Quinoa Salad with Avocado Dill Dressing

This Quinoa Salad with Avocado Dill Dressing is a light yet really satisfying meal, filled with colorful veggies and hearty spiced chickpeas. It’s topped with a creamy and tangy dill dressing and other flavorful additions like fresh parsley avocado, and olives.

Sometimes, there’s just nothing better than a big ole salad filled with all the goods and a great, creamy dressing. The term “salad” is used a bit loosely here, since we’re not using typical salad greens as the base. Although, this Quinoa Salad with Avocado Dill Dressing would go perfectly over some greens! But this recipe, as is, uses quinoa as the base and has lots of yummy additions that are flavorful and super satisfying.

THIS is one of those salads that you won’t be hungry an hour after eating (at least probably not!). A tasty variety of satiating ingredients makes for a meal that feels like yet it really hits the spot!

The Tasty Ingredients

There’s no shortage of flavor and texture here, and quinoa doesn’t have to be boring! It actually provides a perfect base for the other layers of yumminess:

• olives
• spiced chickpeas (garlic and paprika seasoning)
• crunchy cucumber
• fresh tomatoes
• creamy avocado
• fresh parsley
• red onion
• roasted red peppers

Then the salad is topped with a creamy blend of avocado, fresh dill, vegan mayo and lemon juice.

How This Dish Comes Together

Cooking the quinoa: you’ll start by cooking the quinoa according to the package directions. Then, transfer the quinoa to a mixing bowl and stir in the salt, pepper, olive oil, lemon juice, and vinegar.

Chopping the salad ingredients: right after putting the quinoa to cook, this is the time to halve the tomatoes and chop the cucumber. I like to slice the cucumber lengthwise, then slice each of those pieces lengthwise again. Then make crosswise cuts to create the diced cucumber. Then, drain the roasted peppers really well, and thinly slice them. Or, you can chop them if preferred. Similarly, thinly slice or finely chop the red onion.

Blending the dressing: this part is the simplest! Just add all of the dressing ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed.

Cooking the chickpeas: to cook the chickpeas, heat the pan and add the chickpeas along with the oil and seasonings. Stir these and cook them around 5 to 7 minutes, stirring periodically. You want a bit of a crisp on the chickpeas.

Putting it together: Now, add all the vegetables to the mixing bowl with the quinoa, and stir. Chop the parsley and dice the remaining avocado. Serve the salad topped with the parsley, avocado, olive, and dressing.

Other Delicious Salad Recipes

Primavera Pasta Salad

Quinoa Salad with Zucchini & Tomatoes

BBQ Ranch Chickpea Salad

Charred Cabbage & Lentil Salad

Print Recipe

5 from 9 votes

Quinoa Salad with Avocado Dill Dressing

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time30 minutes mins

Keyword: avocado, dill, quinoa, quinoa salad

Servings: 5 people

Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 tsp white wine vinegar
• 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes halved
• 1/2 seedless cucumber chopped
• 1/2 cup packed roasted red peppers, drained, and sliced
• 2 tbsp thinly sliced red onion or finely chopped
• 1/4 cup packed olives
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley
• 1/2 avocado diced

Garlic Paprika Chickpeas

• 1 15 oz. can chickpeas drained and rinsed
• 2 tsp oil
• 1/4 tsp each garlic powder, kosher salt and paprika

Avocado Dill Dressing

• 1/2 an avocado
• 1/4 cup mayo
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 tbsp fresh dill
• 1 tbsp agave
• 1 tbsp dijon mustard

Instructions

• Cook quinoa according to package directions and transfer to a large mixing bowl. Squeeze in the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, vinegar, stir.
• While the quinoa is cooking, chop the other ingredients and blend the dressing.
• Heat a large pan on medium heat and add oil, chickpeas, garlic powder and paprika. Cook for around 5 to 7 min, until the chickpeas get a bit crisp.
• Add all the components to the mixing bowl, stir, and top with the dressing. Add more salt and pepper if desired.