Quinoa Tuna Salad
Quinoa Tuna Salad is a very light, healthy, and protein-packed meal. It’s made with red onion, bell peppers, cucumbers, olives, canned tuna, and cooked quinoa, all tossed with a tangy and easy-to-make dressing. It’s simple, easy, and stays fresh for days in the fridge.
Quinoa Tuna Salad
Our Quinoa Tuna Salad is delicious tasting and an ideal salad for family and friends. Quinoa is a wheat-free, gluten-free versatile grain that is very delicate and light in texture with a nutty flavor all on its own. It is delicious!
For more gluten-free salads, try our Best Broccoli Salad (Keto, and Italian Tomato Salad. And, for more quinoa recipes, don’t miss our Southwest Quinoa Salad, and Quinoa Stuffed Zucchini.
Ingredients Overview:
For our quinoa tuna salad, you will need the following ingredients:
- Quinoa – you will need to boil the quinoa before making this salad
- Tuna – in olive oil
- Lemon
- Red Onion
- Small Bell Peppers (I used 1 yellow, 1 red)- chopped
- Cucumber
- Pitted Black Olives
- Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
- Seasonings -some salt and pepper to taste
- Fresh Basil – to garnish
How to make it? (*full recipe card below!)
There are 5 Easy Steps to making this delicious quinoa tuna salad:
- Cook the Quinoa: All you need to do is cook the quinoa in boiling water. Once that is ready, the rest is easy.
- Prep all the Veggies: Chop and prep all the vegetables, toss them into a mixing bow.
- Add the Tuna: Open a can of Tuna or a jar of the Italian Tuna, and toss it into the bowl.
- Make the Dressing: Blend the ingredients for the dressing and add it to the bowl. Gently toss everything together and taste. Adjust the seasoning to your liking.
- Chill the Salad: Cover with clear wrap and chill it for at least 30 minutes or more before serving.
Tips for Success:
- The tangy lemon is mild in this tuna salad, and this is where you can get creative and add more or less lemon to your taste.
- If you don’t care for lemon, by all means, use a light vinegar instead.
- We love adding bell peppers to our salads. They provide a nice crunchy texture along with the sweet taste of them, not overpowering, and adds a nice balance to the salad.
Options for Variations:
This salad is very versatile and you can add other condiments and even veggies to your liking. Have fun with this salad, and come up with your own creations:
- add in capers
- green olives
- and even fresh parsley
- If you don’t care for lemon, by all means, use a light vinegar instead.
Storing:
This quinoa salad will stay fresh all week long, if kept chilled in the refrigerator. Be sure to transfer this salad to an airtight container, or sealed the salad bowl with a sheet of clear wrap.
More Quinoa Recipes You’ll Love!
Quinoa Tuna Salad is a delicious salad to serve chilled or at room temperature on a bed of lettuce for a light lunch or even serve as a side with a soup for a delicious meal.
Enjoy!
Your comments help us! If you try our Quinoa Tuna Salad, leave a comment below and don’t forget the stars! We’d love to hear from you. Thank you and Happy and Healthy Cooking! 🙂
Quinoa Tuna Salad
Quinoa Tuna Salad is very light, healthy and a protein-packed satisfying meal. It's made with red onion, bell peppers, cucumbers, olives, canned tuna and quinoa all tosses with a tangy dressing. Perfect salad to make all year long!
Ingredients
- 1 + 1/2 cups Quinoa
- 3 cups water
- 2 cans (5 ounces each) of Tuna in olive oil
- 1 lemon- juiced
- 1/3 red onion - diced
- 2 small bell peppers (I used 1 yellow, 1 red)- chopped
- 1/2 cucumber - diced
- 1 small can pitted black olives- chopped
- 2 to 3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- fresh basil to garnish
Instructions
- Place quinoa and water in a 2-quart sauce pot. Bring to boil.
- Cover, reduce heat and simmer until all liquid is absorbed, about 12 to 15 minutes.
- Set aside to cool completely. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
- In the meantime, open cans of tuna and drain the oil. Transfer tuna to a small bowl. Add lemon juice, red onion, bell peppers, olives and diced cucumber. Toss lightly to combine.
- When quinoa is completely cooled, add in the tuna mixture. Pour in some olive oil and mix with a spoon to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Transfer salad to a serving bowl. Cover with clear wrap and chill for one hour before serving. Garnish with fresh basil at the top.
- Serves 4 to 6
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6 servingsServing Size:
1 servingAmount Per Serving: Calories: 291Total Fat: 9.9gCarbohydrates: 31.8gFiber: 3.8gSugar: 2.7gProtein: 20.1g
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you Quinoa Tuna Salad looks gorgeous. What a delicious way to eat healthy as well. 🙂
Thank you Amy!
This looks wonderful – so healthy and delicious – I could eat this everyday!Mary x
Hi Mary, we could too! xxoo
greeat idea. i am definitely going to try this one.
Thanks Anna, I think you will like this one! xxoo
A lovely, healthy dish! And I just bought a whole bunch of tuna at Whole Foods!
Thank you Abbe, I just bought some too!
This is such a great idea! We love our classic tuna salad and this is such a healthy twist on it.
Thank you Sue, I made this for lunch for my friends and it was a hit!