Summer Quinoa Salad with Mango

This Summer Quinoa Salad with Mango is packed tons of fresh fruit, creamy avocado, and bright lime juice! It's a healthy summer salad high in protein, healthy carbs, and antioxidants. Delicious, easy to make and naturally gluten-free quinoa salad for summer!

This Quinoa Salad with Mango is here for your next BBQ, potluck or backyard get-together!

If you're up for a healthy, delicious, non-wilty salad for summer, I'm gonna bet my bottom dollar you're gonna love this quinoa salad.

I made a batch of this for our recent RV Road Trip Extravaganza around Ontario and it was perfect to have on board.

If you're making a whole summer-forward meal, it pairs well with some salmon like this Easy Baked Salmon with Mayo or grilled chicken that's been marinaded in this Greek Yogurt Chicken Marinade.

And if you love quinoa in salads, then check out my recipe for Easy Quinoa Salad with Feta too!

Here's what you'll need to make this quinoa salad with fruit:

• Quinoa - up the *wow* factor with the tri-coloured variety or red quinoa
• Blueberries - better to use fresh and not frozen for the blueberries
• Mango chunks - I love using the frozen ones. Makes it super easy
• Cherry tomatoes
• Avocado chunks - for this I prefer fresh, but you could totally go for the frozen version too if you wanted
• Cilantro
• Limes

See recipe card for full instructions and quantities.

And as you can see, there's no oil in this salad. You don't need it!

You basically feel healthier just by eating this quinoa salad✊

Does quinoa have gluten?

No, quinoa is a whole grain that does not contain gluten. It's naturally gluten free. Quinoa is actually a flowering plant, grown for its edible seeds (what is typically referred to as "quinoa".) The plant is related to the amaranth family and has been cultivated and eaten for thousands of years.

Can quinoa be eaten in summer?

Absolutely quinoa can be eaten in the summer! In fact, why not? Quinoa actually lends itself well to hot weather temperatures because cold quinoa salads are one of the best ways to have this fantastic whole grain. This Easy Quinoa Salad with Feta is a great example - a simple base of quinoa, black beans, cucumber and tomatoes is the base for so many combinations to make a healthy summer salad! Add in some chopped romaine lettuce, apple slices or diced zucchini and you've got a filling, healthy salad. Not only that, quinoa salads are great for summer because they travel so well. No wilted lettuce here! The ingredients in this quinoa salad hold their own when traveling or in lunch containers as part of a meal prep.

Is quinoa salad good for you?

Yes! Quinoa salad can be so good for you. First off, the quinoa itself is naturally gluten-free and higher in protein than most other grains. In fact, it has all 9 essential amino acids, which means it's can be classified as a "complete protein". Quinoa also contains high amounts of B vitamins, dietary fibre and is a good source of minerals like manganese, phosphorus, copper, folate and iron.

Depending what else you put into the salad, a quinoa salad can continue to bring a ton of nutrition. Keep the other ingredients healthy like vegetables, such as tomatoes and cucumbers, green beans, lettuce, zucchini, and red onions and kale. And fruit goes great with cold quinoa salad too! Mango, blueberries, strawberries, apple chunks - you can't go wrong with quinoa salad and fruit or vegetables! For dressing, I say you hardly need anything at all. Some fresh lemon juice or lime juice and maybe a drizzle of olive oil is all you need. Simple and delicious.

What can I mix with quinoa?

Quinoa is one of those grains that's super versatile - you can use it in so many ways! Here's a few ideas:

• If you're eating it warm as a side at supper (say, instead of rice), mix in some lime juice and cilantro after cooking but while still in the pot
• Make a large serving of quinoa and add tomatoes, cucumbers, diced red onion and feta for a quick and easy vegetarian quinoa salad
• Make a "bowl" meal like this one Chicken & Mango Quinoa Bowls with Peanut Sauce - packed with grilled chicken breast and mango, these bowls are perfect for a lunch meal prep
• Pump up the nutrition and protein even more with a cold quinoa salad with black beans, goat cheese and basil
• For a lunch prep idea, try this Ground Beef Meal Prep with Beans and Quinoa! It's delicious, healthy, and the quinoa is cooked in broth with some baby kale added😋

What to serve with this quinoa salad

Because this is a "summer" quinoa salad, channel the summer vibes and serve this along side some beef or veggie burgers on the grill.

This salad is also great with BBQ or grilled chicken - just cook the chicken, let it cool and slice it up and add right into the salad. Check out this recipe for Cast Iron Skillet Chicken Breast or this Greek Yogurt Chicken Marinade for some delicious chicken recipes.

This Summer Quinoa Salad with Mango is perfect for lunches too because leftovers will last about 3 days in the fridge. Pop some of the salad into meal prep containers, add your chicken, and you've got lunches made.

Top Tips

I almost always use frozen mango because it's so reliable (aka always ripe). And easy to cut up into chunks.

If using frozen mango, take it out a few hours before you want to chop it up. Saves your fingers from getting too frozen.

The juice from the frozen mango is perfect for the "dressing" too. No oil needed for this salad. Just fresh ingredients all the way😄

Unlike the mango, I don't recommend using frozen blueberries. They tend to get mushy as they thaw so don't stand up to the other ingredients as well.

Plus thawed blueberries will give your whole salad a blue-hue (which you may or may not want😉). 

If you try this salad, please rate the recipe and let me know what you think. I do love hearing from you!

~April

PS. If quinoa salad with fruit is up your alley, then I think you'll love these other simple and healthy recipes, perfect for summer:

• Summer Peach and Basil Salad with Feta
• Easy Watermelon Summer Gazpacho
• Grilled Halloumi Salad with Tomato and Parsley
• Summer Corn and Black Bean Salsa
• Simple Mango Salsa

This recipe was originally posted on August 14th, 2020. Post and recipe card was updated and re-published on May 12th, 2022.