Whole Food’s California Quinoa Salad
A healthy, nutritious copycat recipe that you can make right at home, loaded with sweet mango, bell peppers, edamame and coconut!
Have you ever tried Whole Food’s California Quinoa Salad? I’ve tried it a few times and I finally got around to make it at home. And to my surprise, the homemade version is so much better.
Now I love copycat recipes because you gain full control of what’s in your dish, and you can cherry pick some of the ingredients to your preferences. So for me, I added extra mangos and extra coconut because the tropical twist in this is just amazing!
There’s also tons of other fun goodies in this salad – from the raisins to the edamame and the tangy balsamic-lime dressing. Yes, it’s definitely a party flavor with every bite!
Plus, this is incredibly healthy and nutritious, and certainly bikini-friendly. You can’t beat that!
Whole Food’s California Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- Zest of 2 limes
- 1 mango, peeled and diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- ½ cup shelled edamame
- ⅓ cup chopped red onion
- ¼ cup unsweetened coconut flakes
- ¼ cup sliced almonds
- ¼ cup raisins
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Instructions
- In a large saucepan of 2 cups water, cook quinoa according to package instructions; set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together balsamic vinegar and lime zest; set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine quinoa, mango, bell pepper, edamame, red onion, coconut flakes, almonds, raisins and cilantro. Pour the balsamic vinegar mixture on top of the salad and gently toss to combine.
- Serve immediately.
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So good! And simple to put together. I left out onions (because I hate onions :)) and it was super! Thank you 🙂
I really like this recipe. It’s perfect for work lunch prepping. I’m not a cilantro fan, so I left it out and don’t miss it. Always rinse your quinoa before you cook it!!
I LOVE this salad!!! Its so tasty and gets better the longer it sits. I typically swap the quinoa for pearl couscous and omit the cilantro. 11/10!!!
This is an incredible salad, even better than Whole Foods’ just as promised. I added a cup of corn and 3/4 avocado and both complimented it so well!
This is the tastiest recipe for quinoa I’ve ever had. It’s very compatible with my dietary needs. I didn’t have edamame so I added some frozen peas. Thank you!
I’m not a quinoa fan but when I had this salad from Whole Foods I wanted to eat it every day. Your version nailed it. SO GOOD
i love this salad!
Excellent summer salad. Its boiling hot in Mumbai where I live and this was a delicious light yet healthy lunch.I added 1/2 cup boiled sweet corn kernels but no raisins as my husband doesn’t like sweet salads. Though I did sprinkle mine with raisins. I didn’t have balsamic vinegar so added 3 tblsps of red wine vinegar mixed with 3/4 tbslsps honey along with the lemon zest. Wondering what to substitute mangoes with once the season ends. Any ideas?
Thanks Chungah
What are the Allergens?
All the ingredients listed could be allergens if you’re allergic to them. Good thing the ingredients list is published as part of the recipe!
Hi! This looks amazing! Thinking of making it for lunch for guests. What would you serve with it?
Is there a Pinterest link?
I have al my recies there.
Sandy
Sandy, there is a red Pin It button located right below the title to save this recipe to your Pinterest board. 🙂
Swapped out edemama ..put garbozos instead pretty tasty. Thank you for recipe. Added a few peas as well.0
Great additions!
Just made this last night for dinner! I’ve never added coconut flakes to anything before and LOVED it! Makes for good lunch leftovers. Really fun combo- thank you!
Carter
Hi, I just had the salad for lunch and it’s pretty good. How can I reduce/remove the amount of “fat/saturated fat’? Noticed that the fat content (saturated fat too) is kind of high for a salad. Thanks.
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
This was one of the best salads I’ve ever had. Very quick and easy and also very healthy. The only change I made was using “orange” balsamic vinegar due to having it on hand. Not sure if this changed it much, but was very delicious.
This is my new favourite quinoa dish, so quick and easy, but oh so delicious!! Pretty to look at and yummy to eat.
I have a mango allergy so I used pineapple instead and I love it! Thanks so much for sharing this copy cat recipe! Can’t wait to try another one of your recipes soon!!
Im eagerly looking for interesting salad recipes and stumbled across your website. Made this for dinner yesterday and packed some for lunch today. Absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE it. Forgot to add dressing today but still equally delish! Thanks for sharing and please keep such recipes coming!
I used only 2 TBL of balsamic and juice of 2 limes mixed with a little water, no zest. I also used less than a 1/4 cup onion and more edamame for more protein. Awesome
Chungah, this was amazing!!! We just tried the Whole Foods California Quinoa Salad recently and loved it, so I knew right away I would need a recipe for it. Yours was the first I came across and I have to tell you it is spot on perfect. Thanks so much!