Almond Beetroot and Chickpea Quinoa Salad (Vegan GF)

A vibrant summery salad that takes 15 minutes to come together and all in one bowl. Packed with colourful vegetables, this naturally vegan and gluten-free salad is great for lunch, dinner or served as a side salad.

I recently worked with Baxters UK on some summery recipes celebrating all things beetroot and I loved the recipes so much that I wanted to share them on here and not just on my social media. So, here is the full recipe for the easiest and freshest Almond Beetroot and Chickpea Quinoa Salad.

I love a good quinoa salad and it annoys me so much that restaurants make a boring old quinoa salad and call it something like “superfood salad” and charge so much for it! This salad is indeed “super”, easy to make at home and is inexpensive. You just need a handful of ordinary wholesome ingredients tossed together with a tasty vinaigrette dressing to make a delicious, light yet filling salad.

Here’s what we need:

• Quinoa: this little grain is naturally vegan and gluten-free which makes it a great option for salads. It cooks quickly (about 12 minutes) which gives us plenty of time to make the rest of the salad. It has a slightly nutty flavour and fluffs up really well. You could easily swap this for the same amount of rice, buckwheat or other grain (I am loving bulgar wheat at the moment).
• Beetroot: I used a pre-cooked and shredded variety for this recipe, but you can buy pre-cooked beetroot and grate it yourself. I love the colour of beets in recipes, it really is so delicious. Slightly earthy, tangy and sweet, they add a wonderful texture and bite to this salad.
• Carrot:  just like the beetroot, grate the carrot for a great texture. I love carrots raw as they are so crunchy but grating makes them slightly easier to chew on!
• Spring onion: I’m not the biggest fan of raw onion in salads so I tend to go for spring onion instead. Make sure you wash them well as they can have dirt in the top part but then you can slice up the white and green parts.
• Fresh herbs: these make all the difference in a salad! They add so much flavour and freshness. My favourites are fresh mint and parsley – or you can use coriander, too. Some fresh chive would also be so tasty with the other salad ingredients.
• Chickpeas: my favourites! You can use other beans depending on what you have but I love the shape and size of chickpeas in salads. Straight from the tin, they are a delicious and simple source of plant-based protein.
• Almonds: a little crunch goes a long way in a salad and adds to all the wonderful textures. Almonds are a favourite of mine in savoury foods, but cashews would be great too. To make this Almond Beetroot and Chickpea Quinoa Salad nut-free you can use pumpkin or sunflower seeds. 
• Raisins/Sultanas: as well as crunchy nuts in salads, I also love sweet and juicy additions too. Dried fruits work so well in grainy dishes and you can use raisins or sultanas interchangeably for this recipe.

Throw all of these ingredients into a mixing bowl and then toss together with a simple vinaigrette. It’s a favourite of mine and works for leafy salads, too. Simply stir together olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon mustard and garlic. Season well with salt and pepper and you’ve got a simple dressing that really brings this Almond Beetroot and Chickpea Quinoa Salad together.

Serve this salad to friends and family as a main meal for lunch or dinner or make a big bowl and serve it as a side salad at BBQs and picnics, it is really versatile. Play around with the vegetables, too. Some cucumber or chopped tomatoes would also work really well as would roast cubed sweet potato or squash.

If you are looking for more summery salads, how about my:

• BBQ Jackfruit Bowls with Grilled Corn
• Mango Berry Salsa
• Balsamic Roasted Vegetable Rice Salad
• Grilled Tomato Asparagus and Chickpea Panzanella Salad
• Fava Bean Falafel Bowl with Beetroot Sauce

Almond Beetroot and Chickpea Quinoa Salad (Vegan GF)

• Servings: 3
• Time: 15 minutes
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

A vibrant summery salad that takes 15 minutes to come together and all in one bowl. Packed with colourful vegetables, this naturally vegan and gluten-free salad is great for lunch, dinner or served as a side salad.

Ingredients

• 100g quinoa
• 100g pre-cooked beetroot, shredded/grated
• 1 carrot, peeled and grated
• 1 spring onion, thinly sliced
• 1 small bunch fresh mint, chopped
• 1 small bunch fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 tin chickpeas, drained (240g drained weight)
• 40g almonds
• 60g raisins/sultanas
• Simple Dressing:
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• ½ tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 small garlic clove, crushed
• Salt and pepper
• To serve: green salad leaves, pomegranate

Directions

1. Cook the quinoa according to packet instructions, drain and leave to cool. Fluff with a fork after 10 minutes.
2. Heat a non-stick frying pan and add the almonds. Dry-fry for 5 minutes, stirring often, until smelling fragrant. Allow to cool and roughly chop.
3. Add the shredded/grated beetroot, carrot, spring onion, fresh mint, fresh parsley, drained chickpeas, chopped almonds, raisins and quinoa to a large mixing bowl and stir well.
4. Add all the dressing ingredients to a small jar, place the lid on and shake to mix (or stir with a spoon). Season with salt and pepper.
5. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss well.
6. Serve in bowls with some extra green salad leaves and pomegranate.

I hope you will love this Almond Beetroot and Chickpea Quinoa Salad and please let me know what you think! Leave a comment below and tag me in your creations, I’m @nourishing.amy on Instagram and use the hashtag #nourishingamy. I’m also on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest  – please say hello!

With almond beetroot quinoa love x