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Green Bean & Almond Quinoa Salad
This simple green bean and quinoa salad is perfect for a quick side or served as a main with a little grilled chicken, chickpeas or tofu. Either way, this salad will be a hit!
Ready for a salad to brighten up your potluck tomorrow?
I don't know what's on your menu, but for many of us it's going to be the big old BBQ spread. Burgers (turkey burgers if I have my way), hot dogs, sausages, potato and pasta salads.
But what about your greens? You need to have greens. Are you going to just have that same old boring salad you have at every potluck? I sure hope not!
I suggest you try this green bean and almond quinoa salad.
Green beans are one of my favorite vegetables. They're crunchy, colorful and with just slight sweetness that makes them perfect in almost any salad.
Especially a quinoa salad like this one.
Granted I love them raw as a snack too, but with a simple steam, chopped up and tossed on a salad they're sensational.
This salad highlights the green bean in a very special way. The quinoa adds texture, but it's the sliced almond that add that extra crunch that this salad so desperately needs. Plus with a little almond extract drizzled into the mix, this green bean and almond quinoa salad is quite divine.
What's great about this salad is that it also doubles as a lovely holiday side dish! Can we think of it as an alternative to green bean casserole perhaps? Obviously different, but easier, healthier and more accessible for all diet types!
And if you don't have access to fresh green beans, no worries at all. You can absolutely use frozen, just thaw and steam like you would here and add them to your salad.
Green Bean & Almond Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
for the quinoa:
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 2 bay leaves
for the salad:
- cooked quinoa
- 1 lb green beans clean and chopped into 2" pieces
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
for the dressing:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Instructions
- Add the quinoa, vegetable broth and bay leaves into a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to simmer and cover. Cook for 14 - 15 minutes until the liquid has been absorbed and the quinoa is fluffy.
- While the quinoa is cooking, steam the green pieces until just tender, about 5 - 7 minutes. Allow them to cool slightly.
- Add the quinoa, green beans and almonds into a large mixing bowl.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients. Pour over the salad and toss to combine.
- Serve immediately.
Nutrition
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Recently started Whole Foods plant based eating, and this appealed to me. I made it, added some cubed tofu. It’sa keeper!!
Yay!
The recipe looks great – can’t wait to try it. At the beginning, where you say “For the quinoa – do you mean “1 cup uncooked quinoa”.? Thanks!
Yes, thank you for catching that 🙂 I hope you enjoy the recipe!
Hello! Thank you for the delicious posts! I can’t wait to try so many of them! This quinoa with green beans looks great! I watched the video and noticed that the video has olive oil, apple cider vinegar, and garlic powder in addition to the other ingredients listed in the linked recipe. Wondering about that?
You’re right! The recipe never got updated – oops! It’s updated now 🙂
[…] Green Bean & Almond Quinoa Salad […]
Can’t wait to try this!????
Hi just done this one and add some choped apple… so good!
Thanks for the lovely recipes ☺
hooray! Love the addition of apple 🙂
[…] Green Bean and Almond Quinoa Salad via Simply Quinoa […]
[…] Green Bean and Almond Quinoa Salad features nutty quinoa, crunchy almonds, and lightly cooked green beans. Start with fresh green beans, and give them a 5-minute steam to tenderize them a bit. Once combined with quinoa and sliced almonds, the green beans need only a dash of lemon juice, a teaspoon of almond extract and a pinch of salt and pepper to become a flavorful salad. […]
Alyssa – I have been eating what I call the “Q” now for about three months now, and I love it. Someone suggested that I try it to help reduce my blood sugar levels. Hesitantly I did, and found it to truly work. The “Q” is now my subsitute for most of the sweet and savory dishes that I make. I’ll put in my salads, puddings, soups, stews, etc…the list goes on. I am going to try baking with it soon, as I have a home-based bakery. I’ll let you know what the creative juices come up with.
Belinda
I just made this. Added some chopped red onions and lemon zest! It was delicious!!
Thanks!
Ooo love the additions!! So happy you enjoyed it 🙂
This looks delicious!
Thanks Vicky!