This simple quinoa salad with cucumber is perfect for times when you need a basic quinoa salad to pair with your favorite proteins or use as a base for a delicious grain bowl. With flavor that gets even better in the fridge, it's an excellent salad to meal prep for nourishing lunches or side dishes throughout the week!
Looking for a feel-good recipe that helps you meal prep for the week ahead? This simple cucumber quinoa salad is one of my absolute favorites. Fluffy quinoa and fresh, crunchy veggies and herbs all get tossed into a simple vinaigrette, and honestly the whole thing gets even better as it sits because the quinoa soaks up all that delicious dressing (which also keeps the quinoa from drying out in the fridge!).
Make your preferred protein to toss in or use up leftovers, use as a flavorful base for grain bowls, or scoop this salad into your leafy green salads to add texture and variety. This salad travels well, so it's perfect to pack up for work or school, yet it also makes for a quick, low-effort work from home lunch.
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Key Ingredients
- Quinoa - The base of this salad recipe. Fun fact, quinoa is largely thought of as a whole grain but is technically a seed!
- Water or broth - For cooking the quinoa.
- Cucumbers - For a hydrating crunch.
- Green onions - Red onions would also work here, and pickled red onions would be even better.
- Parsley or cilantro - Fresh herbs are a big part of what make this salad taste so fresh. Feel free to use other fresh herbs like dill, mint, basil, or tarragon.
- Dressing ingredients - Olive oil, lemon, garlic, honey, salt, and pepper. It'll be a light vinaigrette very similar to my go-to lemon vinaigrette recipe.
Substitutions & Variations
- Quinoa - Swap quinoa for another hearty grain such as farro, wheat berries, barley, oat groats, or bulgur. Since grains are hearty, they'll stand up well to the dressing and absorb it for delicious results.
- Protein - Add salmon, chickpeas (so good!!), chicken, tempeh, or your favorite protein. I love tossing in leftovers from this whole roasted chicken. Cheese is great too... feta is my favorite.
- Add any produce - A great chance to use up those other veggies and herbs in your fridge. Oven-roasted radishes would be really good in spring! Dill, tomatoes, diced avocado, chopped apples, arugula, spinach, or bell peppers would all be delicious.
- Seeds and nuts - Toss in some nuts or seeds, such as sunflower seeds, walnuts, pepitas, slivered almonds, cashews, flaxseeds, or hemp seeds.
My latest obsession has been with adding chickpeas, diced avocado (just ripe so it cuts nicely into cubes), and pepitas. YUMMY.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Step 1: Heat olive oil in a medium-sized pot over medium heat. Add the dried quinoa and toast until fragrant, 2-3 minutes. Add water, salt, and bring it to a boil. Reduce to a simmer over low heat and cover, allowing the quinoa to cook for 15 minutes until fluffy and water is absorbed. Once done, fluff the quinoa with a fork and transfer to a bowl to cool.
- Step 2: While the quinoa is cooking, dice cucumbers, slice green onions, and chop your parsley or cilantro. Add all salad ingredients to a large bowl.
- Step 3: Make the dressing! First, mince your fresh garlic (either super finely chop it, or I love to grate it on my microplane). Then combine olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, honey, salt, and pepper in a mason jar. Shake vigorously to combine, then pour into the salad ingredients.
- Step 4: Thoroughly toss the salad together to mix all ingredients and coat everything in the salad dressing. Yum!
Success Tip: The quinoa will be hot if you're cooking it just before you make the salad. Allow it to cool slightly so that your cucumbers don't get warm, and herbs and onions don't wilt. To speed up the cooling process, transfer your quinoa to a bowl immediately once it's done cooking, and stir occasionally to allow steam to escape.
Quinoa Salad FAQ
I don't recommend freezing this recipe because fresh ingredients like cucumbers don't stand up well to freezing. Other quinoa salads may be okay to freeze, such as those made with roasted vegetables.
This salad is so versatile and can accompany many dishes as a side! I highly recommend serving it alongside lemon dill salmon, chicken, or your favorite protein. You can also have fun with add-ins such as chickpeas, feta, dried cranberries or raisins, chopped apple, berries, avocado, or your favorite nuts and seeds.
You can store this salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. I personally love how the quinoa soaks up the dressing while it sits... it's so good the next day!
Related Recipes
Try some of our other delicious salads for lunch or any time of day!
📖 Recipe
Quinoa Salad with Cucumber & Herbs (Light + Flavorful)
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: ~3.5 cups
Description
This simple quinoa salad with cucumber contains simple ingredients that taste delicious and make your body feel good! Prep this in advance for lunches or simple side dishes, and add your favorite protein if desired.
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa, dry
- 2 cups water
- ½ cup green onions, sliced
- 1 cup cucumbers, diced
- 1 cup parsley, chopped
- 1 tablespoon + ¼ cup olive oil, divided
- juice from two lemons
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1-2 teaspoon honey
- ¼ teaspoon salt, plus more for cooking the quinoa
- Dash of pepper
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Instructions
- Make the quinoa. In a medium-sized pot, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add the quinoa and toast until fragrant, stirring lightly to avoid burning (about 2-3 minutes). Add in water and a pinch of salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer over low heat, then cover and allow the quinoa to cook for 15 minutes or until water is absorbed and quinoa is fluffy. Remove cover from the pot, fluff the quinoa with a fork, and then transfer it to a large bowl to cool.
- Make the dressing. To make the dressing, combine olive oil, lemon juice, minced garlic, honey, salt, and pepper in a mason jar. Shake vigorously to emulsify ingredients.
- Combine salad. If veggies aren't already chopped, you can do so while quinoa is cooking. After allowing the quinoa a chance to cool, combine quinoa, green onions, cucumbers, and parsley in a large bowl.
- Toss the salad. Pour dressing into quinoa mixture and stir to combine. Serve immediately or chill in the fridge in an airtight container for meals throughout the week!
Notes
- Herbs. Feel free to use cilantro instead of parsley, and add in other fresh herbs that sounds good to you! Dill, chives, basil, and/or mint would all be delicious.
- Lemon squeezer. I highly recommend a citrus juicer! This citrus juicer (affiliate link) is the one I have and it is life-changing. You just take half of your lemon and put it face down in the juicer, then the handles give you leverage to squeeze out every last drop. I use it at least once a day!
- Quinoa temperature. Unless you used quinoa you had previously cooked, the quinoa will be hot when it's done cooking. Allow it to cool so you don't warm up the cucumbers or wilt the herbs and green onion. To speed this up, I like to transfer the quinoa to a bowl immediately to remove it from the steaming pot.
- Storage. This salad will keep for up to a week in an airtight container in the fridge, so it's truly perfect for meal prep.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 15
- Category: Salad
- Method: Stovetop & Combine
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 324
- Sugar: 5.5 g
- Sodium: 164.1 mg
- Fat: 17.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 40.3 g
- Fiber: 4.2 g
- Protein: 7.3 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
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