Need a quick side dish? Make this easy quinoa salad! Chock full of healthy quinoa, grilled corn, cherry tomatoes, cilantro and spices. Delicious!
I can’t even believe it! Today is the day I get to go pick up my handsome teenage son from the airport! The one who has been in Utah visiting his dad for the last MONTH. I’m so happy to finally be getting him back! We have all missed him so much. Thank goodness for FaceTime!
And then guess what else? I’m heading to Hawaii this weekend!!! Seriously, I am stoked. Five days. Can’t even wait. I’ve never been before and I’m super excited to experience all things Hawaii. If you have any tips, let me know! We’l be staying in Kona.
My mom drove over yesterday and will stay for about a week to watch my little boys (and my big boys, too 😉 ) I’m super grateful for her and all she does for me. Thanks Mom!
Last weekend, I had a few dinner guests over and we grilled some burgers. I was stressing over side dishes, because I’ll be honest with you, I’m tired of them.
I’m great at coming up with a main dish (especially easy grilling) but side dishes? Not so much.
You need more than one of them usually, and they can be tricky! We have grilled corn a LOT because, well, it’s easy. But I’m tired of grilled corn by itself. {Yawn}
So I made the executive decision to make my Grilled Corn & Avocado Salad as well as a new quinoa salad, also with grilled corn.
The outcome? Amazing. Everyone loved it! It’s light and healthy but has such a great texture to it. I love the sweet grilled corn and the crunchy tomatoes. Quinoa is one of my favorites, too. This was a winner and I’ll definitely be making it again and again!
Quinoa Salad with Grilled Corn & Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa
- 1 3/4 cups water
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil or more, to taste
- 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
- 2 tsp. cumin
- 1/2 tsp. salt or more to taste
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
- 2 cups grilled corn from about 2 ears, cut from the cobs
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes cut in half
- 3/4 cup green onion chopped
- 1 cup chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Rinse quinoa in a fine strainer until the water runs clear. Place quinoa in a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. The quinoa will dry and then begin to stick a little bit. Keep stirring and eventually it will begin toast.
- Once it's dry and golden in color, add the water and salt. Bring to a slow simmer, cover and cook until quinoa is dry, about 20 minutes (but keep an eye on it!). Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
- While quinoa is cooling, mix together olive oil, garlic powder, cumin, salt, and pepper. Give it a little taste and make sure it tastes perfect. Pour onto quinoa. Add in corn, tomatoes, green onion and cilantro. Toss altogether to combine. Serve and enjoy!
This sounds delish! I love quinoa.
You’ve taken healthy summer side dish to a delicious level, Jen!
Congrats on Hawaii! That will be so fun and a gorgeous location for a break 🙂 And oh yes, Facetime is a life saver. As is quinoa! One of those healthy foods that when prepared right, doesn’t taste like health food. Grilled corn is where it is all at for me, too. Love this recipe, Jen, pinning!
The salad looks gorgeous… love the simplicity and ingredient combo. Have a blast in Hawaii!!!
Sounds like a delicious salad; healthy and tasty.
Enjoy each and every minute in Hawaii. Blessings, Catherine
Jen, this salad looks so fresh and easy to prepare! Plus, I have tons of cherry tomatoes in my garden this year and keep trying to keep up with ways to use them! Thanks 🙂
This looks like the perfect quinoa salad! I’ve struggled with side dishes too lately. I can’t wait to add this to my rotation!
It really is so easy and delicious! Thanks Alyssa!
I’m in need of some good side dishes! This looks great!
Thanks Jessica!! Have a great weekend!
This salad looks so delicious! I too have a hard time coming up with side dishes. This is a good one to keep.
Have a great trip. Hawaii is always wonderful!