocadoes whenever available. Also, though, I like cumin flavor, I only use half the amount. I grind my own cumin seeds and only 2 to 3 Tablespoon at the time. So, it keeps a strong flavor.

Yumm, will do this again. I didn't have all the lime juice I needed and know that will make it even better

We bought Costco's last week and loved it so I thought I would try it. I used four times the amount of red pepper flakes and used pico de gallo instead of cutting up tomatoes and onions since that was sold at the store and seemed so much easier and we like things spicy. I loved the recipe it is delicious. I will make this frequently. Thank you.

yum, yum, yum

Initially I rated this after eating it warm on the first day. After chilling it overnight and eating it the next day, I am adding the fifth star :) It is GOOD! Yum! Below was my first review of the dish. "I like this recipe. I cooked the quinoa in the rice cooker and used the low sodium canned black beans. This is only the second quinoa dish that I enjoy eating."

Great recipe! I always cook my quinoa with chicken broth rather than water to give it more flavor. I definitely think that 2 tsp cumin is too much - I cut that down to a single tsp, and added a little bit of zesty italian dressing because otherwise the quinoa gets pretty dry.

Amazing. Only used 1 juicy lime and that was plenty. Used 1/2 the salt and cumin and wished I used all. I use Himalayan salt which is not as potent. I added bell pepper and Persian cucumber.

I've made this several times for my family and we follow the recipe exactly. It is wonderful as written. Occasionally we will serve it with avocado or dice some to add on top. I highly recommend this dish!

I've let it sit for a few hours before assessing. I think that it's solid and as good as any of the quinoa salad at Whole Foods. I look forward to dinner. Thank you.