Quinoa Salad with Zucchini and Tomatoes

A cast iron skillet containing cooked quinoa, zucchini, tomatoes and fresh dill.

4.88 from 8 votes

Quinoa Salad with Zucchini and Tomatoes

Easy quinoa salad lightly sautéed with zucchini, tomatoes, garlic and fresh dill. It's finished with a burst of lemon and a spray of spiced pumpkin seeds.

The cook time assumes the zucchini, onions, dill and tomatoes are prepped and sautéed while the quinoa cooks.

Prep Time7

Cook Time25

Total Time25

Course: Salad Main Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: quinoa salad, 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 (or 2 teaspoons garlic paste)
¼ cup fresh chopped dill, (or 1 teaspoon dried dill weed)
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 pumpkin seeds if you don't have any on hand. These can both be made ahead, or at the same time you prepare the rest of the salad.
Prep the zucchini. Trim off the ends of the zucchini, and slice the squash into ⅛" slices.
For smaller pieces as shown in the photo, first quarter the zucchini lengthwise before slicing into ⅛" slices.
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 in half again so that the onion is now in quarters. Slice the onion into thin slices.
If you cut the thin slices lengthwise, the onion slices lay flatter in the skillet.
Chop 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 it begins to sizzle, add the zucchini. Sauté for 10 minutes. Add the garlic, dill, salt, and pepper and sauté another 1 - 2 minutes, until fragrant.
Stir in cooked quinoa, tomato and a little 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

The amounts given for the zucchini, onion, tomato and herbs can all be adjusted to your own 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, first halve the onion horizontally around its middle (not vertically from end to end) and slice in half again so a flat side of the onion safely rests on the workspace you're using. Remove the root, peel, and slice thinly using the end to end direction. This promotes the onion to laying flatter when sautéed, than cutting it into arched portions of rings.

If you have quinoa and pepitas already made and stored away, this quinoa salad comes together in under 20 minutes.

Nutrition