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Best Quinoa Arugula Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

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You’ll find yourself making this cold quinoa arugula salad over and over again! Not only is this quinoa and arugula salad incredibly flavorful with it’s bright lemon vinaigrette, but it’s also ready in just 15 minutes prep. Each serving of this vegan quinoa salad has a whopping 19 grams of plant based protein making it a great make-ahead lunch or dinner side to grilled drumsticks, grilled thighs, or veggie burgers with toppings. One bite and I think you’ll agree, it’s the best quinoa salad!

If you’re anything like me, the idea of quinoa is good…but plain quinoa is not. But when we add some flavor, color, and crunch? It’s a whole different story. And this quinoa and arugula salad will show exactly what I mean. My napa cabbage slaw and kale apple slaw are other great salads to try next.

Bowl of quinoa and arugula salad with almonds

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Table of Contents

What You’ll Love About Quinoa Arugula Salad

  • Fresh and bright
  • An interesting mix of textures
  • Satisfying, it has 20 grams of plant-based protein
  • Easy-to-make
  • Can be meal prepped ahead

Quinoa and Arugula Salad VIDEO

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Full recipe is on myeverydaytable.com ???? #momtoks #lunchrecipes #quinoa #salad #quinoasalad

♬ original sound – Emily Dingmann

Ingredients to Make Quinoa Arugula Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

This amazing quinoa salad is made with just 7 ingredients, plus salt and pepper:

  • Quinoa: Ahhhh, the star of this quinoa arugula salad! Make a big batch and freeze it for later. You can easily prep this ahead 2-3 days.
  • Arugula: This peppery green is perfect in salads. It adds great flavor bite and a gorgeous deep green shade. If arugula is a little too much for you, you could also use torn butter/bibb lettuce or red leaf lettuce. These greens don’t hold up quite as well once dressed, so dress them right before you eat the salad.
  • Lemon Vinaigrette: I added lemon juice and zest to the vinaigrette to give it that light lemon flavor that I love in salads this time of year.
  • Chopped Almonds: I added chopped almonds for some extra staying power and a necessary crunch.

How to Make Quinoa and Arugula Salad

This amazing quinoa salad is ready with just 15 minutes prep! Here’s how to make it:

  • Cook quinoa. Cook quinoa according to package instructions.
  • Make lemon vinaigrette. In a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, lemon zest, olive oil, honey, minced shallots, sea salt, and black pepper.
  • Assemble quinoa and arugula salad. Toss together quinoa, arugula, and dressing until combined. Top with chopped almonds.
Ingredients to make best quinoa salad

Frequently Asked Questions

What is quinoa salad made of?

It depends on the salad, but many quinoa salads are made with a base of quinoa, some vegetables, some protein (beans, cheese, protein), and a dressing to bring it all together.

This cold quinoa salad is made with quinoa, arugula, a lemon vinaigrette, and almonds.

Is quinoa salad served hot or cold?

It depends on the salad! Many can be served either way but the beauty of a salad like this is that it tastes great cold or at room temperature.

Is quinoa arugula salad vegan?

It will vary based on the recipe and ingredients. This vegan quinoa salad is both vegetarian and vegan.

What to add to quinoa salad?

A general rule of thumb is to include the grain, some veggies for texture, some cheese or protein to make it filling, a dressing to bring it together, and some cheese or nuts for extra crunch and flavor.

Can I add a protein to this salad?

If you want a really filling salad, I recommend topping it with some garbanzo beans, chopped hard boiled eggs or grilled chicken or salmon.

Storage Instructions

Store this leftover healthy quinoa salad in the refrigerator for 1-2 days. For best results, store all of the components separately so that the arugula doesn’t get soggy.

When you’re ready to serve, take the dressing out of the fridge to come to room temperature (if you forget, run the jar under warm water) and assemble salad, dress, and toss together. Sprinkle with roasted almonds.

It works well as a prep-ahead salad.

Bowl of cold arugula and quinoa salad with almonds.

What to Serve with Quinoa and Arugula Salad

More Quinoa Recipes

If you like this arugula quinoa salad recipe, you might also like some of these other quinoa-based recipes:

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Helpful Tools to Make the Best Quinoa Salad

  • Microplane Zester – Use this to get ALL of the zest off your citrus. I also love to grate garlic with this tool as well.
  • Citrus Juicer – This juicer will help you get all the juice out of citrus, no matter if you’re making the best quinoa salad or margaritas. 😉
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The BEST Quinoa Arugula Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

★★★★★ 5 from 3 reviews
  • Author: Emily Dingmann of myeverydaytable.com
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 6 servings 1x
  • Category: Salad
  • Method: Stove
  • Cuisine: Vegetarian
  • Diet: Gluten Free
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Description

The BEST quinoa and arugula salad recipe is bright, fresh, + flavorful. The perfect side to a grilled dinner or easy lunch. Ready in just 20 minutes. 

Ingredients

Scale

For the Salad:

  • 1 cup raw quinoa
  • 8 cups arugula, washed
  • 1/2 cup almonds, roasted and chopped

For the Vinaigrette:

  • 2 Tbsp. lemon juice (about one lemon)
  • 1 Tbsp. lemon zest
  • 3 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp. honey
  • 3 Tbsp. minced shallots (about one)
  • 1/2 tsp. sea salt
  • 1/4 tsp. black pepper

Instructions

  1. Prepare quinoa as directed and let cool.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together all vinaigrette ingredients. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  3. Toss quinoa, arugula, and dressing together. Sprinkle with chopped almonds. 

Equipment

Notes

  • This salad is best made ahead of time to let the flavors deepen, and it’s great the next day.

Keywords: quinoa arugula salad, quinoa and arugula salad, cold quinoa salad, vegan quinoa salad, best quinoa salad

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Comments

  8. Eileen

    Simple, light, healthy and packed with protein. Love it! I love adding quinoa to my salad as well. In fact, I’ve done quinoa, kale and blueberries.

    Reply

  13. Brigitte Bilodeau

    I Made this last week with lemon marinated grilled chicken ….I didn’t add the almonds because I had meat,
    I could have added toasted walnuts …anyway I never make a recipe twice unless I really love it and this one is easy and so tasty ..the dressing is super good I added more lemon juice because I like it tangy…but it is super good and simple …I grow arugula so it’s from my garden so fresh and good I added spinach to…
    Thanks

    Reply

  14. Gia

    LOVEd this recipe! Added a fried egg on top and sliced avocado as a protein-pick-me-up and fell in love. So simple yet so delicious!

    Reply

  16. Phil

    This sounds delicious, I’m definitely gonna try this one!
    One thing though: You say that this salad is vegan, even though it contains honey, which is an animal product. The description should be updated to classify it as vegetarian. A good alternative could be maple syrup.

    Reply

    • Emily

      You are so right! I thought there was a note in there explaining that, but it may have been missed when I updated the post. Thanks for letting me know, I’ll update. 🙂

      Reply

  18. Bonnie Sullivan

    We love this recipe! It’s a staple for us especially in the summer. It’s so fresh and flavorful. We like to add sliced snap peas and some Parmesan cheese, sometimes some cubed chicken.

    ★★★★★

    Reply