Quinoa Caprese Salad
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This fresh and flavorful Quinoa Caprese Salad recipe is vegetarian and gluten free. It’s made with cherry tomatoes, quinoa, mozzarella, and a lemon balsamic herb dressing. It’s delicious as a main dish for lunch or dinner, or as a side dish paired with grilled steak, chicken or lemon herb salmon!
On Sunday, I prepared a large Italian-style family dinner for friends and neighbors. I was deciding between making a caprese salad or pasta salad, then I decided to make a hyrbrid and create this Quinoa Caprese Salad!
Quinoa makes the salad more filling, while still keeping it vegetarian and gluten-free! This salad is the perfect side dish with dinner, but is also filling enough to eat for lunch. I love meal prepping this salad on Sunday, then eating it throughout the week.
Ingredients you’ll need
- Quinoa – for this recipe, I used white quinoa, but red, white or tri-color quinoa will all work.
- Olive oil
- Red onion
- Red bell pepper
- Garlic cloves – I recommend fresh cloves for the best flavor.
- Fresh basil
- Fresh Italian parsley
- Balsamic vinegar
- Lemon juice – fresh squeezed is always preferred!
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Cherry tomatoes
- Fresh mozzarella cheese
Step by step instructions
- Cook the quinoa. Add quinoa and water to a medium pot on the stove over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Sauté veggies. In the mean time, heat olive oil in a skillet on the stove over medium heat and add the red onion and bell pepper. Cook for 2-3 minutes, then add the garlic and cook for an additional minute. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Make the dressing. In a medium mixing bowl, combine olive oil, basil, parsley, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Whisk well.
- Add the sautéd onion, bell pepper and garlic to the dressing. Stir to combine.
- Add the tomatoes to the dressing.
- Let it marinate. Place the tomato mixture in the refrigerator for 5-10 minutes.
- Finish it off. Add the cooked quinoa and mozzarella to the bowl with the tomatoes and dressing. Toss well and serve!
This salad can be enjoyed cold or at room temperature.
What to serve with it
This salad makes a great addition to any meal or potluck! Try it with these recipes.
More recipes with quinoa
Check out this post all about quinoa to learn more about this delicious and versatile seed! And be sure to try it in all of these delicious recipes.
Quinoa Caprese Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ¼ cup red onion, minced
- ¼ cup red bell pepper, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, chopped
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
- 1 cup fresh mozzarella, cubes
Instructions
- Add the quinoa to a medium saucepan on the stove over high heat with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet on the stove over medium heat. Add the red onion and bell pepper. Cook for 2-3 minutes, then add the garlic and cook for an additional minute. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Add the parsley and basil to a small mixing bowl, add the remaining ½ cup olive oil, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
- Whisk well, then add the cooked onion, bell pepper and garlic. Add the tomatoes.
- Place the bowl in the refrigerator so that the tomatoes can marinate for 5-10 minutes.
- Add the cooked quinoa and mozzarella to a large bowl.
- Add the tomatoes and vinaigrette dressing to the bowl. Toss well and serve.
Nutrition Facts
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