BHA & BHT Free Pomegranate & Mango Quinoa Salad with Mint
Bright, jewel-toned, and packed with contrasting textures, this quinoa salad is the kind of dish that looks like you spent hours on it but comes together with surprisingly little effort. Juicy mango and ruby pomegranate arils bring natural sweetness, while torn fresh mint and sliced scallion greens keep every bite feeling light and alive. The dressing — a quick whisk of extra-virgin olive oil, fresh lime juice, raw honey, turmeric, and ginger — is completely scratch-made, which means you're in full control of every ingredient that goes into it. That matters a lot when you're avoiding synthetic preservatives like BHA and BHT, which tend to hide in bottled dressings, flavored oils, and even some packaged grains. Here, everything from the raw pumpkin seeds to the spices is whole and unprocessed, so there's nothing suspicious lurking in the ingredient list. The quinoa gets cooked simply in salted water and cooled before tossing, giving the salad a fluffy, non-clumpy base that soaks up the citrusy dressing beautifully. It works as a vibrant lunch, a stunning side for a dinner spread, or an easy meal-prep option that holds up well after a few hours in the fridge.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
For the salad
- 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
- 2 cups water
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 large ripe mango, peeled and diced (about 1 ½ cups)
- 1 cup pomegranate arils
- ½ cup fresh mint leaves, roughly torn
- 3 scallions (green tops only), thinly sliced
- ¼ cup raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
For the dressing
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tbsp fresh lime juice (from about 2 limes)
- 1 tsp raw honey
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- 1
Combine the rinsed quinoa, water, and 1/4 tsp salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the quinoa has absorbed all the water and the germ rings are visible, about 13–15 minutes.
- 2
Remove the saucepan from the heat and let the quinoa steam, covered, for 5 minutes. Uncover, fluff with a fork, and spread onto a large plate or sheet pan to cool for at least 10 minutes until no longer steaming.
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