Quinoa Salad with Asparagus, Cherry Tomatoes and Pecans
Quinoa salad with asparagus, cherry tomatoes and pecans. An easy quinoa salad featuring sautéed asparagus, sweet cherry tomatoes, crunchy pecans, salty feta and tossed with a lemon vinaigrette. Perfect for spring.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 2 to 4 1x
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 1/2 cups of cooked quinoa – (about 3/4 cup uncooked – prepare as per the package instructions).
- 1 bunch of asparagus – about 1 pound – tough ends snapped off – sliced into bite sized pieces.
- 1 cup of cherry or grape tomatoes – sliced in half
- 4 cups arugula – roughly chopped
- 1/3 cup of pecans
- 2 oz feta cheese – cubed
- 2 tbs minced red onion
- 4 tbs olive oil
- 2 cloves of garlic – finely minced
- 1 half of a large lemon juiced – about 1 1/2 tbs
- 6 twists of black pepper from a pepper mill
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Cook quinoa as per package instructions. When done, set aside to cool.
- As quinoa is cooking, sauté chopped asparagus and 1 clove of minced garlic in 1 tbs of olive oil over medium high heat for 1 minute in a large sauté pan. Turn down heat to low, cover the pan and sauté for 4 more minutes – stirring occasionally. Test your asparagus to see if it’s done – it should be tender but not overcooked. When asparagus is done, set aside to cool.
- Roughly chop the arugula and add to a large bowl.
- Slice cherry tomatoes in half and add to the large bowl.
- Add diced feta, minced red onion and pecans to the large bowl.
- Add cooked asparagus and quinoa to the large bowl.
- Make the dressing by whisking together 3 tbs olive oil, lemon juice, 1 minced clove of garlic, black pepper and salt.
- Pour the dressing over salad and toss gently to combine.