As a mom of 2 young children, I’m in the never ending quest to expose them to a variety of vegetables, fruits and healthy food. I’m no nutritionist or dietitian. I grew up eating seasonal foods and I was exposed from an early age to a myriad of fresh produce. There’s barely anything I don’t eat and I believe it has to do with the way I was raised. Simple homemade cooked meals, mostly consisting of some protein & seasonal vegetables and fruits. Therefore I often find myself putting together colorful ingredients to create new salads and meals. This red quinoa, orange salad was a hit with my family!
Jump to Recipe
Some links in my posts may be affiliate links, which means that I may receive a commission if you purchase items by clicking on these links. I will always disclose when a product in a post has been gifted by a company as well as when a post or product is sponsored.
Red Quinoa
Few years ago, you couldn’t find any red quinoa recipes online unless you searched for them in Spanish. As quinoa in general is becoming more popular because of its nutritional benefits, its use is becoming mainstream and not just something that chefs or bloggers use to make their recipes look better.
I normally use white quinoa to replace rice in recipes and red quinoa in salads. However, if I only have one type of quinoa at home I’ll use them interchangeably. Red quinoa takes an extra minute or two to cook. I prefer this type of quinoa in salads mostly because of its visual appeal. It looks beautiful against greens and other colorful vegetables.
Red Quinoa, Orange and Spring Mix Salad Recipe
This salad is simple to make but packs a lot of nutrients per portion. I love the flavor combination of red quinoa and oranges. Plus, having quinoa in a salad makes you feel full longer because of its high fiber content. Usually I serve this salad with a side of protein like roasted chicken.
I normally use a simple olive oil/vinegar dressing. I prefer simple salad dressings. However, if you prefer a more flavorful dressing, you can whip up a quick orange salad dressing that would be a perfect match for this salad.
Several notes about the recipe:
- I cooked about 1 cup of quinoa, but I don’t add all of it to the salad. I always have leftovers for the next day. You can decide how much quinoa you would like to have in your salad. I kind of eye-ball the quantity I add to my salad, it is usually half of what i cooked because usually i make another salad next day with the leftovers.
- If you are serving this salad as a side salad to a meal, then the below ingredients should provide about 6-8 portions. I usually serve it with a side of protein, so we tend to eat bigger portions of the salad that’s why I categorized it as 4 portions in the recipe card.
Red Quinoa, Orange and Spring Mix Salad
Ingredients
- 5 oz spring mix
- 2 oranges
- 1 small shallot
- 1 cup uncooked red quinoa
- 0.5 cups diced bell pepper mix (tricolor) My grocery store sells this fresh mix of 3 bell peppers, diced which is perfect for salads and cuts down on prep time.
- 5 tbsps olive oil
- 2 tbsps white balsamic vinegar
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Rinse red quinoa then boil it in water for about 15 minutes. I usually cook in high for the first few minutes and then lower the temperature to medium for few more minutes and finally let it simmer towards the end as quinoa has mostly absorbed the water.
- Turn heat off, let quinoa cool for few minutes. If quinoa didn’t absorb all the water, then i pour it through the colander. Chill quinoa for about an hour.
- You can use a salad plate or bowl for this salad. I prefer the oval salad plate because it enhances the look of all the ingredients for a more appealing look.
- Add spring mix. Then a layer of quinoa. Peel and chop oranges in desired shapes. Add oranges on top of the quinoa.
- Chop onion and add to salad, cover everything with diced tricolor bell peppers.
- I like pouring olive oil & white balsamic vinegar to the mix before serving. I don’t toss this salad. I let everyone add salt to their plates as needed. Enjoy it:)
If you would like to save this recipe for later, please save the below image to Pinterest. I would love to hear from you in comments if you made it and what you think about it. Thank you for following along my blogging journey:).
Other Quinoa Recipes:
I like using quinoa in my recipes. Here are some of the quinoa recipes I have published so far and I have a lot more coming up:).
- Puffed Quinoa Breakfast
- Stuffed Pumpkin with Quinoa
- Quinoa Pasta
- Black Quinoa Pasta in Tarragon Chicken (not a quinoa recipe but it shows an alternative of how to serve the chicken)
I found this article on health benefits of quinoa very interesting. I knew about a lot of quinoa’s nutritious values but this really puts in perspective on why quinoa is a superfood.
Andrea Minski
This looks delicious … I haven’t tried it but I think that my boys may like it, they love those flavors
Denise Browning
Simply the best quinoa orange salad ever. Very refreshing!
Enriqueta E Lemoine
I love quinoa en every color and your quinoa salad looks beautiful… its so colorful. Thanks for sharing Sonila.
Sonila
Thank you Enri!! I want to take new pictures to make it pop:), these pictures were when I was still using only my cell phone for the blog. Will try to update soon:)
Andres Schmucke
I love this and I love that is easy for a dar like me. 🤣
Sonila
Thank you Andres!! Yes, it’s very easy and healthy:).
Erika
I love quinoa but this red quinoa orange salad is a must to try. Thank you
Sonila
Thank you Erika, hope you do, it’s delicious.
Leticia Esteves
This recipe looks like a great idea now the the summer is coming to Panama. Red quinoa is delicious and it looks perfect with oranges!
Sonila
Thank you Leticia! It’s definitely a refreshing salad. Add your side of protein and you have a wholesome meal:)
Blanca D
What a beautiful and refreshing salad! I haven’t tried red quinoa red, but I love how it gives a bit of color with the orange slices.
Sonila
Yes, oranges and red quinoa it’s such a pretty combination:). Thank you Blanca!
Jennifer
This looks absolutely delicious and nutritious! I do agree that the red quinoa looks beautiful with the greens! Does it taste any different then the white quinoa?
admin
Red quinoa tastes very similar to regular quinoa, it’s a little bit richer in taste, kind of more nutty. There are slight texture differences, regular quinoa gets fluffier while red quinoa holds the shape a bit better that’s why I usually use white quinoa like I would rice and red quinoa in salads preferably. But the differences are so slight that i still use one of the other when I don’t have both on hand!