This quinoa power salad is a fun, colorful and delicious way to enjoy plant-based foods. With spiralized vegetables and crispy chickpeas, it's also filling!
So many good things are happening today.
1) we're spiralizing. 2) we're eating a ginormous salad. 3) we're basically eating a bowl of rainbows.
(just in quinoa power salad form)
![How to make a simple quinoa power salad: combine spiralized veggies, quinoa and crispy chickpeas with a creamy almond butter dressing [VEGAN]](https://www.simplyquinoa.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/rainbow-power-quinoa-salad-2.jpg)
This cheerful salad is my newest obsession. It's got tons of tasty veggies and fluffy quinoa, and then it's topped with coconut oil roasted chickpeas which act kind of like croutons but are SO much better. If you haven't jumped on this crispy chickpea train yet…get ready. Total game changer.
But all that yumminess aside, this dressing = amazing.
Usually, when we're making a salad, tahini (and likely miso) finds its way into my dressing. It was about to happen again – I'm not kidding I had scooped tahini into the bowl already – but I realized you might not like it *quite* as much as I do. And sometimes you've just gotta change things up.
We didn't venture too far off course though… rather than tahini, I decided to use almond butter.
I tend to lean on almond butter more for sweet things, so I wasn't sure I was going to like it, but it totally worked. Perhaps it's partly because some of the veggies in this salad are on the sweeter side, but either way, it was delish.
Reminds me almost of a pad thai type sauce, but with a more subtle flavor. Basically it tastes a little less Asian-inspired and is a more everyday type dressing. Perfection on top of these spiralized veggies.
Speaking of….let's talk about these veggies.
Raved about my FAVE tool already – which I will say is now available on Amazon (woohoo!) – so this time it's all about the veggies.
When I first came up with the desire to make this salad, it was cold, wet and rainy out. I needed something cheerful. Something colorful. Something that would brighten up my plate and make me smile just looking at it.
Pasta makes me smile. Veggie pasta makes me light up in side. Spiralizing only made sense.
Here's my rainbow color scheme:
- red bell peppers
- carrot
- yellow beet
- broccoli stems
I realize I'm missing a few of the colors of the rainbow, but this is what I could find at the grocery store and so I went with it. For your version? Totally feel free to change it up or mix and match your fave veggies. This salad is super customizable.
Next up? We MUST talk about these chickpeas.
I've finally found a method that (in my personal opinion) can't be beaten. It's only three ingredients, but it does take some patience as you wait for the beans to get super crunchy.
It starts with drained and rinsed chickpeas, which you pat dry and remove any skins. Actually, I prepped them in this video if you want to check it out. So once you have them ready to go, I just scoop some coconut oil into my hands (if it's soft, skip this step if it's liquid already), and rub it all over the chickpeas. It's like giving them a little, very gentle love massage.
Then you just sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast at 375ºF for about 45 minutes.
My reallll trick though is to turn the oven off after the 45 minutes and let those chickpeas just sit in the oven until they're cool. I swear you'll have the crunchiest chickpeas on the planet.
Best salad topping. EVER. yup.
Okay so this post turned out to be way longer than I expected, so I'm going to wrap it up and send you on your way. Hopefully in the direction of your spiralizer so you can make this fabulous quinoa salad 😉 Your gonna love, love, LOVE it!
Question…
Have you tried spiralizing before? What tool do you use? If you're in the market for one, get The Inspiralizer. I'm not kidding is the best tool on the market AND it's now available on Amazon with free shipping.
OH and also! Do you have a go-to salad dressing you can share with me? I need some ideas to change things up. We get stuck in these ruts and it would be great to get a little inspiration. You're the best!
xo Alyssa
More Yummy Recipes to try with your Inspiralizer:
- Apple + Beet Noodle Salad with Candied Quinoa
- Spiralized Butternut Squash Bowls with Harissa Chickpeas + Quinoa
- Pad Thai Zucchini Noodle + Quinoa Salad
- Beet Noodle Falafel Bowls from Inspiralized Everything
- Zucchini Noodles with Lime-Arugula Pesto
- Quick & Easy Garlic Sesame Zucchini Noodles
Spiralized Rainbow Quinoa Power Salad
Ingredients
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 large carrot
- 1 medium yellow beet
- 1 large broccoli stem or small zucchini
- 1/2 cup cooked quinoa
- 1/2 cup crispy chickpeas or more!
- Parsley chili flakes + sesame seeds for garnish, optional
- for the dressing
- 2 tablespoons almond butter
- 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon miso paste
- juice 1 lime
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger
- for the chickpeas
- 1 15 oz organic chickpeas
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- Salt + pepper to taste
Instructions
- We'll start with the chickpeas by preheating the oven to 375ºF. Drain and rinse the chickpeas and spread them out on a baking sheet. Pat them dry with a paper towel, removing and skins that came off the beans.
- Either melt the coconut oil or just rub it between your hands and then rub it on the chickpeas. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Roast the chickpeas for 40 - 45 minutes until they're crispy. Allow them to sit in the oven while you prepare the rest of the salad.
- Spiralize the veggies using your spiralizer, cutting them into smaller noodles and add them to a mixing bowl. Add quinoa and toss to combine.
- Whisk together the dressing ingredients and pour it over the noodles. Toss again to combine.
- Transfer to two bowls and top with chickpeas. Garnish and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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![QUINOA POWER SALAD with spiralized carrots, beets and peppers PLUS crispy roasted chickpeas and an almond butter dressing [vegan + gf]](https://www.simplyquinoa.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/spiralized-power-salad.jpg)
When you wrote 1/2 tsp of ginger, did you mean fresh ginger, or ground?
I used ground 🙂 thanks!!
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I have the Inspiralizer. I really like to use it for zucchini and other soft vegetables – it is easy to set up and clean and does a great job on soft veggies. But I was disappointed with it when trying to spiralize harder vegetables such as beets, carrots or sweet potatoes. I bought the Kitchen Aid spiralizer attachment and absolutely love it!! It does take a little more time to set up, but it does an awesome job on harder vegetables, and it peels/cores/slices applies very nicely. I guess I like having both of them because they each have good purposes.
Interesting you say that, I’ve NEVER had that issue with the Inspiralizer. Are you sure it’s the Inspiralizer from Ali Maffucci you have and not the one from Amazon? They look kind of similar but are very different tools in practice. I have yet to find a tool that works better than it. Glad you like the KA attachment though!
Carrot, ginger & orange dressing:
Blend together
1 small bunch carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
couple big chunks of ginger, peeled
1 small- medium shallot, peeled
1 tbsp tamari
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
4 tbsp olive oil
pinch sea salt
1/2 orange
2 tbsp water
That sounds amazing! Thanks for sharing 🙂
this is my favorite salad dressing. Don’t remember where it’s from.
1/2 c water
1/3 c rice vinegar
1/4 c balsamic
1/4 c raisings
4 cloves garlic
1 ts oregano
1/2 t basil
1/2 t onion powder Blend in high powered blender. can thicken a bit w/ your favorite
YUM! That sounds delicious 🙂 I bet it would also be yummy with dates or cranberries!
It looks so good but something in me just refuses cold salad in the in the winter. It’s snowing and with the windchill feeling like -13c here! I like the idea though so maybe a warm version…. As for spiralizing., I had a hand held one, one of those simple ones you stick in the veg and turn. I managed to cut my finger with the darn thing! I threw it in the garbage after that!
Thanks, Jade! Maybe give it a try when the weather warms up a little bit 🙂 I hear ya with the hand held spiralizers – they’re not the best. I absolutely LOVE the one I have and can’t recommend it enough. Check it out if you’re interested!