This Avocado Blueberry Quinoa Salad balances sweet and savory flavors with crunchy creamy textures. Made with blueberries, quinoa, pecans, and avocado tossed in a lime basil dressing, this vegan, gluten free, and high protein salad is packed with nutrients!
Love adding fruit to your salads? Then check out this simple avocado salad, mango black bean salad, or kale quinoa salad for more fresh and delicious options!
Table of contents
This salad is full of whole foods that will never have you thinking about what else to put with it. It has everything you need in one bowl and it easily comes together in minutes!
To the hearty quinoa, we’re adding sweet blueberries, creamy avocado, and toasted pecans and finishing it with a drizzle of fresh lime basil dressing. It’s super refreshing and so flavorful, and those textures…my goodness!
You’ll find healthy fats, plant based protein, complex carbohydrates, fiber, amino acids, antioxidants, and so many more nutrients.
It is all you need for a wholesome filling lunch or dinner, especially on hot summer days!
Quinoa is a great addition to many meals that help keep me full longer. It’s one of the reasons why my list of healthy quinoa salad recipes grows by the month!
Ingredients for Blueberry Quinoa Salad
This salad comes together in one bowl and is packed with creamy, crunchy textures and a zesty dressing! Here’s what you need to make it:
- Cooked quinoa: Used as the foundation of the entire salad. Has a nutty flavor and a bit of a bite to it!
- Blueberries: When sweet, ripe, juicy fruit gets added to grains or greens, it’s an amazing combination.
- Avocado, diced: Creamy, yet firm, it’s a wonderful textural component that balances the crunchy nuts and nutty quinoa.
- Pecans: A crunchy element that’s even better when toasted!
- Olive oil: It’s the base of the salad dressing.
- Maple syrup: A natural sweetener that gives an amazing maple flavor that pairs well with nuts, blueberries, and lime juice.
- Lime juice: The bright citrus flavor that brings zest and life to the dressing.
- Basil, finely chopped: Along with the lime, the herbs add freshness to the entire recipe.
- Salt & pepper: To enhance the flavors of the entire salad.
How to Make Quinoa Salad
If you’re using leftover quinoa, this salad will be ready to eat in just 15 minutes! If not, add a little extra time to cook our quinoa and enjoy!
Cook the quinoa: Follow my instructions on how to cook quinoa or use the Instant Pot quinoa for perfect fluffy results every time.
Prepare the fruit: Peel and dice the avocado. Wash the blueberries and allow them to dry.
Toast the pecans: Over low-medium heat, toast the pecans in a skillet on the stovetop, for about 5 minutes.
Combine salad ingredients: Into a large bowl they go.
Let’s make the dressing: Whisk together all of the lime basil dressing ingredients together. Or shake if you’re using a mason jar with a lid. Pour over salad ingredients and toss to combine.
Tips for Making Blueberry Quinoa Salad
- Watch pecans closely as you’re toasting them so they don’t burn.
- Pick avocados that are ripe, yet still firm. Overripe avocados will be too mushy. In the same way you’d have them in chickpea salad with avocado.
- Make this salad using whatever berries or fruit you want! Swap the blueberries for strawberries, mangos, blackberries, etc.
- Change up the nuts for a different crunchy element. Pistachios, almonds, walnuts, you name it.
- Make this salad even easier by cooking your quinoa ahead of time. If you’d like to assemble it earlier on, be sure to leave out the avocado and salad dressing until just before serving.
- To rinse or not to rinse your quinoa? If it doesn’t come pre-rinsed, then I suggest you do. It’ll help get rid of the bitterness, but some people find soaking it aids digestion.
Use leftover blueberries to make almond flour blueberry muffins, healthy blueberry muffins or blueberry oatmeal crumble bars too!
How to Store
Store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. The lime juice will help to keep the avocado from turning brown.
Any extra salad dressing can be kept in a jar in the fridge for up to 1 week.
I try to cook extra quinoa in a large enough quantity to have leftovers to freeze for up to 3 months. That way I can make more salads like this one any time!
