Italian Quinoa Salad with Arugula

This Italian Quinoa Salad is a fresh and healthy summer side dish! It's tossed with arugula, tomatoes, hazelnuts, and a balsamic vinaigrette.

If you're looking for a light and flavorful side to serve during the hot summer months, look no further than this Quinoa Salad! It's served cold and inspired by Mediterranean flavors.

I love salads and side dishes that utilize seasonal ingredients during the summer months. There's nothing better than picking fresh veggies and herbs straight from the garden and tossing them into a salad bowl.

This one is made with fresh ingredients like arugula, tomatoes, and basil that are tossed together with quinoa, along with some toasted hazelnuts, Parmesan cheese, and a homemade balsamic vinegar dressing.

It's easy to prepare and makes for a healthy side for your next BBQ or picnic. This dish is served cold, easy to transport, and can be made the day ahead. It's vegetarian and gluten free, making it suitable for many diets.

This salad only takes about 30 minutes to make and goes great with just about anything, or it can be enjoyed alone for a light lunch or dinner.

Jump to:

• What To Add To Quinoa
• Ingredients For Italian Quinoa Salad
• Does Quinoa Need To Be Rinsed?
• How To Toast Hazelnuts
• How To Make Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
• How To Make Italian Quinoa Salad
• What To Serve With Quinoa Salad
• How Long Does Quinoa Arugula Salad Last In The Fridge?
• Can It Be Made The Day Ahead?
• Can This Salad Be Frozen?
• Italian Quinoa Salad with Arugula

What To Add To Quinoa

Quinoa is one of the best ingredients when making salads, because it acts as a blank canvas. It doesn't have a ton of flavor if served on its own, but quinoa tends to absorb the flavors of whatever is added to it.

For this reason, quinoa can be taken in so many directions in terms of cuisines. Quinoa can be combined with anything from curry powder to cumin.

It's delicious paired with a variety of spices and fresh herbs, raw or cooked vegetables, fruits, grilled or roasted meats, nuts, cheeses, oils and vinegars. There is literally no wrong way to utilize quinoa.

Quinoa can be added to soups, chili, and casseroles. I love to use quinoa any way that I might use rice. It adds texture to just about any dish and bulks up salads nicely.

Ingredients For Italian Quinoa Salad

Here's what you'll need to make it.

• 1 cup Quinoa (uncooked)
• 1 pint Grape Tomatoes
• 2 packed cups Arugula (or hearty greens of choice)
• 1 cup Hazelnuts (chopped) (or nuts of choice)
• ½ cup Parmesan Cheese (can use Asiago or Pecorino Romano)
• ¼ cup Olive Oil
• 2 Tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. Dijon Mustard
• 2 cloves Garlic
• 1 Shallot
• ¼ tsp. Italian Seasoning
• ¼ tsp. each Kosher Salt and Pepper
• Fresh Basil (for garnish)
• Lemon Zest (optional)

Does Quinoa Need To Be Rinsed?

Quinoa has a natural coating called saponin that some people find bitter. Rinsing quinoa before cooking it can help to remove the saponin, which may reduce any bitter taste.

However, most brands of quinoa are pre-rinsed before packaging and do not need to be rinsed before cooking.

You can certainly rinse the quinoa if you like, but it is not necessary. Quinoa has a naturally nutty flavor and I find it to be slightly more robust if cooked without rinsing first.

There are thousands of varieties of quinoa out there, but the three that are most widely cultivated and available for purchase are white, red, and black.

White quinoa is the variety most commonly sold in stores. It's available in nearly every grocery store and usually found in the dry goods aisle near the rice and other grains.

You can definitely use red or black quinoa if you prefer.

The great thing about quinoa is that it only takes about 15 minutes to make. All of the other components in this Italian Quinoa Salad may be prepared while the quinoa is cooking on the stove top.

1. To make the quinoa, simply prepare 1 cup of dried quinoa (any color) according to package instructions.
2. Once the quinoa has finished cooking, allow it to cool for at least 15 minutes before tossing in the rest of the ingredients.

How To Toast Hazelnuts

I love to add toasted nuts to any salad. Nuts provide a great crunchy texture and excellent flavor to just about any dish.

This salad is inspired by the flavors of Italy, so I decided on hazelnuts when creating it. Hazelnuts are a popular ingredient in Italian dishes and desserts (I love them in this Italian Chocolate Hazelnut Cake).

It's always a good idea to toast nuts before adding them your favorite dishes. Toasting the nuts helps to release their natural oils and bumps up their flavor.

