Soy Free Quinoa Avocado Salad with Turmeric Lemon Dressing
This vibrant grain salad is everything you want in a warm-weather bowl — creamy avocado, crisp cucumber, juicy cherry tomatoes, and fluffy quinoa all tossed together with handfuls of fresh parsley and mint. The real star is the golden turmeric lemon dressing, which comes together in minutes and coats every ingredient in a bright, earthy, garlicky flavor that feels anything but ordinary. Crunchy dry-roasted pumpkin seeds get folded in at the end alongside the avocado, adding texture and richness without weighing the whole thing down. Every component here is naturally free from soy — no tamari swaps needed, no label-checking required, just whole ingredients doing exactly what they're supposed to do. Bottled dressings are one of the sneakiest places soy hides, so making your own with olive oil, fresh lemon juice, and spices is genuinely the move. The technique of spreading the quinoa out to cool before dressing it keeps the grains light and separate rather than clumpy, which makes a real difference in the final texture. Serve it right away once the avocado goes in and you'll have a salad that looks as good as it tastes.
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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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