Fuel your summer with this tropical quinoa salad made with caramelized pineapple, fresh veggies and herbs, and drizzled with a honey lemon vinaigrette. A great source of plant based protein and complex carbs to keep you going all day long.

Yall. The PERFECT summer dish is calling your name right here – so make it while we can still claim a little summertime! This gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian friendly recipe can be used as both a main course or side dish, and it is surely one that will make your mouth water and keep you coming back for more. It also makes a GREAT dish to bring to a summer BBQ dinner party – it is fresh and perfect for those warm summer nights, it is easy to make, and is easily prepped! It actually tastes better if you make it the night before so now there is no scrambling around on the day of the event! Make yourself a pre-party cocktail instead 😉 (like this one, or this one – two of my faves!).

Taste The Rainbow

No I am (fortunately or unfortunately?) not talking about Lucky Charms here. But this dish really does deliver you the rainbow! And that is a really good thing to have in a meal when those colors are coming from different veggies because different colors mean that the veggies contain different vitamins, minerals, and nutrients, providing us with a more well-rounded benefit. (Unlike with Lucky Charms whose colors just come from different artificially produced dyes that do more harm than good).

And even better, you can swap out the veggies to make this your perfect dish. Because what I like may be different from what you like! I used a cucumber, red onion, and orange bell pepper in addition to of course the chickpeas and then also some pineapple. I think they all provided a unique element in terms of texture and flavor, but feel free to play around with your favorite ingredients!

Let’s Make a Tropical Quinoa Salad!

This recipe is so so simple, all you need to do is chop, combine, and serve! You can make the quinoa ahead of time and let it cool before mixing it with the veggies for best practice, but if you don’t have that kind of time just sit it in the fridge for a few minutes so it isn’t boiling hot when you mix everything together. You will be serving this dish cold.

You don’t have to caramelize the pineapple if you don’t want to, but it brings out the sugar and adds a little something extra if you want to be fancy!

And like I said before, feel free to swap out and of the veggies if there is something you’d like to add or take away, this meal really is easy to customize!

In addition to the listed ingredients, you will need:

a pot with a cover
water
frying pan
one large mixing bowl
one small mixing bowl
whisk or fork for sauce

Without further ado, because I know summer is slipping away, here is your perfect quinoa dish!