I can’t say I’m a big fan of “sweet” salads. I like savory, spicy, and salty salads piled high with veggies, beans, salsa, and herbs. There is always an exception though, and summer months mean lighter meals.
I needed to come up with a dish to use up the leftover onion and cilantro I had from this meal. I am not one to waste, and I can only use so much cilantro on my lunches. Thus this quinoa salad was born.
Light, refreshing, and a good balance of sweet, salty, and acidity. The flavor train will be parking in your mouth, and you’ll want it to stay.
Pineapple Cashew Quinoa Salad
- 1 cup dry quinoa
- 2 cups water
- 1 tblsp coconut oil
- 1 small lime
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 3/4 cup diced sugar plum tomatoes
- 1/4 cup diced green onion
- 1.5 cups diced pineapple
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 cup salted cashews
Directions
- Cook your quinoa in the 2 cups of water. Once cooked, melt in the coconut oil, juice your lime, and zest your lime right into the mix.
- In no particular order, add the rest of your ingredients and stir well. Salt and pepper to taste.
Notes: I didn’t buy salted cashews, and ended up adding a bit of salt to my dish. The sweetness of the pineapple called for a salty balance. If you use salted cashews, extra salt might not be necessary.
This is one of those meals that gets better as it sits. Ideally I would let this sit for at least an hour before consuming. This gives the flavors enough time to party together and become one giant ball of delicious.
Suggested toppings: Sliced avocado, and of course more cilantro.
Also delicious with chips, but what ISN’T delicious with chips??
Happy noshing my friends!
Q: What do you typically eat when it’s warm out? LOTS of fruit, and cold salads. Don’t even try to give me something “heavy.”
Blissfulbritt 
54 thoughts on “Pineapple Cashew Quinoa Salad”
katalysthealth
yum yum YUM! This salad has major foodgasm written all over it. Those flavors would probably make my mouth explode. I need it!
Ellie
I really love putting fruit in my wraps. For example I made a wrap the other night with avocado, gingered tofu and pineapple. It was really great and refreshing!
Brittany
That wrap sounds DELICIOUS!
The Vegan 8
Looks good girl! I’m definitely a sometime quinoa girl. We used to eat SO much of it, I got burned out on it. I like the simplicity of this salad and it’s so healthy too!! I would definitely add lots of avocado to this!! Delish!
P
Move over guacamole! This certainly looks like an awesome “dip” :p
Heather @ HeatherRunsFast.com
YUM! This sounds delish! I love sweet salty combos. Makes me feel like I don’t need a dessert afterwards… although, 9 times out of 10 I still have something sweet, haha. I’m all about anything cold or grilled in the summer.
Lauren
This is sooooo happening. Yum! I love fruity quinoa salads. I eat a lot of fruit, salads and BBQ chicken. 🙂
Amy @ A Desert Girl
This looks really tasty! I’m in the market for salad meals for the summer months. I’ll have to try this one out.
Food, Booze, & Baggage
Looks good! I’m more into salads in the summer. I’m very seasonal in my cravings like in the winter I don’t want smoothies or salads (as much), I want soup and casseroles but in the summer I want lighter dishes fish, smoothies, fruit, salads.
Hannah
Ha! I eat my salads (sweet and savory) with chips too. No shame.
Megan
That camera is amazing. I clicked the pics and ZOOOOOOMED all the way in. It is incredible. I held back from licking the screen. When it is warm out… lots of fruits, veggies, salads, and grilled meats!!
Brittany
Right!? It’s my pride and joy haha. I just hate how my blog layout makes my pictures look…hmmm…
scvanguard
Pineapple in quinoa sounds perfect, especially in this hot weather! I like the chip dip idea too.
Kayse
This looks amaaaaazing! I loooove pineapple and cashews together.
The Zen Kat
Pineapple in quinoa sounds perfect, especially in this hot weather! I like the chip dip idea too.
The Zen Kat
Pineapple in quinoa sounds perfect, especially in this hot weather! I like the chip dip idea too.
How to Philosophize with Cake
That looks awesome! Definitely a great preparation for quinoa, sounds delish! 🙂
kathy @ vodka and soda
i loooove quinoa! thanks for sharing this recipe.
Shawna
yup, with you on the lots of fruit, lots of water, and lots of cold salads and veggies. and lots of white wine spritzers. 🙂
brickhousechick
I would party with cilantro any day!!! Another great dish by you! I like the avocado idea too. 🙂
Meghan@CleanEatsFastFeets
Um can you please direct that flavor train towards my mouth. Ok, thanks.
Ashley
Pineapple goes SO well with quinoa! And paired with something salty it’s even better. This looks incredible, and I love that it’s simple, because I am all about easy meals lately.
GiGi Eats Celebrities
My eating doesn’t change regardless of the weather. I just turn on the AC if I am cooking something in the oven, cause I AM AWESOME LIKE THAT… And, uhhhhhh, somethings in life are just worth the extra $$ (aka: my AC bill… AHHH HA HA HA AH AH!)
Matt @ Runner Savvy
Yummmm
Luv What You Do
I saw this on your instagram…looks incredible!
