Quinoa Beet Salad

I love quinoa. If you have never made it then you are missing out. And if you have made this and didn’t like it, then please consider this recipe. You may change your mind!

One of my favorite ways to use quinoa is as a salad.

This great for the summer as it is served cold. You can enjoy it on its own, serve as a side to grilled meats, or serve on top of a bed of greens.

This wasn’t a recipe I had planned on making. I saw spiraled beets (beet “noodles”) at the grocery store and I just felt like buying them. I hadn’t had beets in a while. I don’t buy them too oftenbecause of the mess. With the big romaine recall going on, I figured I would avoid salads with lettuce this week so my original plan was to just mix up a bunch of chopped vegetables, grilled chicken and dressing and call it a day. So I thought, why not make a salad with it? I wanted something I could have enough of to last me the week at work- something with enough substance to it. That is where quinoa came in to play.

I lightly steam the beets in the microwave. This added a bit of moisture to them and brightened them up. We had leftover cilantro on hand so I decided to add that for some color and flavor. Beets are very sweet so I wanted something to help balance that out. Mint would be a good alternative.

I also used a store bought blush wine dressing. Briana’s is my favorite brand for just regular dressings. I wanted to serve this with grilled chicken so I wanted to use a dressing to double as the marinade for that.

With all that said, this is a super simple, fresh dish. The flavors are simple but balanced. This would be a great dish to serve at cook out this summer or to just have on hand to pack for lunches during the week or as a quick side dish for weeknight dinners.

As you will notice, I love to do as much prep in advance as possible. I love having grilled meats readily available as well as dishes like a quinoa salad. The days with young kids are hectic and anything to lighten the load is a win in my book!