Make-Ahead Quinoa Party Salad – Project Meal Plan

This Make-Ahead Quinoa Party Salad is my bring-everywhere, better-as-leftovers, easy-to-make potluck salad. It’s packed with cucumbers, bell pepper, red onion, all in a simple lemony dressing. Meal prep for lunch or dinner!

Do you know anyone who eats quinoa for the flavor? No? Me either. The good news for quinoa is this – it’s really incredible at absorbing flavors and making a fabulous base for all kinds of salads. Like this one!

The lemony olive oil dressing sinks right into the quinoa, giving it tons of bright flavor. But it also somewhat covers the earthy vibe that is quinoa. Something about those flavors mingling together makes this simple salad shine.

The veggies are relatively simple as well – just cucumbers, red bell pepper, and red onion. I love taking this one to potlucks and gatherings. It’s gluten-free, plus I tend to keep the feta on the side. It can ruin the whole thing for some, so that makes it dairy-free too! Perfect for anyone to enjoy!

How to Make Make-Ahead Quinoa Party Salad (55 sec):

What are the ingredients in this Make-Ahead Quinoa Party Salad?

With three of the ingredients being your basic salt, pepper, and oil, this is one of those salads you might just find yourself with all of the ingredients and decide to give it a try! They should all be easy to find in your local grocery store.

Here are the rest of the ingredients I used in this recipe along with a little info for each:

• white quinoa – I learned it’s important to always rinse your quinoa or it will taste extra bitter! This is due to a natural coating that protect the seeds from fungus. Rinsing removes this coating and improves the taste of the quinoa.
• broth – For extra flavor, use your favorite chicken or vegetable broth for cooking the quinoa, instead of water. All that flavor will infuse into the quinoa while it cooks!
• olive oil – For the base of the dressing, I like to use a high quality olive oil. You want to use a good one because the flavor is going to come through!
• lemon juice – For a bright punch of flavor in the dressing, lemon juice is the way to go.
• apple cider vinegar – A small amount of a mild vinegar like ACV provides a bit of tang and flavor to the simple dressing.
• fine sea salt & fresh ground black pepper – A must for any good homemade dressing or salad! I prefer the taste of fresh ground black pepper over the canned stuff.
• cucumbers – Chopped cucumbers (along with quinoa) are the star of this salad. If you’re looking to bulk up the salad a bit more, feel free to add more cucumber! It’s fresh, crunchy, and delicious.
• red bell pepper – Red bell peppers are a tad sweet, so they bring a slight sweet taste to the salad, as well as some crunch!
• red onion – Even though I’m not a huge fan of raw red onions, I still think they’re important to this salad. They had a touch of zest and bite to the mix.

How do you make this Quinoa Party Salad?

This quinoa salad is very easy to make – the most important thing is to make it ahead of time if you’re serving to a group. You can enjoy it right when you make it, but it’s even more impressive after a few hours in the fridge.

Start with the quinoa. You can cook it in whatever what you prefer – rice cooker, Instant Pot, or stovetop. I’ve included stovetop directions since that’s probably the most common method!

For the stovetop method, start by adding the rinsed quinoa and broth to a medium saucepan over high heat. Bring it to a low boil and then reduce heat to low and cover. Let it simmer for about 15 minutes, or until all of the liquid has been absorbed.

Remove the pan from heat and let it sit with the lid still on for another 5 minutes to steam. Then, remove the lid, fluff the quinoa with a fork and set it aside to cool. If you want it to cool faster, transfer out of the hot cooking dish and into another bowl.

Next is the dressing: In a large mixing bowl (or your planned salad storage bowl!), add the olive oil, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper. Whisk it together in the bottom of the bowl until combined.

Next, dump the the cooked and cooled quinoa into the bowl, followed by all of the cut veggies: cucumbers, red bell pepper, and red onion. Stir everything together until the dressing is well dispersed throughout the veggies and quinoa.

Be sure to taste the salad right away to see if it needs more salt, pepper or lemon juice, according to your tastes. Please note, this salad tastes noticeably better after chilling in the fridge for a few hours!

Ways to customize this quinoa salad recipe:

Here are a few ideas for customizing this salad so it best matches your tastes:

• add lots of fresh herbs – this would delicious with lots of extra fresh chopped dill and parsley
• mix-in feta or goat cheese crumbles – I love the salty bite of some feta in this salad!
• add some cherry tomatoes or other produce – be sure to avoid any very wet ingredients! Leave tomatoes whole, if possible

What should you serve this Make-Ahead Quinoa Party Salad with?

For meal prepping large quantities, this pairs well with a juicy chicken breast for lunch! Here are a few main dishes you could serve this quinoa salad recipe with:

How do you meal prep this recipe?

To save time, you could cook the quinoa a day ahead and chill it in the fridge overnight.

Is this recipe freezer-friendly?

I would not recommend freezing this recipe due to the fresh cut veggies involved, but it is possible to freeze cooked quinoa. Let it cool completely then freeze in a freezer bag or Souper Cubes Tray (affiliate link!). Find more info in this article How To Freeze Quinoa.

How to store this Make-Ahead Quinoa Party Salad:

Store in an airtight container with lid in the fridge for up to 3 days for best quality.