Khushboo Thadani (@KhushbooThadani)
Hold on a sec….there’s been a flavor explosion in my mouth—> and that’s exactly what I’d say after one bite of this! Although I’m not a fan of cilantro but I’m sure that’s easily replaceable with another herb! Summer for me means more fruit & salads than normal….and wine ha!
alexvegginout
This just looks so light and refreshing!!!! I absolutely LOVE these kind of salads! My summer eats include lots of fresh fruit. Oh and ice cream. But then again, ice cream is a year-round addiction for me 😛
apartmentwife
girrrl, you said you were going back to school soon, but i’m pretty convinced you could make it in the food business – restaurant? cook book? food truck? the combinations you think of are always so inspiring. PS- what *are* you going back for??
Brittany
Aww, you are too kind. I am going back to school for holistic nutrition!! Aka the “sciencey” aspect of what exactly food does inside the body. BOOM. I am so stoked. I think I’m going to minor in culinary arts too..
I’ll blog about it eventually… 🙂
Nicole Marie Story
I was walking G money, talking to a friend on the mobile, and your new post notification popped through. The conversation was boring me, so I clicked the link, and I exclaimed to my friend, “OMG my friend just posted a PINEAPPLE CASHEW QUINOA SALAD!!! I want to eat it from the screen.” He got mad that I completely, abruptly changed the subject. But it was so worth it. Please make this and send it to me, pronto!!! 😉 xo
Nicole Marie Story
PS you added chips. I would add ketchup. 😉
Brittany
I LOVE this comment. I laughed out loud..thank you! 🙂
Nicole Marie Story
🙂 🙂 🙂
Sarah @ Feeeding the Brain and Body
I’m also usually not a fan of sweet salads. I usually turn my nose up if my salad has strawberries. That said I haven’t actually tried a sweeter salad in a long time so my taste buds may have changed. If I was going to do some experimenting this recipe would definitely be the one!
Barbara Bamber | justasmidgen
I always love coming here for your recipes as I know it will fit perfectly into my daughter’s favorite dishes once made:D Love love this recipe, Brit!!
Brittany
Thank you!!
An Unrefined Vegan
Yum – I’m liking the flavors and the simplicity!
Martha B
This looks BOMB! Definitely putting it on my to-do list this week. I love cashews and pineapples combined – I do my stir fry that way. This changes everything, though.
di @ life of di.
I am totally with you on not being a huge fan of ‘sweet’ salads. I stay away from most strawberry/berry/orange salads; however, this salad does look worth trying! 🙂 Nice work lady!! I think I’ll make this for Marty this week.
Amy
YES! Oh my gosh, our summer days are 95° at the low end, 110° at the upper end, so anything heavy never sounds appealing. How people eat soup during the summer is beyond me… But I have to admit, I’m a big fruit-on-my-salads type of girl, especially during the summer. And when I can follow that with a fruit crisp, it’s the perfect summer meal!
Polly - TastyFoodProject.com
I love adding cashews in my salads! I never tried adding pineapples but that’s something I’d like to try!
Btw, I found your blog from Hungry Runner Girl and noticed you are from Seattle too! I was going through some of your posts and noticed some familiar places, such as Rattlesnake Lake. It’s nice to come across other Seattle bloggers! 🙂
Brittany
I love finding local bloggers!! HOORAH!
Amanda @ .running with spoons.
Salads are perfection for the warmer months. I’ve kind of been slacking on my consumption of them over the winter, but I’ve definitely noticed my craving for veggies increasing in the last couple of months. That being said, it can still be chilly enough up here to enjoy some of the heavier fare too — the joys of being Canadian 😉
lucie
I can’t say Im a huge fan of sweet salads either. I had a quinoa salad yesterday with fruits (sultanas and raisins) in it and it was so overly sweet I couldn’t finish it though have you ever tried red lentil salad with hummus and dried mulberries? if not, DO IT, you won’t regret it, its divine!
Brittany
WHOA, that lentil salad sounds mind blowing.
Katherine
This is brilliant! I’m on a pineapple kick lately, and I always can go for quinoa or cashews. And using it as a dip is genius! When it’s hot out I go for loads of fruit, no bakes things, and smoothies. I seriously can’t get enough fruit in the summer.
jessielovestorun
In the whole 24 (almost 25) yrs of my life, I’ve never eaten a dish involving pineapple. I’ve actually only had pineapple itself maybe 7 or 8 times as well. It’s not that I don’t care for it, I honestly just kind of forget about it… like all the time. This dish looks awesome though & like the absolute perfect summer salad.
Food for summer: Well since i live in an area where our summers are 140 degrees, I’m hardly outside since I’m not caring to pass out from heat & die. So my meals really don’t change up. I can do both cold and warm (never hot).
Rach @ This Italian Family
I love meals that taste better the longer they sit! Even leftovers in the fridge. Oh yummy! I drink a lot of smoothies and eat light sammies in the summer. Lately for lunches I’ve been eating prosciutto and arugula on a ciabata bun with fresh mozzo melted on top. SO good!
Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy
I never used to be a fan of fruit in salads, but I am converted!
Cassy
This looks so yummy! I crave any type of grilled food in the summer for some reason!
Jayda
I’m usually not the biggest fan of sweet salads either, but this sounds really good!! Pinning it!
Becky
This looks great! I love a sweet-and-salty dish.
Christina Does It All
Ahhhh YUM! I love pineapple mixed with other things much more than I love plain pineapple and this looks delish!!! Sweet and salty is my fave.
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