What to Pair This Salad With
Yes, this salad is a whole meal in itself, but sometimes hungry teenagers remind you that “salad is not a meal!” and so, here are some ideas to satisfy everyone:
- Serve a smaller portion of this salad on the side of vegetarian quesadillas for a completely vegetarian meal. How about a bit of strawberry mango salsa as a second side? Yummy!
- If you want to add some meat protein to dinner time, think about making chicken and whole wheat spaghetti, or healthy pesto pasta to go along with a side of quinoa salad.
- Any one of these 30 minute meals would be great to pair with the salad for a quick and easy weeknight dinner.
- You can’t go wrong with chicken! Grilled chicken or Instant Pot chicken breast would be easy to do! If you want a bit of meat protein in your salad, slice the chicken breasts and add it on top.
More Quinoa Salad Recipes to Try
If you enjoyed this salad recipe, then you might like some of these other healthy quinoa salads!
- Quinoa and black bean salad
- Mexican kale salad
- Broccoli quinoa salad
- Southwest quinoa salad
- Mediterranean quinoa salad
You may also like to browse through this list of 52 healthy salad recipes! You might also like this fruity berry salad dressing!
Avocado Blueberry Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups quinoa cooked
- 1 cup blueberries
- 2 large avocados diced
- 1 cup pecans
Lime Basil Dressing:
- 1 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/2 large lime juice of
- 3 tbsp fresh basil finely chopped
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
- Cook quinoa as per package instructions. Or here is how to cook quinoa stovetop or check out Instant Pot quinoa.
- In a large bowl, add cooked quinoa, blueberries and avocados.
- In a small skillet, toast pecans on low-medium heat until lightly brown, about 5 minutes. Stir frequently and watch closely not to burn. Transfer to a bowl with other ingredients.
- In a small bowl, whisk olive oil, maple syrup, lime juice, basil, salt and pepper. Pour over the salad and gently stir to combine. Serve cold.
Notes
- Store: Refrigerate covered for up to 3 days.
- Make ahead: Cooking quinoa ahead of time, be sure to leave out the avocado and salad dressing until just before serving.
- Pick avocados that are ripe, yet still firm.
- Make this salad using whatever berries or fruit you want! Swap the blueberries for strawberries, mangos, blackberries, etc.
- Change up the nuts for a different crunchy element. Pistachios, almonds, walnuts, you name it.
So delicious and fresh w lime and basil!!! I served it over spinach to up the veg and was still great.
Love your recipes and whole approach to food and life, thanks for sharing ❤️
Thanks for being here April and making the recipe! Glad you enjoyed it!
This was sooo delicious and a perfect light dinner on a summer night.
So happy to hear this!
Loved it. Was low on blueberries so I added some grape tomatoes. The dressing is what makes this
So great to hear this feedback Ag!
Really enjoyed this Blueberry Quinoa Salad just as listed as I had everything on hand. Ate it while waiting for the flavours in your Mango Black Bean Salad recipe that I was also making to marry.
Great recipes on this site.
Awe, thanks so much Kathy 🙂
This recipe looks delicious. I wish I had fresh basil. I have my frozen chicken in the insta pot now.
It’s cool and easy! Thank you)))
Looks yummy…
1) I don’t have limes , can I use lemon instead?
2) frozen blueberries? Don’t have fresh.
1. Yes.
2. Mmmm, they are more delicate than fresh after thawing. I would stir salad w/o them first and then sprinkle on top and give just 12- stirs. And be ready for a bit blueberry coloured salad which is not a big deal.:)
This was delicious! I’ve decided to go “Meatless Monday” and came across this yesterday when searching recipes with blueberries. I was happy to see that this had all ingredients I had on hand- including basil from my garden. I brought some to work for lunch and wished I had brought more! The only change I made was to add just a touch more maple syrup. This would be a great salad to bring to a party, too.
Yay. Glad you enjoyed.
Going to add chopped spinach and cucumbers for a heartier salad, thanks for the inspiration
Sounds great! Anything goes. You are very welcome.:)
Love this blueberrry quinoa avocado salad
So happy to hear, Chris! I wish blueberries were in season 9 months out of the year.:)