Cold Quinoa Salad with Vegan Ranch Dressing
Updated Apr. 29th, 2024
Going to a BBQ as a vegan can be a tough because you’re always worried there won’t be enough for you to eat! But not anymore! This simple, yet delicious cold quinoa salad with a vegan ranch dressing will be your savior. With hunks of sweet potato, crunchy vegetables and seeds, you’ll be able eat with ease and stay fuller, longer.
- Gluten Free
- Corn Free
- Egg Free
- Sugar Free
- Vegetarian
Ingredients:
| 2 cups water | 1-1 ½ cup black beans | 4 green onions, sliced |
| 1 cup quinoa, uncooked | 1 red pepper, diced | 1 batch vegan ranch salad dressing (recipe below) |
| 1 cup sweet potato, cubed | 1 yellow pepper, diced | |
| ¼ cup flat leaf parsley | ½ cup pepitas, soaked for 8 hours, drained and rinsed |
| vegan ranch salad dressing: | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1/2 cup egg-free light mayonnaise | 1 tablespoon dried minced onions | 1/4 teaspoon sea salt |
| 1/3 cup non-dairy milk | 2 teaspoon parsley flakes | |
| 1 tablespoon raw apple cider vinegar | 1 clove garlic |
Directions
- Bring your water and quinoa to a boil over medium heat in a saucepan. Once boiled, lower heat and bring to a simmer with the lid on. After roughly 10-12 minutes, remove the saucepan from the heat and remove the lid. To cool the quinoa quickly, place in the freezer or fridge while you prepare the rest of your salad.
- Bring your sweet potatoes to a boil in lightly salted water. You want them to be easily pierced with a fork. Once ready, remove any excess water and run the potatoes under cold water, set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine all other ingredients, mixing until well combing.
- In a separate bowl place all ingredients for rach dressing in a blender and blend until smooth. Set aside.
- Mix in your quinoa and drained sweet potatoes to the large bowl. Mix in your vegan ranch dressing. Stir until well incorporated.
- Serve cold right away, or leave in the fridge covered until you’re ready!
Make It This Way
If you want more of a crunch in your salad, instead of soaking the pepitas just toss them in. For an added taste, why not try adding some other fresh herbs, like basil, cilantro or mint!
Try This
Make this dish ahead of time and let it sit together overnight. The time will only help increase the flavours. This also makes a great lunch salad!
This recipe sounds so delicious, I can't wait to make it this week!
Hello Varun,
We hope you enjoy it, it's definitely quite tasty!
Stay well.
This recipe for quinoa salad looks delicious, I love how it incorporates a wide variety and range of vegetables; including sweet potatoes which are one of my favourites. This recipe looks like it would be very filling and nutritious and perfect to meal prep with. The vegan ranch is a great addition and such a clever idea, it is always nice to take classics and make them dairy-free and more accessible to all. This recipe looks really great!
Hello Olivia,
We hope you enjoy this salad with your meal prep! Adding a vegan touch is nice, even for those that do consume dairy, it's nice to switch it up every now and again. Glad you're enjoying our recipes!
You can check out our other healthy articles here too:
https://www.nationalnutrition.ca/articles/health-concerns/
Stay healthy & well!
Yum! This cold quinoa salad with vegan ranch dressing is such a great idea and an easy meal to make for a quick lunch or dinner. This would also travel really well to go to school or work. The addition of sweet potatoes into this quinoa salad is a great idea to make it more of a filling meal that keeps those hunger and mid afternoon cravings away too! Love how this is packed with vegetables and great ingredients.
Hello,
This recipe is very flavourful and a great way to get in your vegetables AND protein. Sweet potatoes also offer many benefits and are great for muscle recovery from a workout and provide beta carotene and other vitamins. You can enjoy this anytime of year by adding in other flavours to go with each season.
Stay healthy & well.
Quinoa is the best protein a person can get. Love all quinoa recipes. If we add quinoa to our diet we need way less "food" what isn't healthy while getting the right nutrition into our body. Love to put it in soups what is very easy and gives the whole family the portion they need. A soup for lunch daily changes a whole life or a salad. Just for kids who don't like the quinoa at first the soup is easier. They won't notice.
Hello Astrid,
Thank you for your lovely comment, we're glad you're enjoying our recipes, especially the quinoa ones! Indeed, quinoa is a great complete protein that can be made in many delicious ways.
Happy cooking!
I personally have really been love the quinoa recipes lately it is such an easy way to get added protein and fiber and to toss over anything! I’ve seen some recipes where they will fry or bake the quinoa or parts of the quinoa to add a crunchy texture which looks delicious! I also really love ranch and love any recipes that allows me to eat it with ranch! Thanks for sharing.
Hello,
We are so glad to hear that you're enjoying quinoa recipes! They really are a great source of protein and fiber, and the versatility of quinoa makes it perfect for adding a healthy crunch to any dish. The idea of frying or baking parts of the quinoa for that extra texture sounds absolutely mouthwatering! And hey, who doesn't love ranch? It's always nice to find recipes that let you enjoy your favorite flavours. Thanks for sharing your love for quinoa and we hope you keep enjoying our delicious recipes! In the mean time, learn about the health benefits quinoa has to offer: https://www.nationalnutrition.ca/articles/supplements/supplement-articles-quinoa/
This Quinoa salad recipe sounds so delicious . I will have to make it some time. I have one Quinoa recipe but always looking for new ideas. With so many nutrition in it. it can easy be enjoyed by it self or with some Chicken breast. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Hello Kordelia,
Quinoa is a great superfood that's packed with nutrients and is a complete plant protein! We are thrilled you're looking forward to trying this recipe, the vegan dressing is delicious. Since you like this recipe, we think you'll enjoy the fresh taste of this salad too, plus it's packed with health benefits from fresh mint, https://www.nationalnutrition.ca/articles/healthy-recipes/fresh-mint-and-mushroom-orzo/
Have a healthy day.
I recall that Trader Joe's sold a premade quinoa mix like this minus the dressing at some point (I think it was while I was serving as a lab tech). I found it super convient and a great base to a meal or side, or easy "save" when in a rush. I never had a dressing on hand to pair and I now wish that I had thought about that. Actually, I need to up my dressing game 100%; I actually don't have any dressings that I like that I make myself besides yogurt-based ones-haha yikes!: thank you for the motivation to improve here
Delicious sounding recipe. Cant wait to try it! With the Quinoa and the black beans it will be very interesting!