Description
A rainbow of finely chopped sweet peppers mingle with quinoa, pistachios, and dried apricot in this fresh gluten free and vegan summer salad. Each serving is topped with a creamy cashew tzatziki sauce flavored with thinly sliced cucumber and fresh dill.
Ingredients
for the quinoa salad:
- 1 cup quinoa
- 2 cups water
- 1 medium lemon, zested
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced
- sea salt, to taste
- 6-8 ounces mini sweet peppers, diced
- 1/2 small red onion, diced
- 1/2 cup raw pistachios
- 1/3 cup dried apricot, diced
for the cashew tzatziki:
- 1 cup cashews, soaked at least 4 hours or overnight
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 lemon, juiced
- sea salt, to taste
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill, minced
- 1/2 cup cucumber, thinly sliced and pat dry
Instructions
To make the quinoa salad combine the quinoa and water in a pot. Bring the quinoa to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover the pot and cook the quinoa for 15-17 minutes until the water has been absorbed.
Fluff the quinoa then let the quinoa cool for about 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, add the quinoa to a large bowl along with the lemon zest, parsley, diced peppers and red onion, pistachios, and apricot. Season with a pinch or two of salt then mix. Taste, then season with more salt as needed.
To make the cashew tzatziki, combine the drained and rinsed cashews, water, lemon juice, salt, and nutritional yeast in a blender. Blend until very smooth. Pour the tzatziki into a bowl, then stir in the dill and cucumber. Cover and chill until ready to use.
When you’re ready to serve, top each portion of the quinoa salad with the cashew tzatziki.
Store leftover quinoa salad and tzatziki in separate airtight containers in the fridge. No need to heat the leftovers! Enjoy within 3-4 days.
Notes
- You only need 1 lemon total: you’ll use the zest in the quinoa salad and the juice in the tzatziki.
- You can use 2 medium/small red, orange, or yellow bell peppers in place of the mini sweet peppers.
- I like using English or Persian cucumbers in the tzatziki for their flavor and smaller seeds.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cooling Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 15-17 minutes