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This Warm Quinoa Salad is light, bright, and packed with fresh flavor. It’s tender quinoa with spinach, herbs, and a sweet bell pepper tossed in lemon juice and olive oil.
Serve this simple side dish along with your favorite dinners. We love it with salmon and chicken the most!
Over the years, I’ve shared a lot of salad recipes, but quinoa salad is definitely my favorite. They’re packed with protein and fiber so they actually fill you up, especially when you pair a lean protein with it.
And this one is served warm instead of cold because there’s something so comforting about fluffy, warm quinoa. It’s nourishing without being heavy, plus the sweet bell pepper, aromatic herbs, and lemon really bright everything up without overcomplicating it. It’s kept simple on purpose!
If you love warm salads, you might also want to try my Roasted Asparagus Salad. It has radishes, feta cheese, red onion, and is coated in a lemon dressing.
Watch This Quick Video Tutorial:
Ingredients in Warm Quinoa Salad
Here’s everything you will need to make this recipe. Keep reading because there are a few important notes too.
- Quinoa: For the best quinoa, you’ll want to choose one that’s organic and gluten free. I get mine at Aldi.
- Baby Spinach: Roughly chop the spinach into quarter-sized pieces, they will shrink down when wilted.
- Bell Peppers: Sweet varieties that are red, orange, or yellow taste best in this. You’ll want to chop them into small bite-sized pieces.
- Herbs: We will use a combination of fresh thyme and dried parsley for delicious aromatics. You can also use just dried or just fresh depending on what’s available.
- Oil: I recommend a high-quality, neutral oil like extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil.
- Lemon Juice: Freshly squeezed is the best, but if you don’t have any apple cider vinegar is the next best alternative.
- Salt and Black Pepper: Season the salad to your taste preferences.
How to Make Warm Quinoa Salad
1. Boil the Quinoa. Add the rinsed quinoa to a saucepan, bring to a boil, and then reduce heat so it’s simmering. Cover the pot and allow the quinoa to cook and absorb the water.
2. Mix and Wilt. In a serving bowl, add the spinach and pour the warm quinoa overtop (to wilt it). Continue adding the bell peppers, herbs, oil, and lemon juice.
3. Toss, and Serve. Toss until everything is well combined and season to your taste preferences with salt and black pepper. Serve hot!
Find the complete recipe instructions with measurements below.
Round Out Your Plate
This Warm Quinoa Salad complements a variety of proteins, from chicken and salmon to shrimp or a good steak. My favorites are these Baked Cajun Chicken Thighs, whole Herb Roasted Chicken, Fish Sliders, Lemon Chicken Thighs, or Pesto Crusted Salmon.
You can also pair it with roasted vegetables like broccoli, my Herb Roasted Mushrooms, asparagus, or even these Balsamic Honey Brussels Sprouts for a wholesome, balanced plate. Or keep things simple a grab a store-bought rotisserie chicken and a loaf of crusty bread to serve it with.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)
More Salad Recipes You Might Enjoy
Warm Quinoa Salad
INGREDIENTS
- ½ cup quinoa - rinsed
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup spinach - roughly chopped, in small, bite-sized pieces
- ¼ cup bell pepper - (red, orange, or yellow) diced in small, bite-sized pieces
- ½ tablespoon fresh thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- 2 tablespoons oil - extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice - freshly squeezed*
- ¼ teaspoon salt - or season to taste preferences
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper - or season to taste preferences
INSTRUCTIONS
- To a medium saucepan, add the rinsed quinoa and water. Bring it to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to a medium-low simmer. Cover pot and allow the quinoa to cook and absorb the water for about 15 minutes.
- In a serving bowl, add the chopped spinach and pour the hot cooked quinoa over it (to wilt the spinach). Continue to add the bell peppers, fresh thyme, dried parsley, oil, and freshly squeezed lemon juice.
- After a few minutes has passed, lightly toss everything together until combined and season with salt and black pepper. Serve immediately.
VIDEO
RECIPE NOTES
- If you don’t have freshly squeezed lemon juice, swap it out for apple cider vinegar. It’s our favorite, next best option.
- Use dried herbs in place of fresh. Remember, a 1/2 tablespoon of fresh herbs is equivalent to a 1/2 teaspoon of dried herbs.
STORING INFORMATION
- Refrigerated, in an airtight container, for up to 3 days.
Metric conversions are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.
