Cold Chopped Quinoa Salad With Eggs
This Easy Chopped Quinoa Salad is perfect for lunch or dinner meal prep! It’s made with pomegranates, chopped carrots, cucumbers, parsley, and protein-rich eggs to help make this salad a complete, healthy meal. It’s gluten-free, vegetarian, and ready in under 30 minutes.
This post is sponsored by Get Cracking. As always, all words, thoughts, and opinions are my own. Thank you for continuing to support the brands who help make Walder Wellness possible!
Chopped quinoa salads have been a go-to meal prep recipe of mine for years, and I figured it was time to officially share how I go about making them!
While I love most salads, an issue I have with many of them is their lack of sufficient protein. That’s fine for a side salad, but when you’re making a salad as a complete meal, it’s critical to make it balanced.
Why? Not only does protein provide essential amino acids that build and repair all of our bodies tissues, but it also helps to slow digestion, stabilize blood sugar, and keep us feeling fuller for longer.
Without protein, you might find yourself feeling hungry again not long after you finish your salad. I’ve teamed up with my friends at Get Cracking to share how you can use hard-boiled eggs to make a salad a nutritious and filling meal.
Do Eggs Have Protein?
Just like quinoa salads are a go-to meal prep dish, hard-boiled eggs are a go-to meal prep protein component of mine! I always make a batch of hard-boiled eggs to store in the fridge (they keep all week!) and add them to dishes like this one.
A standard serving of 2 large eggs provides 13 grams of complete protein!
Not only do they elevate my dishes with protein, but eggs also provide an added boost of micronutrients, including:
- iron
- selenium
- folate
- vitamin A
- vitamin D
- vitamin E
- vitamin B12
If you want more egg-based meal prep ideas, be sure to check out my post all about How To Meal Prep With Eggs!
Why This Dish Is Perfect for Meal Prep
I love this chopped quinoa salad for lunch or dinner meal prep for a number of reasons:
- It stores really well, without compromising on texture. I think it tastes even better with time!
- It’s meant to be eaten cold, so you can easily pack it with you for a work lunch or eat it for dinner right when you get home. No need to reheat – just grab-and-go from the fridge.
- It’s nutritionally balanced, combining sources of quality protein (eggs), fibre-rich carbohydrates (quinoa), healthy fats (olive oil), and lots of veggies!
- You can switch up the ingredients depending on the season, so you never get bored of the flavours and can make this salad all year long
NOTE: I’ve used carrots and pomegranates in this recipe since it’s currently winter, but you can easily switch it up and use bell peppers, fresh cherry tomatoes, or summer berries at other times of the year!
How To Make Chopped Quinoa Salad
To make this easy chopped quinoa salad, you want to start by preparing the quinoa. I’ve got a whole blog post on How To Cook Quinoa if you need more instructions!
Next, you want to hard-boil the eggs. My favourite way of doing this is by placing the eggs in a saucepan and adding water until the eggs are just covered. Cover the saucepan with a lid, heat the stove on high, and bring to a boil.
Once boiling, reduce the heat all the way to a simmer and let the eggs cook for 10 minutes. Once 10 minutes are up, drain the eggs and let them sit in cold water to stop the cooking process.
Meanwhile, chop up the veggies into small pieces and roughly chop the parsley. Remove the pomegranate seeds from the fruit and set everything aside. You can remove the eggshells at this point too.
When the quinoa is done, add it to a large mixing bowl along with the chopped vegetables, pomegranate, and parsley. Add olive oil, fresh lemon juice, salt, and pepper, and mix everything together well.
Serve quinoa salad and top with hard-boiled eggs – I like to use 2 eggs per serving, which gives you 13 grams of quality protein from the eggs alone. If you’d like, you can also add some avocado chunks or feta cheese at this point, too!
Storage & Meal Prep Instructions
Any leftovers of this quinoa salad should be stored in an airtight container. It’ll keep in the fridge for at least 4 days. No need to reheat – this salad is meant to be eaten cold!
This recipe should make about 4 servings (as a complete meal), although it can vary depending on your needs.
If you’d like, you can portion it out into 4 containers, add 2 eggs per serving, and store in the fridge for an easy grab-and-go lunch or dinner.
More Meal Prep Salad Recipes
- Roasted Broccoli Salad With Cranberry, Farro & Feta
- Kale Butternut Squash Salad With Farro & Goat Cheese
- Winter Pasta Salad With Roasted Vegetables
- Shrimp Taco Salad Bowl
- 20-Minute Healthy Tuna Pasta Salad
- Healthy Egg Salad Sandwich With Avocado
- Roasted Vegetable Pasta Salad With Shrimp
Did you give this Easy Chopped Quinoa Salad Recipe a try? Let me know by leaving a comment and recipe rating below!
If you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram or Pinterest – seeing your creations always makes my day. You can also subscribe to my email list to never miss a new recipe or nutrition education post!
Get the Recipe: Cold Chopped Quinoa Salad With Eggs
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup quinoa, dry (or 2 cups cooked)
- 8 large eggs
- 4 medium carrots
- 1 long English cucumber
- 1 large pomegranate (approx. 1 cup of arils)
- 2 cups parsley, fresh
- 1 large lemon, juiced
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- Salt + pepper, to taste
- Optional toppings: cubed avocado, feta cheese
Instructions
- Start by preparing the quinoa on the stove. Add 2/3 cup dry quinoa with 1 + 1/3 cup water. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Continue to cook for 15 minutes, or until all liquid is absorbed. For more detailed instructions, check out my post on How To Cook Quinoa!
- Next, hard-boil the eggs. Place the eggs in a saucepan and add water (just enough to cover the eggs). Cover the saucepan with a lid, heat the stove on high, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat all the way to a simmer and let the eggs cook for 10 minutes. Once 10 minutes are up, drain the eggs and let them sit in cold water to stop the cooking process.
- Meanwhile, chop up the veggies into small pieces and roughly chop the parsley. Remove the pomegranate arils from the fruit and set everything aside. You can remove the eggshells at this point too and quarter the hard-boiled eggs.
- When the quinoa is done, add it to a large mixing bowl along with the chopped vegetables, pomegranate, and parsley. Add olive oil, fresh lemon juice, salt, and pepper, and mix everything together well.
- Serve quinoa salad and top with hard-boiled eggs, using 2 eggs per serving. If you'd like, you can also add some avocado chunks or crumbled feta cheese at this point too!
Notes
Nutrition
As a dietitian, I create recipes with whole food ingredients that provide the nutrients needed for optimal health. My nutrition philosophy does not focus on numbers; however, I understand that this information can be helpful.
Do note that the nutrition info provided is an estimate and I cannot guarantee correctness of the displayed values. These numbers will differ depending on brands used, recipe modifications, and amount eaten. If you require specific nutrition information due to medical reasons, please consult with your dietitian or physician.
Did you make this recipe?
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2 Comments on “Cold Chopped Quinoa Salad With Eggs”
How many calories in this salad per serving?
Hi Amanda! I don’t count calories, so I don’t have that information for you unfortunately! You are welcome to copy and paste the recipe into an online nutrition calculator (like MyFitnessPal) to get an estimate of the calories per serving 🙂