Citrus Quinoa Salad

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Perfect for weekday lunches or a lighter dinner, this quinoa salad features refreshing orange and red grapefruit. It’s great for meal prep too!

This recipe has been retested and updated since first publishing February 2014.

Since I work from home, you’d think I whip up a wonderful meal every day for lunch. Not so! Half the time I’m just scrounging around in my fridge, grabbing whatever I can.

When I can, though, I plan ahead and make something to enjoy all week with just a little effort. In the wintertime, that often means this citrus quinoa salad, bursting with flavor from the orange and grapefruit.

I first posted this recipe over a decade ago after taking a grapefruit cooking class. Since then we’ve tinkered with it to make it easier and heartier, but still refreshing.

This is a great salad to perk up the gray days of winter!

Ingredients for quinoa salad

Full list of ingredients including quantities is located in the recipe card.

You’ll need:

You’ll need:

• Quinoa
• Red grapefruit
• Navel orange
• White wine vinegar
• Honey
• Olive oil
• Chickpeas – I use canned in this recipe for ease, but if you are using dried chickpeas you have cooked yourself, you’ll need about 1 1/2 cups of cooked chickpeas.
• Jalapeño pepper – If you want the salad to be spicier, use a serrano pepper instead. They are smaller and hotter than jalapeños.
• Green onions/scallions
• Bell pepper – Any color
• Cilantro

how to make this recipe

First, rinse the quinoa with cold water in a fine mesh sieve. Just like with rice, this helps to remove excess starch. It also helps the quinoa “bloom” as it cooks and become more tender.

Combine the rinsed quinoa, 1 1/2 cups water, and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce to medium-low and simmer. Cover and cook for 15 minutes.

Taste the quinoa and make sure it is tender, then remove from the heat. (If it is still hard, add more water as needed and continue cooking.) Let the quinoa rest for 5 minutes, then transfer to a bowl and fluff with a fork.

Segment the orange and grapefruit over a bowl to catch the juices. Remove the peel and as much of the white pith as possible to show each section of fruit. You’ll want to use a sharp knife to carefully cut out the segments between each layer of pith. Don’t worry if some of your segments break apart. This video from Real Simple is helpful for learning segmenting. Place the segments into a separate bowl from the juice.

Measure out 3 tablespoons of juices into a small bowl and whisk in the white wine vinegar, honey, and salt to taste. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until dressing has thickened, then season with pepper to taste.

Add the chickpeas, pepper, green onions, bell pepper, cilantro, and dressing to the quinoa and toss well to mix and coat evenly with the dressing.

Stir in the citrus segments, leaving a few to place on top for presentation, if you like.

Serve the quinoa salad warm, at room temperature, or chilled.

storage tips

Quinoa salads are delicious both hot or cold, so this recipe is perfect for prepping ahead of time.

Store the prepared salad in airtight containers for up to 4 days. If you prefer to serve the salad warmed, I recommend keeping the orange and grapefruit separate from the salad until ready to serve, so you can add them after heating the quinoa.

recipe suggestions

You can add other vegetables to this salad to fit whatever you have on hand. Chopped tomatoes and cucumber are always good options. Sometimes I use carrots in this salad as well.

If you want to add cheese to this recipe, crumbled feta cheese is a good choice.

Don’t like cilantro? Swap in fresh parsley.

Serve this citrus quinoa salad on its own or with a light baked mahi mahi. It’s a refreshing dish for the season!