Tropical Fruit Quinoa Salad
To skip the post and step-by-step instructions and go straight to recipe, click here.Bursting with ripe juicy fruits, bright citrus flavor, and healthy quinoa, this salad has benefits abound. It makes for a great healthy breakfast option as it’s high in fiber, vitamin C, vitamin A, and many more, and is naturally gluten free and can easily be made vegan by swapping the honey for agave! I’m a huge fan of an indulgent meal, but when I want something light but still delicious, this is a great option. It’s all about balance after all!
Recipe Notes
Cooking Quinoa: Your best bet to get a good cook on your quinoa is to follow the instructions on the packaging for the quinoa you bought. But, the way I cook quinoa that works well for me is to first rinse the quinoa thoroughly, then put ⅓ of the amount of quinoa that I need for the final recipe (so ½ cup uncooked quinoa would equal 1 ½ cups of cooked quinoa) into a pot with twice the amount of water. So for ½ cup of quinoa, you’d use one cup of water. Place it over high heat and bring to a boil. Cover the pot, turn the heat to low, and leave to cook for 15 minutes. Then take it off the heat and it’s ready to go! For this recipe though, I dump the cooked quinoa right onto a plate and spread it out to cool after it’s fully cooked.
Fruit Substitutes: If any of these fruits aren’t to your liking, I’d recommend berries, kiwi, cherries, or peaches as replacements. Apples and bananas are delicious as well, but only if you plan to serve the salad immediately and expect it to all be eaten, as these fruits will brown quickly.
Step-By-Step Walk-Through
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Step 1:
Make Dressing
Into a small mixing bowl, add 1 teaspoon orange zest, 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice, 4 tablespoons pineapple juice, 1 tablespoon honey or agave, and 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint. Whisk well.
Step 2:
Toast Coconut
Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.
Spread ½ cup sweetened shredded coconut on a baking sheet.
Toast in preheated oven for two minutes. Remove and stir.
If a toasty golden color hasn’t been achieved yet, toast in one minute increments until it reaches a level of toastiness that you like. Careful though, it burns fast!
Set aside until fully cooled.
Step 3:
Cook Quinoa
Cook ½ cup tri-color quinoa according to package directions (once cooked, should yield about 1 ½ cups total). Once fully cooked, spread out on a plate or pan and place in the refrigerator to cool while preparing fruit.
Step 4:
Prepare Fruit
While quinoa is cooling, cut 1 cup of fresh pineapple, 1 cup of fresh mango, and 1 cup of fresh dragon fruit into 1 inch pieces.
Step 5:
Combine Ingredients
Add the fruit, cooled quinoa, toasted coconut, and dressing to a large mixing bowl and fold together. Best served immediately, but will stay good in the fridge up to 3 days.
Tropical Fruit Quinoa Salad
Servings: 4 Time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
For dressing:
1 tsp. orange zest
3 TBS. orange juice, freshly squeezed
4 TBS. pineapple juice
1 TBS. honey
1 TBS. freshly chopped mint
For salad:
½ cup uncooked tri-color quinoa (should yield about 1 ½ cups cooked)
½ cup sweetened shredded coconut
1 cup fresh pineapple
1 cup fresh mango
1 cup fresh dragon fruit
Directions
Step 1: Make Dressing
Into a small mixing bowl, add all dressing ingredients. Whisk well.
Step 2: Toast Coconut
Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Spread sweetened shredded coconut on a baking sheet. Toast in preheated oven for two minutes. Remove and stir. If a toasty golden color hasn’t been achieved yet, toast in one minute increments until it reaches a level of toastiness that you like. Careful though, it burns fast! Set aside until fully cooled.
Step 3: Cook Quinoa
Cook ½ cup tri-color quinoa according to package directions (once cooked, should yield about 1 ½ cups total). Once fully cooked, spread out on a plate or pan and place in the refrigerator to cool while preparing fruit.
Step 4: Prepare Fruit
While quinoa is cooling, cut pineapple, mango, and dragon fruit into 1 inch pieces.
Step 5: Combine Ingredients
Add the fruit, cooled quinoa, toasted coconut, and dressing to a large mixing bowl and fold together. Best served immediately, but will stay good in the fridge up to 3 days.