Creamy Cilantro Quinoa Salad is a healthy salad recipe perfect for any meal! Add just about any combo of vegetables with the cilantro & greek yogurt dressing for a vegetarian lunch or dinner or a perfect side dish.
Are you a cilantro lover? It seems that people have a very strong reaction to Chinese parsley (I just learned something new there! Thanks Google!) They either love or hate it. We love all things cilantro and the health benefits are an added plus! According to Nutrition and You, “cilantro’s deep-green leaves possess good amounts of antioxidants, essential oils, vitamins, and dietary fiber, which may help reduce LDL or “bad cholesterol” levels in the blood.” Learn more about cilantro HERE!
I decided to make this Creamy Cilantro Quinoa Salad over the weekend just on a whim and I was so glad that I did! I didn’t have to go to the store and buy a thing 😀 I used black beans, matchstick carrots and corn because that is what I had on hand. However, this salad can be very versatile. You could use just about any combination of vegetables that you had on-hand or wanted.
It comes together really quickly with the help of your food processor! Process the garlic, cilantro and greek yogurt to make the simple and yummy dressing while the quinoa is cooking 🙂
Here is your recipe and nutritional information for Creamy Cilantro Quinoa Salad:
- 1 cup quinoa (I used a combination of red and regular quinoa)
- 2 cups water
- 3-4 cloves garlic
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 1 cup non-fat, plain greek yogurt
- 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp. chipotle chili pepper
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 1 tsp. crushed red pepper
- sea salt, fresh cracked pepper, to taste
- 1 cup sweet corn
- 1 cup matchstick carrots
- 1 can (14.5 oz.) reduced-sodium black beans, rinsed and drained
- Additional sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
- Prepare quinoa according to package instructions.
- While quinoa cooking, make the creamy cilantro dressing:
- Place garlic cloves in a food processor and process until very finely chopped. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add cilantro and process until finely chopped. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add greek yogurt and turn food processor back on. Stream in olive oil. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add cumin, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper and pulse a few more times to incorporate. Set dressing aside.
- When the quinoa is just a few minutes away from being done, add the carrots and corn to the pot, cover and steam the veggies until tender-crisp.
- In a large mixing bowl combine cooked quinoa, corn, carrots, black beans and creamy cilantro dressing.
- Add additional salt and pepper, if needed.
- Serve warm, room temperature or chilled, as desired.
One of my goals this year was to eat healthier, and eat more veggies. This is perfect for a yummy but healthy lunch. Thanks!
This looks so delicious. I love cilantro and quinoa so this sounds like a tasty salad for sure! I can’t wait to try this recipe.
That looks so yummy! I’m a huge cilantro fan, I’d love to try this salad. I like that the ingredients are pantry staples, so there isn’t a shopping list to make before you even get to the recipe!
I’d be happy just making that creamy dressing on so many things! I’m definitely in the “love” camp, so I need a big portion of this in front of me pronto.
Great recipe! My hubby loves quinoa and I love how you listed the nutritional facts! So making this on the weekend! Thanks!
Looks like a great recipe, I want to try this for my family get together
I love quinoa, it’s so versatile and it absorbs flavor well, but cilantro is something I really cannot bring myself to eat. The flavor is just too strong. Any chance I can replace this with a different leafy green? Like basil?
So healthy and delicious. Wanna have some! Thanks for the recipe.
Wow this looks so good. Very healthy and delicious. Something I need more of in my life. I will have to give this a try! My kids would love it too.
Looks delicious! I would love to try this. I think this is a healthier choice rather than eating out.
This looks so good! I love quinoa, and I love finding new ways to incorporate it into meals.
This looks like a delicious way to have Quinoa! I have not had a salad like this before sounds good!
Yummy! I have some Quinoa in my pantry. I will have to give this a try.
I have been cooking with quinoa more lately and I’m really enjoying it. This salad looks delicious. I want to add al little color to mine so I am going to add some halved cherry tomatoes.
I saw this on social media and had to come have a look. It sounds so good to me, and what a great presentation!
This sounds amazing! But I have a boyfriend that hates cilantro. Is there anything that you could replace it with – mint? basil? Do you ever replace cilantro in any other recipe?
A preemptive thanks for the advice!!!
This looks absolutely delicious and healthy too! Me and my husband just recently fell in love with quinoa and we’re looking for more ways to prepare it. We can’t wait to try this!
Never tried Cilantro before but I am always open to trying new foods so long as they are good for me and my body.
This sounds like such a flavorful dish! I think it’d be a great and pretty easy way to add quinoa to your diet!
This looks so delicious! My husband is always telling me to find good vegetarian recipes, he would LOVE this!
I’ve never cooked quinoa before but I may have to after seeing this recipe!! YUM!!
Yummy! Quinoa salad is also my favorite salad, it’s really taste good and healthy at the same time.
I think my husband would love this salad! He’s really into quinoa lately, and this looks really good!
Looks pretty good to me, I’ve never had quinoa though so I don’t know what to expect.
I need to get going in February. These folks just ssid TO THANK
This looks delicious! I have been looking for some creative ways to prepare quinoa. I like this!
This looks so good! I love using quinoa. It is so versatile. Thanks for the great recipe.
I have never tried Quinoa. That salad looks wonderful so I may have to try it.
I pinned it! I never knew what I could make quinoa with and now I have a new recipe to try it with!
Omg this salad looks beyond delicious!!! I’m definitely going to have to pin this so I can give it a try! Yummy!!!
This recipe looks amazing! I have never had quinoa. I need to try this 🙂
wow this looks amazing. i love these types of dishes. also your photos are amazing. they pop and make your mouth drool
My goodness this looks so delicious & a healthy recipe as well as with those wonderful ingredients. Quinoa is so much favorite for both me & my husband & I would definitely want to try this salad sometime soon.
I just saved this recipe and it looks amazing! It looks so good. And helpful!
I love this! Quinoa is a great grain and I’m always looking for new ways to use it. This seems like it tastes really fresh which is something I really love!
I love cilantro and quinoa is such a perfect canvas for just about anything. I can’t wait to make this. What do you think about adding crushed almonds? Thanks for sharing.