3 Easy Healthy Quinoa Salad Recipes | Just 5 Ingredients

Hey guys, it's Dani and today I am going to be making three nutritious and delicious quinoa salads. I'm going to be showing you a springtime minty pea quinoa salad, a fun and festive mango and black bean quinoa salad, and finally a simple tomato and feta quinoa salad. Now each of these salads uses just five ingredients, not including the salt and pepper. If you're not familiar with quinoa, it's usually grouped with the whole grains, but technically it is a seed. So it is naturally gluten-free, it tends to be a little lighter than most whole grains, plus it's a complete protein that cooks up much faster than most whole grains. Now whenever you're working with quinoa, all you need to remember is that it's a two-to-one ratio. So it's two parts water to every one part quinoa. Today I'm using two cups of quinoa, therefore I'll be using four cups of water. Now before you get it into your pot, you want to give it a good rinse under some cold water, and if you see any bubbles forming over the quinoa, you're just going to rinse until that is all gone and then transfer it into your pot. Add in your water, turn up the heat to high, let it all come up to a boil, then reduce it down to a simmer, pop on a lid, and in about 15 minutes your quinoa will be ready. You will notice that these little white spirals start to form around the quinoa seeds, that is the germ, and that is a great indicator that your quinoa is cooked and ready to go. And then I just like to fluff it up with a fork, and I'm ready to make my salad. Now just a quick note, all three of these salads make about two cups of salad, so you can easily scale the recipe up or down depending on how many mouths you need to feed. So for salad number one, we're making the springtime minty pea quinoa salad, and this is going to start with one cup of cooked quinoa, then I have one cup of frozen peas that I defrosted right on the counter, two tablespoons of thinly sliced scallions, and then a quarter cup of fresh chopped mint, because mint and peas really love each other. Guys, remember, what grows together goes together, so ingredients that grow in the same season are always going to taste amazing together. Then I have the juice of half of a lemon, along with the zest from that very same lemon, and then I'm just going to season it with some salt and pepper, and we'll give this a nice big stir, and this salad is ready to go. This combination is super fresh and bright, and I am telling you, all of these flavors scream spring. Next up is my mango and black bean quinoa salad. So again, I'm starting with one cup of cooked quinoa in my bowl, and to that I'm adding one diced up orange pepper, along with a clove of crushed garlic, then I have a cup of canned black beans that I've drained and rinsed, that just gets off all the extra sodium, and then I've got half of a mango that I've diced up. Now whenever I'm chopping or dicing a mango, I find the easiest way to do this is to take a thin slice off of the bottom of the mango so we can stand it up safely, and then I just peel the skin off with a potato peeler. Then you're just going to take your knife and you want to get as close to the pit as you can, which runs right through the middle of the mango, and slice straight down. So I like to call these the mango cheeks. You slice off the mango cheeks, then you lay them on their side and slice them into boards, and then strips, and then a chop or a dice. Then we'll just season this with a little bit of salt and pepper, and guys, this is totally optional, and it makes for a sixth ingredient, but a big fat squish of lime juice takes this salad to the next level. Give it a stir, and it's ready to go. Now I love serving this salad with some grilled chicken or some grilled fish, and when I really want to take the whole salad to the next level, I'll even add in some sliced up scallions, a little bit of fresh cilantro, and then diced avocado. Delish. And last but not least, and this one is my personal favorite, is my tomato, feta, and basil quinoa salad. Now again, we're starting with one cup of cooked quinoa in our bowl, and to that I am adding one cup of diced tomatoes. Now I was using baby tomatoes in a couple different colors because those were the most delicious seasonal tomatoes that I could find, and I want you guys to note that when you're making simple recipes like this one, it's really important that the seasonal ingredients shine. So if they're not at the top of their game, then you're going to want to bookmark this recipe and then wait until your tomatoes are at the peak of the season, because that little tweak will make all the difference in a recipe just like this. To that I'm adding one clove of crushed garlic, then I have a third of a cup of feta cheese, which I'm going to crumble right over the top. Remember, whenever you can, buy your feta cheese in the block and then crumble it yourself because you are always going to get more flavor and better texture that way. And then, to finish it, I've got a quarter cup of fresh chopped basil with a little bit of salt and pepper. Then I'm just going to stir this all together and I'm going to have yet another beautiful, fresh seasonal quinoa salad ready to go. And guys, do note, all of these salads will stay good in an airtight container in your fridge for up to three days. So if you want to make them in advance and bring them for lunch, that is absolutely an option. And so now I want to hear from you! Which of these three recipes do you think you will try first? Come on down to the comments below and let me know. And when you do, please snap a picture and tag me on Instagram and on Facebook because I love to see all the clean and deliciousness that you guys are whipping up in your very own kitchen. And if you haven't already, please subscribe, like, and share this video with anyone else you know who's trying to keep things healthy and yummy. Thank you guys so much for watching. I'm Dani Spees and I will see you back here next time with some more clean and deliciousness. Cheers! A little bit of fresh sliced scallion, some cilantro, and diced avocado brings this salad even up... brings this salad... Where does it bring it? And it would take it straight to the moon. I don't know what's happening right now. Okay.