California Quinoa Salad – a Whole Foods Market copycat recipe, full of delicious ingredients and super good for you. Simply Delish!
So here I am with another salad recipe again and you might be wondering what’s wrong with me. Where are all the baked goods and desserts? But bear with me here and hear me out. This salad is fabulous! It’s Ah-Mazing!!! It’s out of this world, it’s that good!
And being on my forever quest to get my husband to eat more quinoa, I thought this salad was very appropriate for our dinner tonight. To him, just the thought of quinoa puts him off and would rather not eat a thing. So, as usual, I try and find creative and delicious ways to hide/camouflage quinoa in salads, casseroles, or whatever.
But sometimes I’m not too successful in hiding the quinoa and as he was putzing around the kitchen tonight and saw me cooking quinoa, I saw his face change and the color in his face fade away. And with a very disappointed face he mumbled “I know I said I wanted to eat healthier food, but I meant eat one sausage instead of 2.” And off to his man cave he disappeared.
Luckily, I don’t always listen to him, so I continued on with my mission to make this salad super delicious contrary to the mumbles and grumbles I was receiving.
But let’s be real here. How can this salad not be delicious. Let’s check out some of the ingredients. Mangos! I love a good mango. And I had the perfect ripe mango. Shredded coconut, raisins, slivered almonds, edamame!
Now I used parsley here, mostly because I’m not a huge fan of cilantro, and secondly because I didn’t have any cilantro. But I’m pretty sure cilantro would be great in this salad, so if you have it, please use it. I also used gold and black quinoa here, but any kind of quinoa would work. I bet red quinoa would look really pretty too.
Look at all those gorgeous colors. I for one am in love with this salad and am super excited that I have leftovers for lunch tomorrow.
And by the way, even the grumpy hubs had some and said that, while it was good, he felt his arteries clear up as he was eating it, that’s how healthy it was. You know what? I’ll take that as a compliment!
Mission accomplished!
If you guys love this recipe, and most importantly make it yourselves, please let us know. Leave a comment below and rate this recipe or take a picture and tag it #jocooks on Instagram so we can see it. I always love to see what you guys come up with!
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California Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
For salad
- 1/2 cup quinoa dry
- 1 cup water to cook quinoa
- 1 large mango chopped in small pieces
- 1/4 small red onion chopped
- 1/2 red bell pepper chopped
- 3/4 cup shredded coconut unsweetened
- 3/4 cup almond slices or slivers, toasted if preferred
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 cup edamame shelled, thawed if frozen
- 1/4 cup cilantro chopped, or parsley if you don't like cilantro
For dressing
- 4 tbsp lime juice from 2 limes
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook the quinoa according to package instructions. Let cool.
- Whisk all the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl.
- In a large bowl toss all the salad ingredients together including the cooled quinoa and add the dressing. Toss it well and serve cold.
Recipe Notes
- Will keep around 5 days in the fridge.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
Nutrition Information:
More delicious recipes from my kitchen
Grilled Pork Chops with Quinoa, Asparagus and Mushrooms
Kale Quinoa Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
Greek Chicken Red Quinoa Salad
Vicki says
Awesome! I’m addicted 😊 thank you!
Angela W Broyles says
This is always a hit, everyone loves it! It can be made it advance so that is a definite bonus!
Kerryanne says
Thank you so much for this wonderfully delicious and nutritious salad recipe. I have made it twice now and just love it but the dressing what can I say but…….WOW! It is our new favorite go-to dressing for just about everything. Just a few simple ingredients, quick and easy to whip up but the end result is pretty close to perfection.
Thank you Thank you Thank you!
Joanna Cismaru says
My pleasure, so glad you liked it!
Ashley says
Loved this recipe! Unfortunately the mangos didn’t look great at the store so I threw kiwi’s I had in there. Oh and I added Avocados!
susan says
I’ve made this salad for myself quite a few times and was always pleased. This past weekend, I made 30-40 portions for my son’s wedding. Everyone raved about it. It was the first dish to disappear.
My changes: chives instead of raw onion…red wine vinegar instead of balsamic, combined cilanto and parsley, no salt or pepper.
jo says
That’s awesome, love your changes!
Karen Lindell says
I made this this weekend for a family get together – everyone loved it! I added some fresh pineapple as I did not have quite enough mango. It was delicious. My husband liked it too! I will be enjoying this again for lunch today, and sharing your recipe on Today I Ate a Rainbow FB page – it’s perfect and so colorful!
Thanks Jo!
Karen
jo says
Glad you liked it Karen! 🙂
Yulia says
What would you recommend instead of mangoes? I don’t like to buy them out of season and some family members do t like them at all. Thanks!
jo says
Peaches would be great. 🙂
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
This quinoa salad looks amazingly delicious! I love coming across new ways to utilize quinoa so I definitely will be trying this recipe out. Thanks for the recipe Jo!
jo says
You’re welcome Thalia, you’ll love it, it’s delicious!
Carol at Wild Goose Tea says
What a cheery salad. I wondered what would constitute a California salad. Now I know :). It looks delish. You are making a lot of salads, because it’s that time of year and that’s what we eat. So those are the recipes we are interested in viewing.
jo says
Glad you approve Carol, hope you try this, it’s the best. 🙂
Lindsey @ American Heritage Cooking says
Your husband cracks me up with his methodology for healthier eating! My husband isn’t a fan of quinoa either unless it is completely disguised. I’m always on the lookout for new, healthy salad options! This looks fabulous. Pinned!
jo says
Thanks Lindsey, you’ll love this! 🙂