Chicken Free Quinoa Avocado Salad with Turmeric Lemon Dressing
This vibrant grain salad is built entirely on plants, so there's no need to swap or substitute a single thing — it's naturally free of poultry from the ground up. Fluffy quinoa forms the hearty base, loaded with creamy diced avocado, juicy cherry tomatoes, crisp cucumber, and a double hit of fresh herbs that makes every forkful feel alive. The real star is the turmeric lemon dressing — a punchy, golden emulsion of olive oil, fresh lemon juice, ginger, and garlic that ties everything together with serious brightness. Crunchy dry-roasted pumpkin seeds get folded in at the end alongside the avocado, adding texture and a subtle nuttiness that keeps the salad interesting all the way to the last bite. The technique of spreading the cooked quinoa out to cool before dressing it is a small but important step — it keeps the grains light and separate rather than clumping into a dense mass. This is the kind of salad that actually holds its own as a main course, not just a side, and it comes together with nothing more than a saucepan and a mixing bowl.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
For the salad
- 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
- 2 cups water
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 ripe avocados, pitted, peeled, and diced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 english cucumber, diced
- ¼ cup red onion, finely diced
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped
- ¼ cup fresh mint, roughly chopped
- ¼ cup dry-roasted pumpkin seeds
For the dressing
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice (from about 1½ lemons)
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp salt
Instructions
- 1
Combine the rinsed quinoa, water, and ¼ tsp salt in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for 15 minutes, until the water is fully absorbed and the quinoa tails have unfurled.
- 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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