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.
Did you make this recipe?
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You should try toasting the coconut before incorporating it into the recipe, it adds a lot of flavor.
Chungah! I love you! Everything I have made from your blog has been incredible (I was caught shame-eating the sriracha cream sauce from the teriyaki salmon straight outta the fridge last week). I’ve been shopping at whole foods since forever, but somehow managed to pass over this salad until last week. I didn’t realize when I bought it that it had the coconut and mango, so was excited to discover that… and then while browsing your site for dinners this week became even MORE excited that you had a copy cat recipe!!!!!! Quinoa is cooking as I type, super pumped to make this tonight! Thanks for sharing your talents!!
I just made this and it is so good! All of the recipes that I have tried from this site have been great! I am slowly making my way through the list. Thank you! You are awesome:)
Do you use white balsamic vinegar or regular balsamic? Thanks
I used standard balsamic vinegar.
Quinoa is loaded with protein and fiber. I tried it before but doesn’t taste good. But your recipe looks good. I’ll probably try it! Can’t find cilantro leave: Would it be good to use parsley instead of cilantro leave?
Yes, absolutely.
No olive oil?
There is no olive oil in this recipe.
I really love salad! I want to try about quinoa salad so I took time to find some recipe. I found bunch and one of them was yours, but I want to try your recipe since I love almonds, raisins and mango and your recipe has those. I am excited to make this! 🙂
Is the balsamic vinegar quantity accurate? I just made this and it’s way too overwhelming and tart – cannot enjoy all the lovely ingredients in the salad.
Yes, the measurements are accurate, but please feel free to adjust the amounts as needed to suit your taste preferences. That’s the beauty of home cooking! 🙂
I made this today and followed the recipe exactly but it was a little bitter from the zest. Maybe I put too much? I put in the zest of two whole limes. Also, it turned out really dark because of the balsamic vinegar. A lot darker than your picture. I even put in a little less than 1/4 cup.
Joyce, how much quinoa did you use? The recipe calls for 1 cup uncooked quinoa, which should have yield about 3 cups cooked.
Does anyone have any recipes on couscous salads. Tried it at an organic market in Point Reyes California, it was the best!!
This is one of my favorite couscous recipes yet: https://damndelicious.net/2013/08/23/strawberry-avocado-couscous-with-lime-vinaigrette-2/.
Hey, I saw your quinoa salad and just HAD to make it. It’s been featured here –> http://www.obsessivecooking.com/2014/10/whole-foods-quinoa-salad.html
Thanks for the delicious and healthy recipe. I devoured it and my friends all are inspired by you too 😀
Do you mean 1 cup cooked quinoa or dried quinoa??
Jessica, you will be starting with uncooked quinoa, and cooking it to package instructions as indicated in the first step of the recipe.
Could you make this a day ahead or would it ruin the flavors some way?
I think it should be fine – it’ll really let the flavors soak in!
The only thing I noticed was that the raisins plumped up a bit. The flavors really melded – I made it on a Sunday and had leftovers for lunch Monday and Tuesday. I probably wouldn’t let it go three days because the mangoes may start to deteriorate.
This is the best Quinoa salad I have ever made and I have made quite a few. So many delicious ingredients that go so well together. Love it!
Thanks for the recipe!
So good! I omitted the bell pepper and edamame and used chopped almonds instead of sliced. I replaced the like zest with the juice of half a like. Definitely making again! I also soaked the quinoa for about 4 hours prior since it usually upsets my stomach otherwise.
I love this Salad! We do not have a WF here (I live in the middle of nowhere!) so I am totally digging the copy-cat recipes. Thanks 🙂
Yes, i must say you are perfect in your field. I really appreciate your work. I ‘ll be waiting for your next update. Keep up the good work.
Grocery Coupons
Made this with cous-cous instead of quinoa for some picky family members and it was a huge hit. Making it again with the quinoa for a GF friend this week.
After bariatric surgery for weight loss, I started to build a salad from quinoa on up. It was lacking, but the significant protein in the quinoa was worth a try. This recipe fills in the gaps, holes if you will, in my recipe. Can’t wait to try it. Oh, and BTW, don’t believe it when the company says it is Pre-Washed! Wash it regardless of what they print on the package.
Gonna make mine with ORZO pasta.