Move over cauliflower rice, Riced Broccoli is here and it’s sheer perfection in this quinoa salad. This gorgeous vegan salad has it all going on with colorful cabbage, tangy citrus, plant based protein from quinoa and pistachios with a delightful crunch. This Riced Broccoli Salad gets better as it sits making it amazing for meal prep too.
When the temperatures drop and I find myself craving more comfort foods, I look to achieve a balance by combining veggies and slow burning fiber filled carbs. Simple riced broccoli and quinoa salad is the best of both worlds. This recipe is satisfying and still light. It’s flavorful yet tastes crisp and clean. A winning combo that is both nutrient dense and the perfect low carb side dish.
Why I love this quinoa salad
- Perfect for meal prep.
- Ideal if you’re trying to up your veggie consumption.
- Fresh and tasty, crunchy and zippy.
- Loaded with vitamin C
- Simple to make with just a few ingredients.
- Not your average, boring, sad salad…this one has pizzaz.
- Nutrient Dense.
If you love quinoa, you will also want to try my southwest quinoa salad, my delicious veggie fried quinoa with tofu and this crispy quinoa salad.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Red Cabbage: A last minute addition for the color, the crunch and the fiber….so glad I did that!
- Quinoa: It’s actually a seed, rather than a grain….and I’m here for it! Quinoa contains protein and fiber helping us feel full longer. Plus, it’s super quick and easy to boil some up.
- Riced Broccoli: Star of the show! Save your broccoli stalks and throw them into a food processor to “rice” them, or it’s easy to find fresh broccoli rice in the produce section of your favorite supermarket or look for frozen riced broccoli in the freezer section. Substitute with cauli-rice if that’s easier for you to find.
- Pistachios: The added crunch makes this salad fun and fabulous. Substitute any nut or seed you like here.
- Dressing: A combination of lemon and orange plus olive oil, fresh garlic, salt and crushed red pepper give this salad the perfect amount of zing!
How to make it
Prep:
- You’ll need cooked quinoa for this recipe. Follow directions in recipe card. You can make it when it’s most convenient for you and store in fridge until ready to make this salad or make it now!
- Either buy broccoli already riced, or use your food processor by loading in florets and roughly chopped stems. Pulse until consistency resembles rice.
- Dice celery.
- Thinly slice scallions
- If you bought raw pistachios, lightly toast in a dry skillet over medium heat, shaking the pan frequently for about 1 minutes, until fragrant and beginning to turn darker.
Make the dressing: start by zesting the orange into a small bowl with a microplane. Then add the juice, plus lemon juice, olive oil, pressed garlic plus salt and crushed red pepper. Use a whisk to emulsify dressing.
In a large bowl, mix the riced broccoli, cooked quinoa, toasted pistachios, celery and scallions. Pour ½ the dressing over, then mix again.
If you didn’t already stir in the chopped cabbage, do it now! Toss well. Taste and add remaining dressing, salt and pepper as desired.
Pass along additional orange slices for an even bigger burst of citrus flavor. I love the bright inside that cara cara oranges provide.
Debra’s Pro Tips
- Make the quinoa and then spread it out on a baking tray to cool so it’s doesn’t clump up. This will make it easier to mix into the salad. You can also make it ahead and refrigerate in an airtight container until ready to make the salad. Simply fluff with a fork and then mix it into the other ingredients.
- When zesting the orange, set a bit aside to use as garnish, if desired (or if you remember).
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. Flavors will intensify as it sits and this salad won’t get soggy the way a green leafy salad will, so it’s a great meal prep salad.
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📖 Recipe
Riced Broccoli and Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa 3 cups cooked
- 5 cups riced broccoli
- 4 scallions thinly sliced
- 3-4 stalks celery small dice (approx. 1 cup)
- 1 ½ cups chopped purple cabbage.
- ½ cup pistachios dry roasted
- 1 orange cut into thin wedges for garnish
Dressing:
- 1 orange zested and juiced (approx. ¼ cup of juice)
- 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 1 clove garlic pressed
- 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, combine 2 cups water with 1 cup quinoa. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 12-15 minutes, until water has been absorbed. Let stand 5 minutes and then fluff with a fork. Spread on a baking tray to cool or make quinoa ahead and refrigerate until ready to use. Break up any clumps before tossing into salad.
- Toss pistachios in a dry skillet over medium heat. Keep shaking pan as nuts get toasted, careful not to let them burn.
- Rice broccoli: you can chop broccoli into large florets and pulse in the food processor or buy already riced broccoli in the produce aisle or freezer section of most super markets. If broccoli rice is frozen, bring to room temp before proceeding.
