Quinoa Salad Recipe with Green Vegetables, Halloumi and Pomegranate (with optional chicken)



This is an awesome quinoa salad recipe!

Quinoa truly deserves its status as a super food - it is high in protein, fibre and iron making it an excellent go-to food for vegetarians. This quinoa salad recipe combines the grain with nutritious vegetables, zingy pomegranate seeds and another vegetarian favourite - halloumi cheese.  

One of the great qualities of halloumi cheese is that it doesn't melt into a liquid-y mess when heated. It keeps it shape and adds a salty, chewy texture to the salad. For those meat eaters who can't face a meal without meat, this recipe can be easily adapted to add chicken (either hot or cold) at the end, without needing to cross contaminate the veggie's salad dish.

This recipe is quick to make, as the time consuming cooking of the quinoa is replaced by making use of the pre-cooked, ready to heat / microwavable packets readily available in supermarkets. Welcome to a super quick, super tasty quinoa salad recipe that will satisfy your appetite and your taste buds!

Serves 2

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes

printer friendly recipe

Ingredients for Quinoa Salad Recipe:

  • 250g Packet Microwaveable (pre-cooked) Quinoa or Quinoa and Rice Mix
  • 1 Small Leek
  • 75g (or 1/2 cup) Frozen Peas (preferably petit pois)
  • 70g (or 1/2 cup) Frozen Edamame Beans (sometimes called soya beans)
  • 1 Ripe Avocado
  • 1/2 Lime
  • 50g (or 5 Tablespoons) Pomegranate Seeds
  • 8-10 slices Halloumi (approx. 1 cup)
  • 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
  • Optional Cooked chicken pieces
  • Chopped Parsley to garnish

Equipment needed:

  • Chopping board
  • Sharp knife
  • Frying pan
  • pasta bowls to serve

Method:

  1. Remove the outer layers from the leek and discard. Chop the inner leek into thin slices.
  2. Heat the frying pan on a medium heat and add the olive oil.
  3. Add the leek, frozen peas and frozen edamame beans to the hot frying pan with a splash of water, so that the vegetables steam fry, Fry for 3 minutes, or until the vegetables are cooked but still have some bite.
  4. Meanwhile, prepare the avocado by removing the stone and skin and chopping the flesh into large chunks (approx. 10 pieces per half avocado)
  5. Microwave the quinoa (or quinoa and rice mix) as per the instructions on the packet.
  6. Carefully remove the quinoa from the hot packet and spoon evenly into two large pasta bowls.
  7. Squeeze the juice of the lime over the quinoa and stir through.
  8. Divide the pomegranate seeds between the two bowls and mix with the quinoa.
  9. Remove the frying pan from the heat and add the cooked vegetables to the bowls.
  10. Turn up the heat to high. Quickly fry the halloumi for approx. 1 minute on each side, until the cheese bubbles and darkens.
  11. Add the avocado and hot slices of halloumi to the quinoa / vegetable mix bowls.
  12. If you are adding chicken to either of the bowls, warm if desired and then place on top of the salad with the Halloumi.
  13. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve immediately.