Looking for a nutritious, protein-packed meal that’s both satisfying and delicious? This high-protein quinoa salad is made with ingredients you likely already have at home! It is the perfect balance of fresh vegetables, hearty quinoa, and plant-based protein to fuel your day. Whether you're meal prepping for the week or whipping up a quick lunch, this salad is a versatile, nutrient-dense option that never compromises on flavor.
If you're anything like me, you LOVE a one bowl meal that is not only great for you, but it's meal prep friendly too! This high protein salad is made for you if you want to reduce the amount of meat in your diet, increase your veggie consumption, and just want a yummy and easy lunch that will keep you feeling full and won't cause the afternoon energy crash.
Quinoa and chickpeas come together to create a flavorful lunch to enjoy all week! Want to make more meal prep friendly recipes??? Try this Dairy Free "Butter" Chicken. If you want more plant based and meal prep friendly options, make this Fall Quinoa and Chickpea Salad (just leave off the feta cheese!) or Vegan Penne Alla Vodka.
Jump to:
- What are the Ingredients for High Protein Quinoa Salad?
- How do I make High Protein Quinoa Salad ?
- Recipe Substitutions
- Ways to Serve High Protein Quinoa Salad
- Tips for Perfecting This Recipe
- Storage, Freezing, and Defrosting
- Recipe FAQ's
- Hungry for More?
- Did you like this recipe? Share it!
- High Protein Quinoa Salad
What are the Ingredients for High Protein Quinoa Salad?
- Quinoa - Quinoa is a seed that offers a variety of nutrients. It is also one of the only plant based complete protein foods, meaning that it provides all 9 amino acids.
- Reduced sodium vegetable broth - Using vegetable broth when cooking quinoa adds more flavor than using water alone.
- Salt, pepper, and garlic powder - Like vegetable broth, adding salt, pepper, and garlic powder in the cooking liquid for the quinoa adds flavor while cooking.
- Reduced sodium chickpeas - Chickpeas are another great source of plant based protein. In this quinoa salad recipe, chickpeas offer fiber and protein along with a long list of vitamins and minerals.
- Fresh baby spinach - Baby spinach is tender and delicious and offers a healthy dose of plant based iron in this recipe. If you would like, you can substitute hearty mixed greens, chopped kale, or baby arugula.
- English cucumber - I like to use English cucumbers instead of regular cucumbers because they have fewer seeds and I prefer the texture of the skin.
- Radishes - The spicy "bite" and crunch of radishes is a perfect addition to this healthy plant based salad.
- Avocado - Looking to add healthy fats to your diet? Avocados are the perfect way to do that.
- Hemp hearts - Hemp hearts are a surprising way to add protein and omega-3 fatty acids to your diet. They also add a nice, surprise texture!
- Fresh parsley - I love the freshness of chopped fresh parsley, but you can add your favorite fresh herbs!
- Fresh chopped dill - Fresh dill is a must in this quinoa salad recipe.
- Extra virgin olive oil - I use olive oil when cooking the chickpeas, so they get nice and browned and crisp, but then I toss the completed salad with a bit more olive oil.
- Fresh lemon juice - Fresh lemon juice adds a nice bit of freshness to this recipe.
How do I make High Protein Quinoa Salad ?
- Gently rinse the quinoa in cold water. Bring chicken or vegetable broth to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the salt, pepper, and garlic powder to the pot. Next, add the quinoa, stir, reduce heat, and cover. Cook for 15 minutes, or until all liquid is absorbed.
- While the quinoa is cooking, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chickpeas, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the chickpeas are warmed through, and lightly browned. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Once the quinoa is cooked, allow to cool for about 15 minutes.
- Once cooled, toss together the cucumber, radishes, avocado, hemp hearts, parsley, remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and lemon juice.
- Serve immediately, or store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Recipe Substitutions
- Spinach substitution: If you would prefer, baby kale or arugula would be delicious in this high protein quinoa salad.
- Chickpea substitution: Don't love chickpeas? You can use any of your favorite beans. Great Northern beans are another favorite of mine!
- English cucumber and/or radish substitution: The cucumber and/or the radish can be substituted with your favorite raw vegetables. I personally enjoy chopped red peppers or broccoli as well!
Ways to Serve High Protein Quinoa Salad
- With gluten free crackers - I love serving this salad with my favorite crackers for an extra crunch
- Over mixed greens - This salad is loaded with fiber and protein, but if you want just a little more, you can always serve this over your favorite mixed greens.
Tips for Perfecting This Recipe
- Do not overcook the quinoa! Overcooked quinoa turns to a bowl of mush. Watch it closely, and be sure not to overcook it so that it maintains the perfect texture.
- Chop the vegetables ahead of time. Chopping vegetables ahead of time makes this meal come together super quickly.
- Add avocado just before serving. If you plan to make this as a meal prep option to have all week long, then I recommend dividing it up into containers, and add the avocado just before serving.
Storage, Freezing, and Defrosting
To Store: Store this high protein salad in a large airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. You can also divide it into 3-4 containers to have ready to grab and go for lunch in a hurry!
To Freeze: I do not recommend freezing this entire salad. However, quinoa is very freezer friendly, so you can make a large batch of plain quinoa, and defrost it before making this quinoa salad recipe.
To Defrost: This is a cold salad recipe, but if you make the quinoa ahead of time, simply remove it from the freezer and let sit at room temperature for 2-3 hours before making the rest of the salad. If you think about it, you can also remove the freezer the day before making and store in the refrigerator overnight.
Recipe FAQ's
If you would rather use rice or couscous, you can use them in this recipe! Just a note, however, that if you want to keep this high protein and gluten free, stick with quinoa.
Yes! If you use regular kale, you will want to chop it finely before add it to the mixture. Baby kale would work well in this recipe, too.
Hemp hearts are a great source of plant based protein and omega-3 fatty acids. They are also a great source of vitamins and minerals. However, if you cannot find them at your grocery store, or you simply don't want to include them, you can omit from this vegan quinoa salad recipe.
Hungry for More?
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High Protein Quinoa Salad
Equipment
- 1 sauce pan
- 1 Small skillet
- 1 Set of dry measuring cups
- 1 Set of liquid measuring cups
- 1 Chef's knife
- 1 Cutting board
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa
- 2 cups reduced sodium vegetable or chicken broth
- 1 ½ teaspoons coarse Kosher salt
- ¾ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- ¾ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 can reduced sodium chickpeas (15 ounces)
- 4 cups baby spinach roughly chopped
- 1 English cucumber diced
- 1 cup radishes roughly chopped
- 1 avocado roughly chopped
- ⅓ cup hemp hearts
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped dill
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil divided
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Gently rinse the quinoa in cold water. Bring chicken or vegetable broth to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the salt, pepper, and garlic powder to the pot. Next, add the quinoa, stir, reduce heat, and cover. Cook for 15 minutes, or until all liquid is absorbed.
- While the quinoa is cooking, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chickpeas, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the chickpeas are warmed through, and lightly browned. Remove from the heat and pour the chickpeas into a large bowl. Add the spinach, and set aside.
- Once the quinoa is cooked, allow to cool for about 15 minutes.
- Once cooled, toss together with the cucumber, radishes, avocado, hemp hearts, parsley, remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and lemon juice.
- Serve immediately, or store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- It may be necessary to add an additional ½ cup of water to ensure the quinoa is cooked before all the liquid is absorbed.
- You can substitute Great Northern beans for the chickpeas, if desired.
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