Vegan Quinoa Salad with Cucumber and Dill

This fresh and flavorful Vegan Quinoa Salad with Cucumber and Dill combines fresh dill with hearty quinoa, cucumber and red pepper. Tossed with olive oil and fresh garlic for the perfect salad for any occasion.

I was banking on a rainy weekend, but when it didn’t come, I found myself pretty motivated. So instead of a Netflix marathon, I had a lot of playtime in the kitchen. Can’t beat that if you ask me! And I had quite a bit of success.

This Vegan Quinoa Salad with Cucumber and Dill is not your typical boring salad

I have been really bored of salads for quite a while now. For such a long period of my life, they were my go to and my safe food that I got to a point where I just didn’t want another one for a LONG time.

But I also recognize now that for so long, my salads lacked bulk, heartiness, and all of the things that gave me the energy I needed for the day. And so I have started to branch out and play around with the concept of a salad and have started to make them more than just greens and a few veggies.

Quinoa ups your salad game

Quinoa has been my new favorite salad base. It’s very versatile and super easy to make a big batch and then eat off of it for several days. I have also been getting a lot of walnuts in my diet lately and walnuts were the final piece to round this salad out.

Dill is currently growing nicely in my garden so it’s certainly time to add it to EVERYTHING. I add dill to my salmon especially before throwing it on the grill and it is my favorite. Fresh beats dried any day for sure.

My cucumbers didn’t do so well this year but I’m now getting all of my bell peppers day by day. There is nothing like walking into the backyard and grabbing my ingredients for whatever I am making!

This Vegan Quinoa Salad is an easy side to bring to the last of the summer’s cookouts. You could also toss in some grilled protein or even add a bit of feta. Lots of options, but I loved it straight out of the bowl as I made it! Ha!

What you need to make this Vegan Quinoa Salad:

1. Quinoa: Obvious? Ha. Timesaver Tip: If you are in a pinch for time, most groceries have pre-cooked quinoa in the freezer section and sometimes even in the aisle where you find rice.
2. Garlic: The recipe calls for 1 garlic clove but if you love garlic, opt for 2 to really turn it up a notch!
3. Cucumber: English Cucumbers are my absolute favorite. I find they have the best flavor and very few seeds compared to others.
4. Dill: Please, please, PLEASE use fresh dill if at all possible. It will make this salad all the better by 100000%
5. Red Bell Pepper: If you don’t have red, yellow or orange would be great. I wasn’t a fan of adding green bell pepper when testing the recipe.
6. Olive Oil
7. Lemon Juice
8. Red Onion
9. Walnuts: To up the flavor, lightly toast these before adding to the salad.

CHECK OUT THESE OTHER SALAD RECIPES:

• STRAWBERRY ARUGULA GOAT CHEESE SALAD WITH PRETZEL CRUSTED CHICKEN
• SPRING GREEN SALAD WITH HONEY CITRUS DRESSING AND SOURDOUGH CROUTONS
• SPINACH MANDARIN SALAD WITH HONEY BALSAMIC DRESSING
• SIMPLE BLACKBERRY SPINACH QUINOA SALAD WITH BLACKBERRY THYME INFUSED OLIVE OIL
• TOMATO BASIL PASTA SALAD
• KALE, WILD RICE AND ROASTED CHICKEN SALAD
• WATERMELON AVOCADO SALAD WITH FETA

DID YOU MAKE ONE OF MY RECIPES? LEAVE A COMMENT AND LET ME KNOW! I ALSO LOVE TO SEE YOUR LEMONS + ZEST RECIPES ON SOCIAL MEDIA–TAG ME @LEMONSANDZEST ON INSTAGRAM OR FACEBOOK!

Print Recipe

5 from 5 votes

Cucumber Dill Quinoa Salad

Prep Time15 mins

Total Time30 mins

Course: Salad, Side Dish

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 2 c quinoa cooked as directed and cooled to room temperature
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 1 red bell pepper diced
• 1/4 c red onion finely diced
• 1 medium English cucumber
• 1 lemon
• 1/4 c olive oil
• 1/2 c chopped walnuts
• 1 large handful fresh dill chopped
• Sea salt and cracked pepper to taste

Instructions

• In a medium mixing bowl, combine quinoa, pepper, cucumber, and onion.
• Stir to combine.
• In a small bowl, juice lemon and add garlic and olive oil. Whisk to combine.
• Pour mixture over salad and stir to coat evenly.
• Add walnuts and dill and fold in.
• Chill for 15-20 minutes. Add sea salt and pepper to taste.

Notes

Low on time? You can often find pre-cooked frozen quinoa at the grocery now! When you are in a pinch, it helps!