Quinoa Salad with Chicken, Snap Peas, Spinach, and Mint

Quinoa Salad with Chicken, Snap Peas, Spinach, and Mint is quick, easy, nutritious, and refreshing, perfect for those hot summer days. 

We’ve got a new salad addiction in Quinoa Salad with Chicken, Snap Peas, Spinach, and Mint. This one is a jumble of tastes and textures: quinoa is one of those “poppy” grains that are sort of crunchy, sort of chewy; snap peas are crisp; feta is tangy and creamy; pistachios are definitely crunchy; and lemon vinaigrette, which gets soaked up by the warm quinoa, is just tart enough. A ginormous plus is that there really is no cooking to do here, minus the cooking of the quinoa, which takes all of 15 minutes on the stove. The veggies are raw, and you’ll buy grilled or rotisserie chicken (or use leftovers from your fridge). This is a 10-minute salad that will last several days and will be the thing you want when you need lunch at the ready…or dinner, or breakfast, or a healthy snack.

And speaking of healthy, Quinoa Salad with Chicken, Snap Peas, Spinach, and Mint checks all the boxes the nutritionists tell us we need to mind: protein, fiber, leafy greens, healthy fats. I’m sure there are more boxes to check, but this works for me. 

Make this your summer standby salad. I know we will.

Quinoa Salad with Chicken, Snap Peas, Spinach, and Mint

Juice of 1 lemon
1 small shallot, finely diced
¼ cup olive oil
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 cups cooked quinoa (cooked according to package directions), warm
2 cups fresh chopped baby spinach leaves
1 cup diced, cooked chicken
1 cup snap peas, strings removed, cut into 1-inch pieces
¼ cup chopped fresh mint leaves
1 ounce feta cheese, crumbled
¼ cup roasted, shelled pistachios

Put the lemon juice, shallot, olive oil, salt, and pepper in a small, tightly lidded container. Close the lid and shake vigorously for a few seconds, until the dressing emulsifies. Alternatively, whisk all the ingredients together in a small bowl.

Place the warm quinoa in a large bowl and pour the dressing over. Fold in the spinach, and then the chicken, snap peas, mint, feta, and pistachios. Season to taste with more salt and pepper. Serve with lemon wedges.