Rye Free Quinoa Avocado Salad with Turmeric Lemon Dressing

Total time45 min

Prep time15 min

Cook time20 min

Rye Free Quinoa Avocado Salad with Turmeric Lemon Dressing

This vibrant grain salad is everything you want on a warm day — creamy avocado, crisp cucumber, juicy cherry tomatoes, and fluffy quinoa all tossed in a golden turmeric-lemon dressing that's bright, earthy, and just a little bit addictive. The dressing alone, built from fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, ground ginger, and garlic, is the kind of thing you'll want to drizzle on everything else in your fridge. Quinoa is a naturally grain-diverse base that sidesteps the usual concerns around rye-containing grains entirely, making this a genuinely worry-free bowl without any substitutions or compromises. Fresh parsley and mint add an herby lift that keeps every bite feeling clean and lively, while dry-roasted pumpkin seeds bring a satisfying crunch at the very end. The technique of spreading the cooked quinoa out to cool before dressing it is a small but important step — it keeps the salad from turning soggy and lets each ingredient hold its own texture. Folding in the avocado gently at the last minute means you get soft, buttery chunks rather than green mush, which makes a real difference in the final bowl. It comes together with minimal fuss and zero obscure ingredients, which is exactly what a weeknight salad should be.

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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
Superseedz Gourmet Pumpkin Seeds, Sea Salt, Gluten Free
Nice! Dry Roasted Pumpkin Seeds Salted
Alesto by LIDL Salted Dry Roasted Pumpkin Seeds, 5 oz
International Harvest Go Pumpkins! Dry Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Go Raw Organic Sea Salt Dry Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
See all

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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