Protein-Packed Easy Quinoa Salad for Your Summer BBQ

With a light, fluffy texture and a savory flavor, this easy quinoa salad recipe is a great summer side dish for a barbecue or a picnic.

When you’re put on the spot to come up with a flavorful side dish—and something that’s not a wispy green salad—quinoa quickly becomes your best friend. This pseudo-grain is extremely easy and versatile to cook with due to its nutty flavor and fluffy texture, it also contains all nine essential amino acids, making it an excellent source of protein (and more likely to satisfy your appetite).

A fun fact about quinoa: it’s actually a relative of the spinach, beet, and chard family. We eat the seed of the plant, which is why quinoa is also gluten-free. Kind of neat, isn’t it?

Whether you’re looking for a good summer barbecue or picnic recipe or you need a tasty side dish in a pinch, this easy quinoa salad recipe will do the trick. Personally, I’ve been making this healthy salad ahead of time and using it as a side dish for my sous vide meals.

You can make the recipe as-is, but don’t be afraid to get creative and jazz it up with your other favorite ingredients. I’ve used a lemon dressing in this recipe, but if you’re after a little more flavor, you could put a Mediterranean twist on it—a nice change for the warmer months. Simply add some red wine vinegar, parsley, cucumber, red bell pepper, black olives, and crumbled feta. If you’re after something with more of a kick (and also great picnic fare), a quinoa Chipotle Burrito Bowl is another tasty, healthy option.

This quinoa would also be nice as an accompaniment to a chicken salad or served in a small bowl next to some grilled kebabs.

You can cook the quinoa in water, but I recommend using bone broth instead—a game-changer when it comes to effortlessly boosting savory flavor and nutrition in simple recipes like this one. Nutrition-wise, bone broth is a great source of type II collagen, which promotes skin, gut, bone, and joint health.

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