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This Avocado Stuffed Quinoa Salad recipe post is sponsored by Lundberg Family Farms. As always, the content represents my own personal opinion/experience.
Fresh and vibrant, this avocado stuffed quinoa salad is so perfect for the warmer weather. Simple to make, hearty, filling and loaded with nutritious ingredients. They are fun to serve for brunch, lunch, as part of a main or as a side and they might just help us all eat more salads!
Learn more about what makes Lundberg Family Farms stand out from other brands of grains by visiting their site. Their commitment to sustainable grains goes far back before organic and non-GMO terms were even used. I appreciate their healthful and wholesome grains for feeding my family.
Ingredients & substitutions
- Quinoa: Not all quinoa is the same. Lundberg Family Farms Organic Antique White Quinoa is organic, non-GMO and has a soft and fluffy texture when cooked, making it perfect for salads. The taste is sweet and nutty with an oat-like flavor that can really stand on its own or complement a fresh salad.
- Avocados: Look for firm but soft avocados that are as large as possible. Hass avocados tend to be the largest or try tropical varieties, which have more water content and less fat for larger servings.
- Tomatoes: Quartered grape tomatoes, and cherry tomatoes work best. They are sweeter than the larger varieties and easier to cut into smaller pieces.
- Onions: Use red onion which is milder than white or yellow and can easily be enjoyed raw in salads. Dice it finely so that it’s not too overpowering. You can also use shallots or green onions.
- Cucumbers: Persian cucumbers are great in salads as they contain less seeds, but one English cucumber will also work well.
- Cheese: Feta cheese adds a great creamy texture and tang to this quinoa salad. Goat cheese will also work well, or feel free the skip to cheese to make the recipe vegan.
- Herbs: Fresh dill adds a great Mediterranean flavor to the finished salad. You can use other fresh herbs like parsley or cilantro.
- Dressing: Olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, dried oregano salt and pepper.
How to make avocado stuffed salad
Cook the quinoa
- Toast the quinoa in a pan for a couple of minutes, then add in the vegetable broth or water and bring to a boil.
- Cook until the liquid is absorbed.
- Let rest, fluff with a fork and set aside.
Make dressing and toss salad
- Mix together the dressing ingredients in a large bowl. This helps reduce dishes to wash.
- Add in the cooked and cooled quinoa. It’s ok if it’s still warm though.
- Add in the chopped salad vegetables.
- Toss together to combine. The mixture will make enough for 12 avocado halves, so you can serve as much or as little as you want.
Assemble avocados
- Halve the avocados and remove the pit. Scoop out some of the flesh of the avocados and you can use it for another recipe or add to the quinoa salad mixture.
- Spoon and stuff the quinoa salad into the avocado in heaping piles and serve.
Tips for making the stuffed avocados
- Rinse the quinoa before using it. Quinoa has a natural casing that can taste slightly bitter or soapy, so it’s best to rinse it under cold running water first. This is true even if it’s organic quinoa.
- Toast your quinoa before cooking in the stock or water. This helps the naturally nutty flavors to come through to make it extra tasty. It’s well worth the extra couple of minutes! You can toast it dry or add a teaspoon of olive oil.
- Don’t cut the avocados and stuff them until you are ready to serve. Avocados brown quickly as soon as they are cut open, so do this right before serving. You can also rub some lemon juice on them to slow down the browning.
- Serve it without the avocados. This quinoa salad looks super pretty when stuffed in the avocados, but you can easily serve it by itself as a side dish and it makes for such a large quantity that you can serve it both ways at once.
Frequently asked questions
Although the avocados should be cut and stuffed just before serving, you can easily make the quinoa salad ahead of time. The cooked quinoa will keep well, covered in the fridge for around 5 days, and the fully dressed salad will keep well for 2 days.
This avocado stuffed quinoa salad is pretty delicious as it is, but you can easily change it to a fuller meal by adding in some shredded chicken, tuna or chickpeas. You can also add in some other salad ingredients like bell peppers or zucchini if you like.
These stuffed avocados are great to serve as a healthy brunch by themselves or with a fresh green salad. They are great to pair with chicken and fish dishes for a main meal. Try them with:
Grilled Lemon Chicken
Shrimp Skewers
Honey Lemon Salmon
Chicken Kabobs
This stuffed quinoa salad is so wonderfully fresh and delicious. Loaded with natural and healthy ingredients, it’s perfect to enjoy in the warmer weather.
More salad recipes:
- Caprese Pasta Salad
- Tabbouleh Salad
- Chickpea ‘Tuna’ Salad
- Caesar Salad
- Mediterranean Potato Salad
- Yellow Rice Salad
- Green Goddess Salad
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Avocado Stuffed Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups vegetable broth or water
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 ripe avocados halved and pitted
- 4 ounces grape tomatoes about 1 cup, halved
- 2 Persian cucumbers chopped
- ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
- ½ cup fresh dill chopped
- ¼ cup finely chopped red onion
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large lemon zested and juiced
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- freshly cracked black pepper
- ¾ cup Lundberg Antique White Quinoa
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan over medium high heat, toast quinoa until slightly fragrant 2 minutes. Add vegetable brother (or water) and salt and stir. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cover. Cook until the liquid is absorbed, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat and let rest, covered, for 5 minutes. Fluff quinoa with a fork and set aside.
- Spoon out some of the avocado flesh, leaving some in the pit. Chop up scooped out avocado.
- In a large bowl, stir together the cooked quinoa, chopped avocado, tomatoes, cucumber feta, dill, and red onion.
- In a small bowl, mix together olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, dried oregano salt and pepper. Add to quinoa mixture and mix. Season with salt and pepper.
- Spoon quinoa mixture into a mound on each avocado half and garnish with more feta and dill. Serve immediately.
Equipment
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
