Broccoli Pesto Quinoa Salad

This quinoa salad is my ideal lunch! It's fresh & filling, topped with blanched broccoli, lemony pesto, crispy chickpeas, crunchy veggies & avocado.

Broccoli Pesto Kale Quinoa Salad

When you don’t know what to make for lunch or dinner, what do you usually end up making? My go-to is the almighty quinoa salad! I usually have a batch of quinoa on hand in my fridge or freezer (note: quinoa freezes exceptionally well), which makes salads like this easy to put together at the last minute. Quinoa salads are a versatile way to show off the seasons, and this one is my little tribute to spring.

For this recipe, I lightly blanched some beautiful broccolini and tossed my quinoa with kale, fresh mint, roasted chickpeas, avocado, and my favorite part – crisp, pink slices of watermelon radish. Don’t worry, if you can’t find watermelon radishes, thinly sliced red radishes will provide the same crisp bite. And if you can’t find broccolini, regular broccoli will work just fine.

I simply dress everything in lemon and olive oil and then finish the salad with big dollops of my favorite lemony pea pesto. This kale quinoa salad recipe has the perfect balance of creamy, crunchy, fresh, and hearty elements, and to me, the bright colors and lemony, herby flavors make it the quintessential spring dish.

Broccoli Pesto Kale Quinoa Salad Broccoli Pesto Kale Quinoa Salad

Quinoa Salad Meal Prep Tips

This dish makes a great light & healthy (yet still pretty filling) dinner. Hopefully, you have leftovers because this recipe is great for meal prep! If you do make this salad ahead, follow these simple steps for meal prep success:

  1. Don’t slice the avocado until you’re ready to serve. Like bananas and apples, avocados oxidize, or turn brown, as they sit out. As they brown, they can become bitter – not what you want in your lunch! Save them for the last minute to get perfectly green, creamy bites.
  2. Store the pesto separately. Storing the pesto in a separate container allows you to season it to taste and adjust its consistency before serving. If it’s too thick, stir in more olive oil, or if it needs a boost of brightness, add a little more lemon.
  3. Taste and adjust. When you make a grain salad ahead of time, always taste it before serving. Because the grains absorb the dressing, I find that they often need extra lemon, a drizzle of olive oil, or more salt and pepper on day 2 or 3.

Prep and store individual servings ahead of time (I like to use these glass containers), or toss everything together in a big bowl and bring this salad to a spring picnic or gathering!

Broccoli Pesto Kale Quinoa Salad

Quinoa Salad Variations

Feel free to play with the veggies and herbs in this recipe! Blanched asparagus or snap peas would both be great additions, or you could also sub in arugula or spinach in place of the kale. For extra crunch, top it with your favorite nuts or seeds (pepitas would be a great choice), and if you’re not vegan, a little feta would be a fun finishing touch. If you’re not a fan of chickpeas, try adding baked tofu or tempeh.

For more lunch ideas, check out this kale salad, this broccoli saladthese salads, these meal prep ideas, and these healthy lunch ideas!

Get This Recipe In Your Inbox
Share your email, and we'll send it straight to your inbox. Plus, enjoy daily doses of recipe inspiration as a bonus!

Broccoli Pesto Quinoa Salad

rate this recipe:
4.93 from 13 votes
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Serves 3 to 4
This quinoa salad is a great lunch or healthy dinner. Loaded with kale, roasted chickpeas, crunchy veggies, and a bright pea pesto, it's healthy, vegan & gluten-free.

Ingredients

  • 1 bunch broccolini, or broccoli, cut into pieces
  • 3 large kale leaves, chopped (about 3 loose-packed cups)
  • Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
  • Juice of ½ lemon, more to taste
  • 2 heaping cups cooked quinoa
  • 1 watermelon radish, or 3 red radishes, thinly sliced
  • 1 avocado, cubed
  • ½ cup mixed fresh herbs, I used mint and dill
  • cups Roasted Chickpeas
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Lemony pea pesto

Instructions

  • Prepare a large pot of salted boiling water and a large bowl of ice water. Drop the broccolini into the boiling water and blanch for about 1 minute, or until tender but still vibrant green. Transfer the broccolini to the ice water for 1 minute to stop the cooking process. Drain and set aside.
  • Make the Lemony pea pesto: In a food processor, place the hemp seeds, peas, garlic, and salt and pulse until combined. Add the spinach, dill, lemon juice, and mustard and pulse again. While the processor is running, drizzle in the olive oil. For a thinner pesto, add more olive oil until it reaches your desired consistency. Taste and adjust seasonings.
  • Place the kale into a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil, pinches of salt and pepper, and the lemon juice. Massage the leaves until they soften and wilt down. Portion into serving bowls with the quinoa, watermelon radish, avocado, herbs, and broccolini. Season to taste with additional olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Add the roasted chickpeas and serve with dollops of pea pesto.

 

45 comments

Leave a comment:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Rate this recipe (after making it)




  1. Emily
    07.22.2023

    I have a lot of the pesto left after making a double batch of it, can I freeze it?

  2. Laura Sommer
    04.12.2023

    5 stars
    Absolutely delicious and nutritious! Love and lemons has some of our all time favorite recipes. This one and the green salad that is so authentic are both fantastic recipes!

    • Phoebe Moore (L&L Recipe Developer)
      04.14.2023

      I’m so glad you’re loving the recipes!

  3. simm
    10.18.2022

    It looks delicious. Any substitute options for the peas in the pesto? I do not like peas. Any alternative suggestions would be helpful! Thanks!

  4. Haley
    05.15.2019

    5 stars
    This was so light and filling and delicious! I didn’t have fresh spinach on-hand, so I used kale for the pesto. Was so good, I could eat it with a spoon 🙂

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      05.17.2019

      Hi Haley, I’m so glad you loved it!

  5. Jaime
    04.18.2019

    This sounds wonderful. What could I substitute for the hemp seeds?

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      04.18.2019

      pine nuts or pepitas!

      • Jaime
        04.21.2019

        5 stars
        I made this for dinner tonight and it was fantastic. I used pepitas in place of the hemp seeds and it was great.

  6. Elisa
    05.11.2018

    4 stars
    This is a lovely recipe, looks inspiring and utterly delicious. I love that it feels like something I can try out, especially for the healthy dose of omega-3 fatty acids and other powerful nutrients. Thanks for sharing this recipe with us, keep them coming!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      05.19.2018

      Hi Elisa, I hope you love the quinoa bowls!

  7. Ioana
    05.02.2018

    5 stars
    Well, it’s finally starting to feel like spring where I live and it’s time to make some healthy and fresh choices. Recipe looks so good and the pea pesto is the bomb. Definitely trying this tomorrow for lunch.

  8. Aaron
    02.22.2017

    5 stars
    Oh So Mouthwatering!! This looks amazingly fresh! 🙂

A food blog with fresh, zesty recipes.
Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.