It only takes a few minutes and is well worth the effort. The hazelnuts may be toasted as the quinoa is cooking and cooling.

This recipe calls for raw, unsalted hazelnuts. If you don't care for hazelnuts, or prefer a different nut, feel free to swap them out for walnuts, almonds, pine nuts, or pistachios.

Whatever variety of nuts you choose, make sure to use a brand that is raw and unsalted.

1. Roughly chop 1 cup of raw, unsalted hazelnuts (this step is not necessary if the nuts are pre-chopped).
2. Place the nuts in a small skillet and place on the stove top (I love to use a small cast iron skillet when toasting nuts).
3. Heat the skillet to medium-low and toast the hazelnuts for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent them from burning.
4. Once the nuts are toasted, remove the skillet from the heat and set aside.

How To Make Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing

No salad is complete without a tasty dressing. This quinoa salad is tossed in a balsamic vinaigrette that's made using only a few simple ingredients.

The rich flavor of the balsamic vinegar complements the nutty quinoa, peppery arugula, and tangy tomatoes nicely.

1. To make the dressing, start by mincing 2 cloves of garlic and 1 shallot.
2. Combine ¼ cup olive oil, 2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar, 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard, ¼ tsp. each Italian seasoning, kosher salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Add the minced garlic and shallots.
3. Stir all of these ingredients until completely combined using a fork or a small whisk. The dressing will emulsify as it's combined, giving it a nice flavor and consistency.

How To Make Italian Quinoa Salad

Once the quinoa is cooked and cooled, the nuts toasted, and the balsamic dressing prepared, it's time to toss it all together with the rest of the igredients.

To drive home the Italian flavors of this dish, I added arugula and grape tomatoes. Arugula is a hearty green that's known for it's peppery and slightly bitter flavor.

If you don't care for arugula, feel free to substitute any hearty greens of choice. Spinach, Swiss chard, kale, escarole, frisee, or chicory may be used in place of arugula.

Grape or cherry tomatoes may be used to make this quinoa salad. I like to chop grape or cherry tomatoes into halves or quarters, but you can leave them whole if you prefer.

1. To make the salad, start by chopping 1 pint of grape tomatoes into halves or quarters, depending on what size you prefer. Alternately, you can skip this step and leave them whole.
2. Grate ½ cup of Parmesan, Asiago, Pecorino Romano, or salty cheese of choice.
3. Transfer the cooled quinoa to a large mixing bowl. Add the chopped tomatoes, toasted nuts, 2 packed cups of arugula (or hearty greens of choice), and ½ cup grated cheese to the bowl.
4. Toss all of the ingredients until combined.
5. Add the dressing a bit at a time to the salad and toss until combined. Continue until the salad is completely coated in the dressing.

If you love arugula, be sure to check out this Arugula Pesto Pizza and Mushroom Arugula Pizza!

What To Serve With Quinoa Salad

After the salad is combined, it's time to garnish and serve it.

I like to garnish with some lemon zest, freshly torn basil leaves, and extra grated cheese.

The lemon zest is optional, but it does add a bright kick to the dish. The lemon zest may be grated using a Microplane or small grater.

Basil is my go-to summer herb, but you can garnish this salad with fresh parsley, mint, chives, or any combination of summer herbs.

This quinoa salad may be enjoyed as a light meal on its own, or paired with any variety of grilled or roasted meats and vegetables.

It's perfect with grilled chicken, fish or seafood, beef, or pork.

Salads like this pair nicely with this Italian chicken sandwich or grilled bruschetta chicken. It may even be served with grilled steak like ribeye.

The fresh flavors of this dish are great with a grilled vegetable salad or summer vegetable pizza.

How Long Does Quinoa Arugula Salad Last In The Fridge?

Any leftover salad may be stored for 2-3 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It may dry out a bit the longer it sits.

Can It Be Made The Day Ahead?

Yes, this salad may be prepared the day ahead and stored in the fridge. Make sure to store in an airtight container or cover with cling wrap to prevent it from drying out.

Can This Salad Be Frozen?

This salad is best enjoyed fresh, or within a few days and I do not recommend freezing it.

Love summer salads? Check out these recipes!

• Smoked Salmon Quinoa Salad
• Summer Pesto Pasta Salad
• Spanish Potato Salad
• Grilled Corn Feta Salad
• Italian Green Bean Salad
• Marinated Tomato Salad
• Kohlrabi Slaw
• Pickled Beet Salad

Looking For More Healthy Summer Side Dishes? Don't Miss These!

Chopped Chicken Salad

Mango Avocado Salad

Cucumber Salad