- Combine all salad ingredients in a bowl.
- Make dressing: Zest and juice orange into small bowl. Add remaining ingredients and whisk together.
- Pour dressing over salad and mix well. Taste for seasoning, adding more S+P as needed. Pass around thin wedges of orange as needed for a burst of flavor.
Notes
Nutrition
Note
The nutrition calculations were done using online tools. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients you used. You are ultimately responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information is accurate, complete and useful.
If you eat quinoa during Passover, this is an awesome side dish or salad to add to your menus. You can find more Healthy Passover Recipes.
Gloria
Hubby and I are on a quinoa kick right now. This looks like a great recipe. Maybe I should print it out for him, and get him to make me dinner for a change. This looks easy enough for him!!
Marisa Franca
Whoa Nellie!! That is a fine looking salad and I agree that it is nutrient dense. It would be a perfect salad/side with all those veggies. I’m definitely keeping this reccipe – we love quinoa and the dressing is so light and fresh sounding. Printing now!
Debra Klein
Thank you! It’s exactly all that.
Debra Klein
LOL. Love that your husband participates in the kitchen and this would surely be an easy recipe. I’d say go for it…ask directly for what you want!!
Sean@Diversivore
I’m glad you added in the purple cabbage – not just for the colour (which is lovely), but because I love the texture that it adds. Plus I frequently find myself with half a head of purple cabbage and a need to do something with it. This whole salad is packed with healthy stuff, and I love that it’s got a big bright citrusy punch. I find quinoa salads kind of hit-and-miss in general, but this is just so loaded with good stuff (pistachios are an awesome touch) that I could enjoy it over and over again. Cheers!
Debra Klein
Thank you! I totally agree…but I seldom have purple cabbage lying around. It’s awesome thinly sliced, drizzled with olive oil, ACV, S + P. Never lasts around here.
Tracy
Oh wow, you know I’ve riced cauliflower, but it never occurred to me to do it to broccoli, too! But of course! This is my kind of new year salad – healthy and satisfying!
Annemarie
I’m with you on not wanting to leave my warm house to get groceries this time of year! I will say it keeps us inventive. 🙂 And I love the quinoa and broccoli salad you came up with, yum! Nicely balanced, great flavors, and pretty as well. Are those Cara Cara oranges you used? (Those are our favorites.)
Trish Bozeman
I know what you meat about not wanting to venture out into the cold and head to the grocery store. It’s a serious event bundling my toddler up to head out anywhere LOL! What a great way to use what you have to make something awesome and nutritious! Love the orange in there.
Dana
Fact: I do not get tired of quinoa. I think it’s impossible. There are so many ways to work with it and amp it up—salads being my most favorite way. I’m always looking for new quinoa salad recipes. I love making a huge batch for myself and keeping it in the fridge for the week for lunches, or to add on top of green salads, or just to pick at. This is a winner!
Debra Klein
I’m with you in that sentiment….so many ways to use quinoa, so little time!!
Debra Klein
Thanks…stay warm!
Debra Klein
Yes! Cara Cara are the best. I buy them by the bags…one good thing about winter anyhow!
Debra Klein
If you like this one, then you’ll also love this recipe for winter tabbouleh that uses a combo of riced cauliflower and riced broccoli.
Traci
We have been eating the heck out of riced broccoli lately. I love it that this recipe uses quinoa with it to crank up the protein game. I’m always up for a dressing made with fresh oranges too b/c, lucky us, we have orange trees in our yard. Timely recipe…gorgeous too! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Tina
This looks pretty and sounds incredibly healthy. I know what you mean by needing lighter fare, especially after the holidays. I like the idea of the purple cabbage for the texture and those anthocyanin which I believe are super healthy for you too. Either way its a win-win. This recipe is probably a perfect light lunch, one that won’t make me too sleepy. Thanks for this!
Christina
What a lovely way to get those veggies in!! That purple cabbage really makes this bright and colorful and the pistachios are such a brilliant touch. Perfect way to lighten up after the holidays.
Debra Klein
Thank you. Always easier to nourish with beautiful and tasty food.
Debra Klein
Yes…if you tend to get sleepy after lunch, this would be a great option for slow and long lasting energy.
Debra Klein
OMG….you have oranges in your yard??? That would be awesome!! This dressing has your name on it!
Carmy
I love that you used riced broccoli to stretch out the quinoa/grain! I love how filling riced broccoli is without it being too heavy. I’ll have to try it with the citrus, sounds delicious!
Carmy
I love that you used riced broccoli to stretch out the quinoa/grain! I love how filling riced broccoli is without it being too heavy. I’ll have to try it with the citrus, sounds delicious!