Berry Quinoa Salad Recipe

Refreshing Fruit and Quinoa Salad

Citrus and quinoa with berries – it may sound unusual at first but this combination makes for a wonderful side dish and salad! The quinoa adds a unique texture, protein, and more nutrition too.

So, if you’re looking for something simple to serve at a BBQ, or you just want a healthy, light, refreshing breakfast, lunch, or snack, give this berry quinoa salad a try! It is really a great healthy and delicious option for spring or summer gatherings, potlucks, BBQs, holidays, and more.

Easy Honey Citrus Dressing

Have you had a salad with fresh mint and basil before? It is definitely different for me! The flavors work well in this quinoa fruit salad though. The mint is an especially fun, fresh addition.

Speaking of mint, if you want to grow your own (along with other herbs) inside and conveniently all year round, try starting an indoor herb garden! 

This easy citrus honey dressing would probably be great on other salads as well, so hang on to this recipe if you’re looking for healthy salad dressing ideas too!

Choosing Your Berries

Look at those beautiful berries! I love summertime when all of the yummy, fresh berries are in season.

As you can see, I used raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries to make a nice and flavorful mixed berry quinoa salad. Of course, you can totally change up the fruit and berries to your liking, if you want to. Fruit salads are always pretty versatile!

Quinoa Tips

The quinoa in this recipe is great for the added nutrition and it makes the salad more filling too. That’s what makes it such a great breakfast or lunch.

If you’re the meal prepping type, you can cook the quinoa in advance if you want to, then the salad is really quite fast to throw together. 

I used red quinoa because I liked the idea of that color blending with all of the berries, but you can use pretty much any kind of quinoa. Tri-color quinoa would be a pretty option too!

Final Thoughts

As far as healthy fruit salads go, I love this honey lime fruit salad, but this berry quinoa salad is a great way to change it up every now and then too! Definitely a keeper! So give it a try and I hope you love it too!

By the way, if you want to make sure your berries are squeaky clean before throwing them in your fresh tasty salad, try this DIY fruit and veggie spray. It will help them last longer too!

Recipes to Try Next:

• Marshmallow Fruit Salad
• Healthy Grilled Pineapple
• Healthy Granola Yogurt Parfait
• Healthy Pina Colada Smoothie
• Hydration Drink

See more quinoa recipes. See more of our favorite healthy recipes.

Berry Quinoa Salad Recipe

Mixed berries combined with quinoa and a sweet honey citrus dressing - delicious and refreshing!

4.67 / 5 ( 3 Reviews )

Print Rate

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes minutes

Serves: 8

Adjust Servings: 8

US CustomaryMetric

Equipment

• Small bowl
• Large bowl

Ingredients

Citrus Honey Dressing

• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• 4 tablespoons fresh orange juice about 1 large orange
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice about 1 lemon
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice about 1 lime
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped mint
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped basil

Salad

• ⅔ cups dry red quinoa or other type quinoa (yields about 2 cups cooked)
• 1 ⅓ cups water
• 1 ½ cups quartered fresh strawberries
• 1 cup fresh raspberries about 6 oz
• 1 cup fresh blackberries about 6 oz
• 1 cup fresh blueberries about 6 oz
• 1 cup slivered or sliced almonds toasted, if desired
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped mint
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped basil

Instructions

• Cook quinoa in the water according to package instructions - to yield about 2 cups cooked quinoa. Let cool.
• Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients - orange zest, orange juice, lemon juice, lime juice, honey, mint, and basil. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, gently stir together the cooked and cooled quinoa, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, almonds, mint, and basil. Drizzle the citrus honey dressing over the salad and gently stir again. Serve.

Recipe Notes

Quinoa can be cooked in advance. This salad is best served the day it is made.

Nutrition

Calories: 178kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 8g | Sodium: 4mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 8g

Recipe Adapted From: Two Peas and Their Pod