Cheesecake Brownie Bites. Banana Bread French Toast. Vanilla Bean Rice Pudding Crème Brûlée. Things have been, how can I put this, rather bikini un-friendly around here lately (and by “lately,” I mean “as per usual”). So I decided to give the waistband of my pants a break this week by lightening up the caloric load with Quinoa Guacamole Salad, and I’m also serving up a few tips in my video below for how to cook quinoa so that it’s super light and fluffy.
And now that it’s officially summer, I’m hoping that this recipe makes bathing suit shopping a pinch less painful. That is, until next week’s recipe hits the interwebs. (Hint: It rhymes with “schmeanut schmutter snookies.”)
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Ingredients
- 2 cups uncooked quinoa
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 Tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 2 teaspoons freshly grated lime zest
- 3 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 avocados
- 2 tomatoes
- 1/2 cup chopped white onion
Instructions
- Rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh sieve until the water runs clear.
- Add the quinoa, plus 4 cups water, to a medium saucepan. Bring the quinoa to a boil then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 25 minutes (uncovered), or until the germ ring is visible (indicating the quinoa is cooked). Transfer the quinoa to a large bowl to cool.
- Whisk together the garlic, cilantro, lime zest, lime juice, salt, pepper and olive oil in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Dice the avocados and tomatoes into bite-sized pieces. (See Kelly's Notes.)
- Add the diced avocado, tomatoes and onions to the quninoa. Drizzle with dressing and fold to thoroughly combine.
- Serve salad at room temperature or refrigerate and serve cold.
Kelly's Notes:
- To avoid adding excess liquid to the salad, de-seed the tomatoes with a small spoon before dicing.
- Dice the avocados at the last possible moment to avoid having them brown prior to folding into the salad.
- ★ Did you make this recipe? Don't forget to give it a star rating below!
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Is this a good dish to make ahead?
Absolutely, Martha! However, dice the avocados at the last possible moment to avoid having them brown prior to folding into the salad.
I loved this quinoa salad. Its refreshing and delicious. Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Patti!
Quinoa is such a versatile grain and this your version with guacamole is a stroke of brilliance! Great combination!
loved it! I did it myself and posted on my own blog:
http://comidinhasetc.wordpress.com/2013/04/17/salada-de-quinua-com-guacamole/
Nice recipe. It will also taste good if you add black beans. See my recipe here. :)
http://www.sweetlemonandsalt.com/2013/02/quinoa-salad-with-avacado-and-black.html
Hi Kelly Senyei, my name is Maria. This is an amazing recipe. I love all your recipes so much that I added this one to my blog, but giving the link to here, as the original source, as I always do with everything I publish. Thank you very much for your time and kind consideration and for the excellent recipes you bring to us.
I could eat this everyday – love love love!
Definitely making this!!! Looks so good! Love quinoa…healthy but tasty!
This looks fantastic! I must get avocados and start cooking like it’s summer.
Looks really good – I made a similar quinoa salad today as well!
what a beautiful salad! i love the colors! quinoa is such a fabulous superfood:) thanks for sharing!
I seriously love quinoa. The abundance of recipes I’ve been seeing all over the blogs and especially on Pinterest makes me so happy :)
This is fantastic! I cooked the Quinoa with low sodium chicken broth and added some red bell peppers because I needed to use them up. Will definitely be making again. This is my first time making quinoa, I have been wanting to try it for awhile it is really good. Thanks!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Debbi! Love the addition of red pepper.
This looks yummy. This may be a really silly question…
but what exactly is quinoa?
Thank you, Teresa! Quinoa (pronounced “keen-wah”) is a whole grain (often referred to as a seed) and you cook it until the germ ring is visible. It’s super healthy and super filling!
Love this!!! I have an avocado in the fridge and was wondering what to do with it…now I know!!!! Thx for sharing!
I’m head-over-heels for quinoa these days. And add avocado to anything and I’m on board. This looks like such a flavor salad, and perfect for summer!
Loving this combo! I think I may just need to make this for dinner tonight!
looks so good and fresh! Hope you’re well!
Looks delicious! Bikini season sneaks up on us every year. Darn swimsuits.
Love quinoa!! I have a quinoa tabouleh on my site that I love. This looks incredibly tasty too!
I love quinoa, and I love guac! This looks delicious. Although, I’m excited for those “schmeanut schmutter snookies” too ;)