Lemon and dijon mustard make this easy quinoa salad recipe so tasty and delicious. A vegan quinoa salad recipe made with fresh produce and pantry staples is the perfect answer to an easy to make summer salad for all your picnic and outdoor summer meals! When served up everyone will love the zesty, fresh flavors in this salad.
Rinse the quinoa in clean water then drain well. Add two cups of clean water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low, cover with a lid and cook for 15 minutes or until water is absorbed and quinoa is tender.
When quinoa is ready, transfer it to a plate or baking tray and spread it out. Place it in the refrigerator to cool down more quickly.
Mix together the dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano and olive oil in a jar and shake well to combine. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste.
Combine the cooled quinoa, corn, spinach, tomatoes, green onion and parsley in a large bowl and toss together. Add the dressing and mix to cover all the ingredients.
Serve immediately.
Notes
Expert Tips for Making Zesty Quinoa Salad:Use tri-color quinoa for the most interesting texture in this vegan quinoa salad recipe or at the very least your own mix of white with either some red or black quinoa added.The vegan quinoa salad tastes great served up slightly warm, room temperature or fully chilled.PRO TIP: Here's how to quick chill the quinoa after cooking to serve the zesty quinoa salad right way!! Spread the cooked quinoa out into a fairly thin layer on a baking sheet. Place it in the freezer for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, it should be chilled enough to mix up the salad and serve cold.Allow the quinoa to cool off to a slightly warm temperature before adding the fresh vegetables. If you combine the veggies with the quinoa while it is still hot, the veggies may wilt or cook slightly and lose their quality and texture.Use fresh lemons and real dijon mustard to make the lemon dijon vinaigrette. Both of these ingredients really make a tremendous difference to the overall flavor of the dressing and the salad.Don’t overcook the quinoa or it will turn to mush. Your quinoa is close to ready once you begin to see little tails appear. When you can see the tails give the quinoa a little try. The texture should be tender while not overly soft and if you used red and black quinoa they should have a bit of a “bite” to them, but not overly crunchy. If the quinoa is ready, then stop cooking. At this point, if there is still some water in the pan, strain off the excess liquid when you remove the quinoa from the heat.