Curried Quinoa Salad is an easy, filling salad that mixes quinoa, sliced almonds, raisins, carrots, radishes, bell peppers, fresh cilantro and curry dressing. You will love this salad for the spring season.
One of my favorite grains to add into salads is quinoa. I love the texture it adds to this simple salad and how it helps keep me feeling full. Quinoa is a gluten-free option which is nice for those that can’t have gluten.
This Curried Quinoa Salad mixes quinoa, matchstick carrots, bell peppers, raisins and sliced almonds and is mixed together and tossed in a sweet yet savory maple tahini dressing.
The maple tahini dressing mixes together extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, maple syrup, tahini, curry powder, paprika, cumin and oregano. As with most of my salads I love adding fresh herbs. I added cilantro to this salad but parsley or fresh dill would be nice too. This Curried Quinoa Salad is beautiful when served on a large platter for your guests.
The colorful bell peppers, carrots and radishes add a nice pop of color to a meal. If you want to serve a protein with this salad try adding beans like chickpeas or white beans, shrimp, salmon, grilled chicken or tofu.
We make quinoa salads on repeat in my house. Some of my favorite quinoa salads are this Greek Quinoa Salad, Mediterranean Quinoa Salad, Avocado Kale Quinoa Salad or this Zucchini Chickpea Quinoa Salad.
Why you Will Love this Salad:
- Easy to Modify: I like salads because you can easily modify them with the ingredients you have in the refrigerator and the pantry. I love adding other vegetables like green beans, bell peppers, celery and zucchini to this salad.
- Quick Salad: Quinoa salads are so easy to make! Quinoa is a quick cooking grain making it a great addition to salads. Today’s salad can be on your table in under 15 minutes!
- Great for Meal-Prep: I like to make quinoa salads are part of my weekend meal prep. They hold up nicely to use throughout the week.
Recipe Ingredients
For exact ingredient amounts and instructions, see the full recipe card below.
- Quinoa: This salad uses quinoa. Make sure to cook it according to the package and let it cool.
- Vegetables: The mixture of vegetables in this salad is carrots, red bell peppers and radishes. You can also sub in other veggies like celery, any bell peppers and jalapeños.
- Dried Fruit: I added dried raisins into this salad. You can also sub in other dried fruit like dried cranberries or dried apricots.
- Nuts: Sliced almonds add crunch to this salad. You also could add other nuts like walnuts or pistachios.
- Dressing: The dressing has a nice curry flavor. It mixes extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, tahini, maple syrup, curry powder, paprika, oregano and cumin.
How to Make this Curry Quinoa Salad
Step 1: Cook the Quinoa: Cook quinoa according to package if using frozen or uncooked quinoa. Set aside to cool.
Step 2: Mix Salad Ingredients: In a large bowl mix the carrots, bell peppers, radishes, raisins, sliced almonds, cilantro and green onions. Add the quinoa. Gently mix the salad together.
Step 3: Mix Dressing: In a small mixing bowl or mason jar whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, tahini, syrup, curry powder, paprika, oregano, cumin and salt and pepper. Mix well.
Step 4: Toss Salad with Dressing: Drizzle half the dressing over the salad and gently mix together. Taste and add more dressing as needed.
Recipe Tip: If you plan to serve the salad at a later time I would save the last half of the dressing to add to the salad when you are ready to serve the salad as a lot of the dressing will get soaked into the salad.
Ways to Modify this Salad
- Beans: Beans would work great in this salad. Try adding chickpeas, black beans or white beans.
- Vegetables: This salad is great for adding more vegetables to it. Some I like to add are english cucumber, celery, cherry tomatoes, red onion, green beans, broccoli, zucchini or mushrooms.
- Spices: You can mix up the spices you use in this salad. You could use a combination of paprika, cumin and coriander, or try an Italian seasoning. I also really like sumac or za’atar.
- Herbs: Fresh herbs are always a great addition to salads. This recipe uses cilantro but other great options that would work are parsley, dill, oregano and fresh basil.
- Other Ingredients: Some other ingredients that work nicely in this quinoa salad is roasted feat cheese, red peppers, kalamata olives, artichoke hearts, quick pickled red onions, crispy chickpeas, or pita chips. Instead of the lemon juice you could try using lime juice.
Storage Tips
Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
More Salad Recipes
Vegetarian
Tropical Kale Quinoa Salad
Mediterranean
Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
Vegetarian
Tomato Cucumber Feta Quinoa Salad
Mediterranean
Greek Quinoa Salad
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Curried Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa , cooked according to package
- 1 cup carrots, cut into matchsticks
- 1/2 red bell pepper, seeds removed, diced
- 1/2 yellow bell pepper, seeds removed, diced
- 6 radishes, thinly sliced
- 3/4 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup almonds, sliced
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 5-6 green onions, chopped
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook quinoa according to package if using frozen or uncooked quinoa. Set aside to cool.
- In a large mixing bowl mix the carrots, bell peppers, radishes, raisins, sliced almonds, cilantro and green onions. Add the quinoa. Gently mix the salad together.
- In a small mixing bowl or mason jar whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, tahini, syrup, curry powder, paprika, oregano, cumin and salt and pepper. Mix well.
- Drizzle half the dressing over the salad and gently mix together. Taste and add more dressing as needed. If you plan to serve the salad at a later time I would save the last half of the dressing to add to the salad when you are ready to serve the salad as a lot of the dressing will get soaked into the salad.
- Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve. Store leftovers in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 5 days
Notes
- You can swap the raisins for dried dates, figs, cranberries or apricots.
- You could add goat cheese or feta cheese if you like.
- Other vegetables that you could add that would be nice are zucchini, green beans, broccoli or celery.
- Beans are a nice addition and add protein. Try chickpeas, white beans or black beans.
- You could sub the quinoa for brown rice, bulgur wheat, farro or barley.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Surely going to try this recipe, can you please share which curry powder is required. Thanks.
I just used dried curry powder like this one: https://www.iherb.com/pr/simply-organic-curry-powder-3-oz-85-g/31377?gclid=Cj0KCQiAofieBhDXARIsAHTTldqm4k2XMUsEB2q7a_3HSflsETt2JXOWKFrMfxlbhQEvXAlaqAjmo7kaAp6ZEALw_wcB I hope you enjoy it!