This Cucumber Quinoa Salad is easy to make ahead of time, naturally gluten-free, and full of fresh, feel-good flavors that everyone will love!
Doesn’t it feel so easy to cook this time of year?!?
Man, I don’t know about you, but one glance at the rainbow of gorgeous summer produce available at the farmers market feels like — poof! — instant inspiration to want to run home and cook something fresh and healthy and yummy. I love it!!! Yet one more reason why I believe summer is the most wonderful time of the year. ;)
With all of the fresh greens in season (and showing up in abundance my CSA) lately, I’ve been making kale and arugula and spring greens salads galore, which always feel so good. But for something different last week, I decided to make a refreshing little cucumber salad. I seem to be obsessed with English cucumbers lately, so I grabbed one from the fridge and tossed it with some fresh basil, red onion, and feta I had on hand. And then added in some quinoa for extra protein, and tossed it all with a simple lemony vinaigrette.
The result?
This fresh, fun, and fabulously flavorful salad that I already can’t wait to make again.
Cucumber Quinoa Salad Recipe | 1-Minute Video
Truly, it’s super easy to make. Just chop up a big English cucumber, some red onion, and lots fresh basil. Toss those together with some crumbled feta (or Parmesan, or any cheese that sounds good) and chilled (<– you don’t want it to be too hot and melt the cheese and wilt the basil) quinoa.
Then drizzle it all with a simple lemony vinaigrette.
Give it all a good toss.
And then this beautiful, healthy salad will be ready to share and enjoy.
It’s the perfect salad to make ahead for nights when you want to grill out, or to take along for a picnic or potluck, or to bring to work for a fresh lunch, or — really — anytime you’re craving a healthy and zesty little salad. Feel free to add in whatever vinaigrette you have on hand, or even add in some cooked chicken if you’d like some extra protein. I just recommend that you make this one…soon. :)
Enjoy!
Cucumber Quinoa Salad
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 4 -6 servings 1x
Description
This Cucumber Quinoa Salad is made with lots of fresh basil and feta, tossed with a simple lemony vinaigrette, and it’s SO fresh and delicious! Plus, it’s naturally gluten-free and quick and easy to make.
Ingredients
Cucumber Quinoa Salad Ingredients:
- 1 English cucumber, diced
- 2 cups chilled* cooked quinoa (see this tutorial for how to cook quinoa)
- 1/2 cup diced red onion
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1/3 cup julienned or roughly-chopped fresh basil leaves
- 1 batch Lemony Italian vinaigrette (see below)
Lemony Italian Vinaigrette Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning, homemade or store-bought
- pinch of salt and black pepper
Instructions
To Make The Cucumber Quinoa Salad:
- Toss all ingredients together until combined. Serve immediately.
To Make The Lemony Italian Vinaigrette:
- Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl until combined.
Notes
*If you add hot quinoa fresh out of the pan, it will melt the cheese and wilt the basil a bit in this recipe. So I recommend cooking it beforehand and letting it chill in the refrigerator before making the salad. Or, if you need to cook it immediately beforehand, just spread the cooked quinoa out in a thin layer on a baking sheet and pop it in the freezer for 15-20 minutes. That will help it cool down nice and quickly!
**Cook time does not include the time needed to prepare the quinoa. See this post for instructions on how to cook quinoa.
I enjoyed the recipe, it tasted delicious thank you for sharing such a nice recipe ❤?
We’re glad you enjoyed it, Eman!
This recipe looks good, but does anyone know the calorie count per serving?
Thanks, Julia — we hope you enjoy it! As for the calorie count per serving, we’re sorry but we are aren’t sure. We currently are not publishing nutrition facts on the site, as the nutrition calculators available are not 100% accurate, and we never want to publish anything that might be misleading. However, a lot of our readers love the My Fitness Pal nutrition calculator, so feel free to try that for an estimate. We hope that helps!
This is delicious! I made it as I was needing a little summertime on this chilly Alaska day.
Thank you, Julie — we’re so happy you enjoyed it!
Wow.delicious.love love it! Thanks?
We’re glad you enjoyed it, Tracey!
Sounds great but I don’t have fresh basil. Can I use dried basil? If yes, how much should I use? Thanks!
Hi Sophie! You’re welcome to try dried basil, but we do think fresh works best in this, so you may just want to leave it out. If adding dried though, we would only do 1/4 tsp. If you can find fresh mint, that would also be another yummy herb to use in place of the basil. We hope this helps!
Don’t know how I missed this one the first time around – it sounds wonderful! Looking forward to trying it in a few months when it is warmer…
I’m becoming obsessed with your site! Everything I make of yours turns out great, and is a hit with the fam. Very healthy, too! Made this cucumber quinoa salad a week or so ago and loved it. Kept the feta in, even though I have one son who dislikes it, and even he gobbled it up. I work and tend to start cooking too late so had to put the quinoa in the freezer to cool, as suggested, but that worked out fine; everything still came together quickly. Love the light, fresh vinaigrette! Made a little extra and used it to dress our tossed salad the next night. Thanks for another keeper recipe!
Thanks for your sweet words! We’re so happy you and your son enjoyed this recipe, and that you’re enjoying the blog! :)
Made this for a Labor Day gathering and it was a HIT! Forgot the red onion, so I used half a vidalia and then several shallots and it still came out great. (Sorry, no pic this time.) Definitely a repeater.
Thanks!!
We’re so glad it was a hit, Kassie! :)
I know recipe says serve immediately…do you know how well/how long it keeps in the fridge? Thanks!
Hi Devon! Because of the cucumber in this, it doesn’t hold up really well (the cucumber will start to lose its crispness and get kind of watery/soggy). It’s best the day of. It will be fine the next day, just not quite as good texture-wise. We hope this helps!
Just made this-delicious! And that’s saying something considering I’m NOT a salad person. How long will this keep in the fridge?
We’re so happy you enjoyed it Anna! We would say this would probably keep 3-5 days or so.