Summer Quinoa Salad

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Minute®. I received payment and product to create this post. As always, all opinions and recipes are my own.

Elevate your next meal by whipping up a Summer Quinoa Salad! Minute® Ready to Serve White & Red Quinoa serves as the star of this entrée salad. Toss with romaine, avocado, tomato, chicken breast and feta, then drizzle on the homemade lemon vinaigrette. Ready in less than ten minutes, this salad makes a wonderful work lunch! Wholesome food doesn’t have to be bland, and this Summer Quinoa Salad is something that proves that point again and again.

When I was pregnant nearly three years ago, my husband and I decided to take one final trip before our daughter arrived.

After some discussion of wilderness vs. cityscape, we decided upon New York City, a place where my husband had never been, despite having several friends who live there.

In mid-October, we hopped on a plane and flew north to experience the wonderland that is NYC.

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While there, we played tourists for several days, hiking the Brooklyn Bridge, climbing the stairs of the Statue of Liberty and lounging in Central Park, among other things.

And at the behest of my sister, who’d spent a lot of time there, we hit up her favorite pizza joint… and had the most amazing salad.

It was simple, but to this day, I remember it as an all-time favorite.

Quinoa served as the base for the salad, and when tossed with avocados, tomatoes, spinach and a fresh vinaigrette, Winston and I could not stop talking about it.

We enjoyed it so much that I added it to my list of ‘to make’ recipes.

But I never did make it myself until a few weeks back.

In came Minute® Ready to Serve White & Red Quinoa to make all my salad dreams come true! This gluten-free, whole grain blend of white and red quinoa is the first 100% quinoa Minute product. And you can serve it hot or cold, making a versatile addition to various dishes.

In my opinion, Minute Ready to Serve Quinoa is perfect for lunch because it’s portable and fast! In just 60 seconds, you have a fully cooked, single portion of quinoa.

I knew it would be the fabulous to recreate that salad we ate years ago because I’m always in search of quick, flavorful, wholesome lunches.

(If quinoa isn’t your thing, but this salad sounds like something you’d enjoy, have no fear! There are FIVE new “better-for-you” Minute® Ready to Serve pantry staples to try, including Minute Ready to Serve Organics and gluten-free Multi-Grain Medley. I bet any of them would work well here, too!)

So let’s make a salad, eh?

First, we’ll whip up a lemon vinaigrette. Just two ingredients, plus spices, and it can be made in advance!

Next up, we’ll heat the Minute Ready to Serve Quinoa in the microwave.

While that’s happening, layer romaine into a bowl, then add avocado slices, fresh tomato, feta cheese and chicken breast. You can specifically bake a chicken breast for this recipe, use leftover chicken from the night before or rotisserie– just do whatever is easiest.

When the quinoa is done, add it to the bowl, then toss together using tongs.

Drizzle in the lemon vinaigrette, and enjoy immediately.

Who’s ready to make themselves a salad now?

Also? You can turn it into a jarred salad, too. More on that in the recipe instructions below.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Minute® Ready to Serve White & Red Quinoa.