Quinoa Salad with Vegan Green Goddess Dressing

We paired a homemade vegan green goddess dressing with protein-rich quinoa and summer veggies for an easy, nutritious, and delicious meal. Best of all, it's ready in just 30 minutes and works well for meal prep!

This post is sponsored by Bob's Red Mill. All opinions are our own.

🥗 Why We Love This Recipe

• Homemade green goddess dressing: Our green goddess dressing is super simple to make, with everything coming together in a blender, so there's no whisking required. We think our homemade version tastes incredibly fresh, tangy, and herbaceous!
• Tons of veggies: Broccolini, corn and zucchini team up to give this quinoa salad pops of summery flavor and lots of varying textures.
• Gluten free and vegan: Most green goddess dressings have greek yogurt, mayo, or anchovies, so ours is unique because it's totally vegan. Best of all, quinoa is naturally gluten free, so this salad is perfect for those with food allergies.

🥑 Ingredients

Here's everything you'll need to make this quinoa salad with vegan green goddess dressing:

📋 Ingredient Notes

• Bob's Red Mill Organic Whole Grain Quinoa: The star of the show! We always use Bob's Red Mill quinoa and it produces consistent, delicious results every time. It's one of our most-used pantry staples, in everything from breakfast bowls, to taco "meat", to fritters.
  • We used Bob's Red Mill white quinoa in this recipe, but you could definitely sub with their tri-color quinoa if that's what you have on hand.
  • Bob's Red Mill products are available in thousands of grocery stores nationwide, but you can also easily order online! If you've been a reader for a while, you already know how much we love Bob's Red Mill products – they're the best on the market and we use everything from their granolas to their incredible range of baking products (grains, flours, legumes, etc) on a daily basis!
  • Quinoa is naturally gluten free, and Bob's Red Mill quinoa is made in a dedicated gluten free facility and is tested for gluten free integrity. We also love using it in this quinoa vegetable soup and coconut berry breakfast quinoa!
• Broccolini: We suggest using only the tops of the broccolini (not the woody stems) to preserve this salad's easy-to-eat texture. If you can't find any broccolini at your grocery store, substitute with broccoli florets (just the tops) or chopped asparagus, which will both be just as good!
• Arugula: feel free to sub with spinach, kale or another leafy green of choice.
• Corn: If you don't feel like shucking your own, feel free to sub with frozen corn!

🔪 Step-by-step Instructions

(1) Cook the quinoa: Bring 2 cups of water or vegetable stock to a boil in a 2 quart pot. Add 1 cup Bob’s Red Mill quinoa and return to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium and let simmer until water is absorbed, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat, fluff, cover and set aside to cool while you are preparing the rest of the recipe.

(2) Make the dressing: In a small blender or food processor, blend the avocado, jalapeño, 1 clove of garlic, ⅓ cup basil, ¼ cup parsley, lime juice from one lime, ½ teaspoon of salt, ⅓ cup of water, and 2 tablespoon avocado oil until creamy.

(3) Cook the veggies: Add 2 tablespoon of avocado oil (or olive oil) to a nonstick pan over medium heat. Once the oil is heated, add the ½ cup green onions and 1 teaspoon minced garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes. Then add the 1 cup broccolini, 1 cup corn, and 1 cup zucchini with the ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ pepper and cook, stirring a few times, for 7-8 minutes.

(4) Combine: Toss cooked quinoa in ¾ cup of dressing and stir well. Add cooked veggies to quinoa and stir well to combine. Add some or all of the remaining dressing. Stir in 1 cup cherry tomatoes, 1 cup arugula, and ½ a cup of dairy free parmesan and enjoy!

🎥 Recipe Video

💭 Expert Tips and FAQs

• Cooking the quinoa in vegetable stock/broth (versus just water) can help to add some additional flavor.
• Make sure to fluff the quinoa with a fork before bringing the salad together. This will help to create a fluffy texture and prevent any clumping.
• Using fresh herbs will elevate the flavor and freshness of your green goddess dressing.
• Storage: you can make this quinoa salad ahead of time and store in the refrigerator for up to a week. You can also make the vegan green goddess dressing ahead of time and add to the salad later on.

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