Quinoa Salad with Zucchini and Tomatoes

Zucchini and quinoa sauté with tomatoes in a skillet with text overlay.

4.89 from 9 votes

Quinoa Salad with Zucchini and Tomatoes

This quinoa salad with veggies and herbs is an easy weeknight dinner or side dish. Lightly sauté chopped onion with zucchini, garlic, dill, tomatoes, and cooked quinoa. Serve warm or at room temperature with a splash of lemon and spiced pumpkin seeds.

Prep Time7

Cook Time25

Total Time25

Course: Salad Main Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: quinoa salad with veggies, quinoa zucchini salad

Servings: main salads

Calories: 223kcal

Author: Susan Pridmore

Equipment

Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot for cooking the quinoa
Small skillet for pan-roasting the pumpkin seeds
Chef's knife
Medium skillet

Ingredients

1 cup cooked quinoa
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups zucchini (1 large or 2 small zucchini)
1 cup yellow onion, sliced thinly (½ large onion)
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
¼ cup fresh chopped dill
½ teaspoon kosher salt or ¼ teaspoon table salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
⅔ cup cherry tomatoes sliced in half
2 - 3 teaspoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons roasted pumpkin seeds or pine nuts

Instructions

Make ahead. Cook up a batch of quinoa and pan-roast the pumpkin seeds while you meal prep and sauté the veggies and herbs. Or cook the quinoa ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator or freezer. It's also available pre-cooked at many markets in the frozen vegetables section.
Prep the zucchini. Remove the ends and slice them in half lengthwise. Lay each zucchini half on its flat surface and slice in half again. Hold the long sections together and cut them into ⅛" thick slices.
Alternatively, skip slicing the zucchini lengthwise and cut them into ⅛" thick rounds.
Slice the onion. Cut the onion in half, horizontally around its middle (not vertically from end to end). Lay the onion down on its flat side and slice it in half again so it is now in quarters. Slice the onion into thin slices.
Prep the tomato, garlic, and dill. Coarsely chop the tomato and dill. Peel and mince the garlic.
A quick sauté. Warm olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, and add the sliced onion. Once the onion begins to sizzle, add the zucchini slices and sauté for 7 - 10 minutes.
Add the garlic, dill, salt, and pepper and sauté another 1 - 2 minutes until fragrant.
Stir in cooked quinoa, tomato, and a splash of lemon juice to brighten the dish. Sauté for 3 - 4 minutes until everything is warm.
Serve. Serve warm or at room temperature with a flurry of roasted pumpkin seeds. Adjust for lemon and dill if needed before serving.

Notes

Quinoa Salad with Zucchini Ingredient Notes

Feel free to adjust the amounts provided for the zucchini, onion, tomatoes, and herbs to your preferences. If I have some extra zucchini I need to use up, I chop it up and add it to the dish.

When slicing an onion into thin slices, remove the root, peel, and slice it thinly using the end-to-end direction. This direction allows the onion to lay flatter in a skillet versus cutting it into arched portions of rings across its middle.

If you already have quinoa and pepitas made and stored away, this quinoa salad can be assembled in under 20 minutes.

Nutrition