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Home Lunch

Quinoa salad recipes to try this week

Salad ideas for lunch or dinner.
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Quinoa tabbouleh and protein bowlPhotography: John Paul Urizar. Styling: Michele Cranston. Recipe: Fran Abdallaoui.

This naturally gluten free ancient grain is a brilliant addition to so many of dishes, adding a serving of plant-based protein to both sweet and savoury dishes. This collection of recipes honours its ability to take salads from bland to brilliant.

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Quinoa is no longer just a side dish, nor is it considered boring. Our quinoa salad recipe ideas make for fabulous lunches or light dinners that are easy to meal prep.

Looking for more quinoa recipes?

What is quinoa?

While it may be relatively new to many of us, quinoa has been a staple food in the Andean region of South America for thousands of years. The Incas are said to have considered it sacred, calling it “the mother of all grains“.

As its popularity grows in Australia, we take a look at exactly what quinoa is, its impressive nutritional value and the best recipes to use it in.

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Nutritious and delicious quinoa (pronounced keen-wa) is cooked and eaten like a grain, but it is in fact a seed. It has a delicate, nutty flavour and a slightly chewy texture.

There are three varieties of quinoa available – white, red and black. We love it as it is quick to cook, is an excellent carrier of flavours and adds a lovely texture to meals.

You can use it as a replacement wherever you might use grains or rice.

How to cook quinoa?

To prepare 1 cup of quinoa, rinse well under cold, running water. Bring 2 cups of water to the boil in a medium saucepan, add quinoa 
and cook, covered, over low heat for 10-12 minutes or until just tender. Drain any residual liquid and fluff up quinoa with a fork.

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balsamic-roasted pumpkin and red quinoa salad
Quick & Easy
September 30, 2009

Balsamic-roasted pumpkin and red quinoa salad

Red quinoa (pronounced keen-wa), is the seed of a leafy plant similar to spinach. Quinoa is gluten-free and has a delicate, slightly nutty taste and chewy texture; it is available from health food stores and in the health food aisle at larger supermarkets. You could also use white quinoa. Rinse it well before boiling. To […]
By Women's Weekly Food
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quinoa salad with haloumi and pomegranate
Quick & Easy
October 31, 2010

Quinoa salad with haloumi and pomegranate

Fresh pomegranate seeds can sometimes be found in the fridge section of supermarkets or good green grocers. If unavailable, cut a whole pomegranate in half and scrape the seeds from flesh with your fingers while holding the pomegranate upside down in a bowl of cold water; the seeds will sink and the white pith will […]
By Women's Weekly Food
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Women's Weekly Food

Trusted by home cooks for 90 years, The Australian Women’s Weekly’s Test Kitchen and cookbooks hold a singular place in shaping home cooking within the Australian culinary landscape. Today, the AWW Test Kitchen in Sydney is a thriving hub for food content, connected to two bustling photographic studios where a talented team of Australia’s best recipe developers, art directors, editors and photographers create our world class food content. Our recipes are thoroughly tested and tasted and given the Test Kitchen tick of approval, guaranteeing you’ll get great results in your home kitchen.

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