Fresh Caprese Quinoa Salad — ❤️🤍💚This EASY quinoa salad is packed with fresh Italian flavors. You can mix and match the ingredients to use up any fresh produce you have on hand! Great for summer potlucks, barbecues, and meal prep!
Table of Contents
Summertime and an abundance of fresh produce is my favorite time of year.
In case you’ll soon be up to your eyeballs in tomatoes from your garden or your eyes are bigger than your stomach as you wander your local farmer’s market and you bring half of it home with you (guilty), this fast, easy, and satisfying quinoa salad will take some tomatoes off your hands.
The simple but flavorful rice wine vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper dressing adds some tangyiness and zing while staying on the mellower side.
The crisp juicy tomatoes, in contrast with the soft cheese, and the chewy quinoa creates so many textures in every bite.
It’s just a good vegetarian, naturally gluten-free, and satisfying meal that’s easy. Not turning on the oven and keeping things as easy as possible is the name of the game.
Ingredients in This Recipe
This caprese quinoa salad is loaded with garden-fresh ingredients including:
- Cooked quinoa
- Cherry tomatoes
- Mini fresh mozzarella cheese balls
- Fresh basil leaves
- Rice vinegar
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper
- Pinch sugar, optional
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Caprese Quinoa Salad
- Cook the quinoa according to package instructions. (Make sure to rinse the quinoa before cooking it, otherwise it’ll taste slightly bitter!)
- Once the quinoa is cooked, place it in a large bowl and add the rest of the ingredients.
- Give the quinoa salad a good stir and taste it to see if it needs additional seasoning. I added a healthy amount of salt and a pinch of sugar to my salad to balance the flavors, but you might not need to.
Make-Ahead Tip
This Italian quinoa salad can be served immediately, or you can allow the flavors to marry in the fridge for up to 24 hours before serving. Make-ahead meals are the best, right?
Recipe Variations
Summertime is about being carefree and our meals seem to be much more of the wing-it and whatever-is-around approach. Feel free to mix-and-match the tomato basil salad components based on what you have around.
- Tomatoes: any kind from cherry to diced heirlooms will work
- Mini mozzarella balls: crumbled feta, blue cheese, white cheddar, and almost any other cheese will work
- Quinoa: can be swapped with brown rice or couscous
- Adding extra veggies: Bulk up the salad and clean out your produce drawer in the process by adding diced zucchini, cucumber, yellow summer squash, avocado, bell peppers, carrots, peas, or whatever sounds good
What to Serve with Quinoa Salad
Storage Instructions
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days, noting that the basil and tomatoes will soften over time.
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Fresh Caprese Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked quinoa, (start with 1 cup uncooked quinoa, 2 cups water, and cook according to package directions)
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes*, (grape tomatoes work too)
- 8 ounces mini fresh mozzarella cheese balls**, (1 cup)
- 15 basil leaves, torn (or to taste)
- 3 to 4 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
- ¾ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
- 1 pinch sugar, optional and to taste
Instructions
- Cook quinoa according to package directions and place cooked quinoa in a large bowl.
- Add all remaining ingredients and toss very well to combine. Taste and see if salad needs more vinegar, salt, etc. and season or tweak accordingly. I found it needed a fairly generous amount of salt and a pinch of sugar to balance the flavors for my taste preferences.
- Salad can be served immediately or transfer to an airtight container, refrigerate, and allow flavors to marry for up to 24 hours before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Balsamic Chicken Caprese Salad — Juicy chicken coated in balsamic along with plump tomatoes, creamy mozzarella, and basil!! Easy, healthy, ready in 15 minutes! The caprese salad you’ll make AGAIN and again!!
Caprese Pesto Pasta Salad — Tender pasta, cherry tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella are coated in Parmesan cheese and DELICIOUS pesto sauce!! EASY, ready in 15 minutes, and great for easy meals with planned leftovers or for parties because it feeds a crowd!!
