Earlier this week I was rummaging through the pantry and found a stash of quinoa. And since then we have basically been living off of quinoa and whatever produce I have on hand. I am trying to disguise the fact that I keep feeding my family the same thing every night by altering the flavors: Quinoa and Avocado Salad, Asian Quinoa Salad, Southwest Quinoa Salad…I don’t think I am fooling anyone, but nobody is complaining so I am continuing my pattern with Broccoli and Quinoa Salad.
The quinoa, with its nutty flavor and crunchy texture, was a natural addition to my Nutty Broccoli Salad. I used mayonnaise in the dressing, but you could replace it with plain yoghurt to create a low-fat dressing.
- 1½ cups quinoa (I used red quinoa)
- 3 cups water
- 5 cups broccoli florets
- 1 medium apple, diced
- ½ cup pecans
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 6 pieces of bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 2 celery stalks, sliced
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinaigrette (I used Annie’s Naturals because it is gluten free)
- 3 tablespoons honey
- Add quinoa and water to a large pot. Cook over a medium-high flame until it reaches a boil. Lower flame, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Place quinoa in the refrigerator to cool.
- While the quinoa is cooling cook the bacon and then crumble it.
- Mix the dressing ingredients in a small bowl.
- Once the quinoa had cooled, add the vegetables.
- Pour the dressing over the quinoa and veggies. Toss to coat.
- Serve immediately or place in the refrigerator to keep cool until you do serve it.
Don’t worry, I found lots of rice and beans in my pantry inventory, so I won’t make my family live on quinoa forever.
This post is linked to Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Allergy-Free Wednesday, Gluten-Free Wednesday, The Hearth and Soul Hop and the Salad Social.
My family loves broccoli salad. Adding quinoa was a really good idea. I’ve been looking for ways to use up that Costco-sized bag of quinoa in my freezer.
I like quinoa, it is such a versatile and easy side dish. This looks great.
Great idea! I make broccoli salad a lot, but it seems to lack ingredients (and we don’t eat bacon, so that means it hardly contains anything). I can’t wait to give this a try.
Your broccoli and quinoa salad sounds so healthy and delicious! I really like the addition of the bacon for its lovely salty flavour and the pecans because they are my favourite
I am a huge fan of quinoa in salad and this dish looks delicious! Thank you so much for sharing your great recipe on Allergy-Free Wednesdays! Be sure to check back next week for recipe highlights (including the top 3 reader choice submissions and hostess favorites).
Be Well!
OMG sooooo good