Description

Healthy, vegan and perfect for summer, this vibrant quinoa salad is loaded with cherry tomatoes, soft buttery avocado chunks, sweet corn and tossed with simple homemade lemon basil vinaigrette.

Ingredients

Scale

For the Sweet Corn, Cherry Tomato, Avocado Quinoa Salad

1 cup quinoa (see note 1)
1 cup corn (see note 2)
2 cups cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes or chopped up regular tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped basil leaves or spinach or kale - any kind of leafy stuff
2 avocados (diced or cubed)

For the lemon basil vinaigrette dressing

1 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1 clove of garlic or 1/2 tbsp
1 tsp chilli flakes
2 tbsp lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt
2 tsp maple syrup (see note 3)

Instructions

Cook the quinoa as per package instructions - let cool and refrigerate for upto 1 hour.
Cut the cherry or grape tomatoes in halves, mix with corn and keep aside.
Prepare the basil lemon vinaigrette by blending/ grinding all dressing ingredients - or add them to a food processor. Adjust the seasoning and transfer to a bowl to be poured over the salad.
In a large mixing bowl, add cooled, fluffed up quinoa, cherry tomatoes, avocados, corn and pour 3/4th of the dressing. Give it a toss. Add more dressing if needed. Refrigerate the salad for about 1-2 hours before eating or serving cold.

Notes

Note 1: How to cook Quinoa? => I washed and rinsed quinoa, then added it to a saucepan with 1 1/2 cup of boiling water. Let that come to a boil with quinoa. Simmer, cover and let cook for 20 mins. Then fluff up with a fork and let that cool down to room temp. Finally, transfer the cooled down quinoa to refrigerator while you prepare the rest of the salad and the dressing.

Note 2: Corn => I used frozen corn for this recipe. Simply measured 2 cups and transferred it to a large glass bowl, added water completely covering the corn kernels. Then microwaved for about 3-4 minutes. Drain the water and use the corn for the recipe. You can of course use fresh corn for this - direct from the cob.

Note 3: Maple Syrup => Can be easily replaced with honey, jaggery or sugar - basically simply added for some sweetness in the lemon basil vinaigrette dressing.

Keywords: vegan, vegetarian, quinoa, salad, lemon, basil, pesto, healthy, gluten-free, avocados, tomatoes, corn