Fresh Caprese Quinoa Salad
Published 5/20/2020 • Updated 8/8/2022
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A Go-To Summer Salad
Please tell me that you started drooling the moment you saw these photos. WE DID. Caprese salad is one of our favorite go-to salads. Especially in the summer!
Lee and I fell in love with Caprese salad, long before we developed this quinoa salad recipe and even before Fit Foodie Finds was even a twinkle in our eyes (this is Linley btw). I know that we have mentioned this before, but I absolutely LOVE talking about the fact that Lee and I fell in love in Italy.
Anyway, we fell in love with Italian food and culture and this Caprese salad takes me back. Perhaps Team Fit Foodie needs to take another trip to Italy for more Italian food inspiration (HECK YES). Forgive me for getting sidetracked from this gorgeous salad. Let’s focus, people.
Side Dish or Meal — Your Choice!
This fresh Caprese quinoa salad is one of my favorite quinoa salad recipes on Fit Foodie Finds! I love that you can use this Caprese salad as a side dish, a salad for lunch, or make a double batch and use it for meal-prep throughout the week! You won’t believe how incredibly easy it is to make this quinoa salad. Let’s get into it:
Caprese Quinoa Salad Ingredients
- Quinoa
- Tomatoes
- Mozzarella
- Basil
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Balsamic Vinegar
How to Make Caprese Quinoa Salad
Cook Quinoa: In a medium-sized pan, bring water and quinoa to a rolling boil. Reduce heat and simmer on low until all of the water is absorbed. Cool Quinoa: Cool the cooked quinoa in a bowl in the refrigerator for at least an hour before preparing the salad. Prep Tomatoes, Mozzarella and Basil: To prepare the salad, halve the cherry tomatoes and mozzarella balls. Then, give your basil a rough chop. Add in Dressing: Mix in your olive oil, balsamic, salt and pepper (to taste), and then add all ingredients for the salad in a large mixing bowl. Mix it All Together & Enjoy! Mix all the ingredients well. Make sure everything is covered in the delicious olive oil and balsamic dressing. Serve immediately, or store for up to 3-5 days in an air-tight container in the fridge!
More Quinoa Salads
- Golden Roasted Cauliflower and Quinoa Salad
- Quinoa Tabouli Recipe
- Mexican Quinoa Salad
- BEST Quinoa Salad Recipes
Fresh Caprese Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup quinoa, uncooked
- 8 oz fresh mozzarella balls, halved
- 1.5 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a medium-sized pan, bring 1 1/3 cup water and 2/3 cup quinoa to a rolling boil. Reduce heat and simmer on low until all of the water is absorbed.
- Cool the cooked quinoa in the refrigerator for at least an hour before preparing the salad.
- To prepare the salad, mix all ingredients for the salad in a large mixing bowl. Mix well. Make sure everything is covered in olive oil and balsamic vinegar and enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Excellent recipe! I’ll try if it suits me the same as you Thank you! I will save them as favorites <3
Absolutely loved this recipe. Added to my notes!
many thanks!
Absolutely loved this recipe. Super quick and very delicious! I substituted the fresh basil for dry and unfortunately I did not have those delicious mozzarella balls but I still found the recipe to be very light and fresh. I was worried the dressing would be a bit overpowering as someone who does not have caprese recipes often, but it was the perfect ratio! Can’t wait to try more quinoa recipes from fitfoodiefinds 🙂
So glad you loved this recipe!
This recipe is so simple, but is so delicious! And it keeps for a few days, so it’s perfect to make ahead to bring for lunch
Oh I love mozzarella and tomatoes! Thanks for the recipe! I will try that for our barbecue (or maybe substitute with Couscous).
I replaced the Quinoa with Pearl Couscous (Israeli couscous) and it was so good! The aromatic flavor of basil along with the acidity of vinegar combined to give a taste that reminded me of wild green guavas that grow in my home island of Puerto Rico! I can see myself making this again for a hot summer day or for an outdoor picnic at the lake!
Yay! I am so glad you loved this recipe. So GOOD and so many great flavors!