This Apricot and Edamame Quinoa Salad is a healthy, delicious and nutritious vegetarian salad recipe perfect for lunch or dinner! With fresh apricots and edamame and a zesty lemon dressing, this salad doesn’t skimp on flavor.
This salad would be great for a picnic. I wish I could say this statement with confidence, but thanks to Mother Nature, I can’t. Remember my summer bucket list post? Well last weekend C and I decided to tackle #1, rent kayaks and have a picnic on the Toronto Islands.
I called and rented us a tandem kayak and prepped a whole spread for our lunch. I made this quinoa salad, chopped veggies and made a dip, picked up some charcuterie and cheese along with some grapes to munch on. We even stayed in on Saturday so that we could be up bright and early on Sunday morning. By this I mean that Orange is the New Black had just been released and we needed to get through as much of the season as possible…
Fast-forward to Sunday morning, I bounced out of bed, poured myself some iced coffee and started organizing our stuff for the day. I think I must have had my excitement goggles on because I failed to notice the grey, scary-looking sky outside. This observation only occurred when I received a call from the rental company informing me I could cancel because they were calling for a 90% chance of rain. Life. Shattered.
Yes, I am being dramatic but a very important thing to know about me is that my mood is entirely dictated by the weather. So basically when they called and informed me of the impending weather I went from hero to zero in 2.5 seconds. Does that statement work when used backwards? Whatever. Sorry it’s pouring rain outside right now which means I’m feeling sassy.
I chose the wrong place to live considering it is basically winter in Toronto 8 months of the year. I avoid the outside like the plague (in fact I think winter might be the plague) from October to May and not a chance am I going outside when it’s raining. I’m partially allergic to rain (I made that up) and also have very curly hair so if it’s straight it CANNOT get wet. Otherwise I wasted 45 minutes of my life straightening my hair, only to end up with an afro again by the end of the day.
So as you can imagine, when I discovered our picnic had a descent chance of being rained out I immediately cancelled everything and spent the rest of the morning sulking. Eventually I snapped out of it and baked myself a Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp which I promptly demolished in less than 12 hours. And we had a nice little picnic with this Apricot and Edamame Quinoa Salad at our kitchen table. Though I’m still a little bitter… 😉
PrintApricot & Edamame Quinoa Salad
- Total Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
- 3 fresh apricots, pitted & chopped
- 3 green onions (white and light green only), sliced
- 1 cup shelled edamame
- 1 cup bell pepper, diced
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
- 1/4 cup crumbled feta (optional)
- juice, 1 lemon
- 2 T white wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Cook quinoa according to package instructions.
- In a large bowl combine cooked quinoa, apricots, green onion, edamame, bell pepper, sunflower seeds and feta (if using).
- In a separate bowl combine lemon juice, vinegar, and dijon.
- Add dressing to quinoa mixture and stir to combine.
- Top with paprika, salt and pepper.
- Let sit in refrigerator for at least one hour to soak in the flavours. I recommend leaving it in the fridge overnight before eating. It gets better the longer it sits.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4
Are you affected by the weather? What’s in your picnic basket?
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40 Comments
Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves
June 20, 2014 at 7:15 pmGotta love Mother Nature’s hormonal attitude. And then our hormonal attitude as a response. This quinoa salad makes me happy though!
Kat
June 19, 2014 at 4:31 pmThis is amazing. I adore quinoa salads, but I would never think to use apricots in one for some reason! What a great flavor addition.
Sorry for the bummer weather though 🙁
Chelsea @ Chelsea's Healthy Kitchen
June 18, 2014 at 6:34 pmI hate it when the weather spoils my plans! That happened to me so many times this winter thanks to the snow – I was so bitter towards it!
Your kayaking and picnic date sounds fun though! I hope you get to do it soon.
Kim
June 18, 2014 at 5:59 pmI like a rainy day about once a month – beyond that and my mood suffers a lot!!!
Sorry you didn’t get the picnic – hopefully soon!!
Nicole @ Foodie Loves Fitness
June 18, 2014 at 4:55 pmBoo for crappy weather! You need to move to Cali girlfriend.
I love apricots and edamame! Haven’t bought any apricots lately and I think I need to change that.
My picnic basket always has cheese, crackers, fruit and fresh bread. Nom nom nom.
[email protected]
June 18, 2014 at 4:08 pmI am totally affected by the weather! I get soooo cranky when its not nice out and I want to do something fun on the weekend. I probably would have been in a really bad mood if that happened to me! Last week it rained here Monday through Friday. Then Friday afternoon we drove up the Cape where it proceeded to rain most of the day on Saturday while it was nice and sunny in NYC. I honestly started to feel a bit depressed from lack of sunshine!
Lauren
June 18, 2014 at 3:57 pmOh rubbish – that sounded like such a great day as well. I can vouch that kayaking is really hard – maybe it is because I am a bit special though… I found it really hard to go straight haha. If wind and rain are together I can turn pyschotic – it makes me really angry for some unknown reason – Johnny thinks I am mental as I am cursing under my umbrella haha. The day looks like it was saved by some pretty good dessert – so you are still winning. Plus this salad looks great – one for the lunch box – pronto!
Jo @ Living Mint Green
June 18, 2014 at 3:52 pmSometimes I hate living in Canada… but once summer hits, I forget how much I hate snow & feel like the luckiest person in the world.
It’s been kinda rainy here in the Rockies this week, but I like it! As long as the weekends are clear & sunny, that’s all that matters. 🙂
Megan (The Lyons' Share)
June 18, 2014 at 3:46 pmLove that you used fresh apricots instead of dried! Protein packed and delicious – will definitely be trying this one! Thanks, lady!
Marisa @ Uproot from Oregon
June 18, 2014 at 3:43 pmHow come only the salad got devoured? I would have pulled out those meats, cheese, grapes, and gone to picnic town on a blanket on the floor while binging on Orange Is The New Black. Wait… did I just tell you how I plan to spend my evening tonight? Yep. Definitely going to try this salad soon!
[email protected]
June 18, 2014 at 3:06 pmSo the Hubby and I did actually go canoeing last year and there is NO ROOM IN THE BOAT FOR SNACKS. For real, the Hubby made me leave them behind. I did stuff my phone in a Ziploc bag and shoved it in my bikini top. We’re planning on doing it again this year, and I’m planning on bringing snacks. I haven’t figured out the logistics yet, but mark my words, it will happen.
Maybe I’ll bring this salad. It’s beautiful and I like edamame.
Megan @ The Skinny-Life
June 18, 2014 at 3:03 pmWhat a beauty of a salad! I so feel your pain on the weather. I grew up in WI and believe I was depressed most of my childhood due to the weather. Since moving to AZ, I’m a much happier person and convinced it’s the vast amount of daily sun we get.