Mango Blueberry Quinoa Salad with Lemon Basil Dressing Recipe

My sister regularly gets this blueberry mango quinoa salad with lemon basil dressing at the Marks and Spencer grocery store in UK. She also regularly raves about it to me. She says it’s the perfect healthy salad for summer – fruity, tangy, fresh and filling.

Marks and Spencer’s version of this salad has quinoa, barley, red rice, sprouts, mango, blueberry, and cucumbers. I simplified it a bit, and used only quinoa plus the fruits and cucumber.

Cut the cucumber and mango about the same size as the blueberries, so everything looks uniform. Add the fruits to the salad just before serving to ensure they are fresh and juicy. This salad recipe has as much fruits and vegetable as there is quinoa. If you want it less fruity just use less fruits or more quinoa.

The dressing recipe here will make a little more than you need. Toss  half the dressing with the quinoa. Serve the other half on the side – this always pleases the people who like their salads extra tangy!

You can customize this blueberry mango quinoa salad recipe any way you like. Here are some suggestions to add to this recipe if you want some variations:

-          Cooked chickpeas
-          Any kind of sprouts
-          Walnuts
-          Cubed jicama
-          Cubed carrot
-          Fresh mint

Here is another recipe for blueberry mango quinoa salad with lemon basil dressing ala Marks and Spencer from foodwired

Blueberry Mango Quinoa Salad with Lemon Basil Dressing Recipe

Serves about 2

For the quinoa
1/2 cup quinoa
1 cup water

For the fruits and veggies
½ cup fresh blueberries
½ cup cubed ripe mangoes
½ cup cubed cucumbers
1/2 tablespoon dried cranberries

For the lemon basil dressing
1½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
10 Basil leaves, chopped finely
Salt and pepper

Place the quinoa and water in a medium skillet and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat, and simmer covered for about 15 minutes or till the quinoa is cooked. Remove the lid, and fluff the quinoa with a fork. Let it cool to room temperature.

While the quinoa is cooking, combine the fruits in a bowl and refrigerate till you are ready to serve the salad.

Whisk together all the dressing ingredients, except the chopped basil. Refrigerate till you are ready to serve. Chop and add the basil to the dressing just before serving. If you add it earlier, it will go black.

Add half the dressing to the quinoa and mix gently.

Assemble the salad just before serving – toss the quinoa, fruits and cucumbers together. Serve other half of the dressing on the side. Serve  immediately.

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Comments

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67 thoughts on “Mango Blueberry Quinoa Salad with Lemon Basil Dressing Recipe

  1. This is a gorgeous salad with wonderful flavours. I have half a mango looking to be used but no blueberries. I think I need to head to the store pronto! :)

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  2. Sala,
    Mango and blueberries make such a fantastic combination. Since the time I’ve realized this season, I just can’t stop thinking of incorporating them in any recipe possible.
    This salad looks so refreshingly colorful and yes, so full of health..

    The first shot and the one with fruits on the strainer are my favorite shots.

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  3. Gorgeous colors, Sala! Sounds yummy and I can now imagine you taking the photo in your nice space. Maybe you’ll convert me to be a quinoa-lover one day. I keep trying and failing!

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    bettyalice199 Reply:

    Not hard to become a quinoa lover. Have you tried it in place of the wheat in Tabbouleh?

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  4. It was not until a couple weeks back that I tried/tasted quinoa and now I am a HUGE fan of it!
    That looks like a nice and refreshing recipe. Will give it a try since I love mangoes and the li’l one in the family can eat anything with blueberries in it so this recipe should be a hit in the family!

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  5. Oh wow this looks incredible! And can’t say I have ever seen it at Marks… maybe our store in Cambridge is a bit too simple! Will have a go tomorrow… which mangoes did you use? We have some Alphonso… just discovered your blog, so I have many exciting recipes to look forward to :)

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    Sala @ Veggie Belly Reply:

    I used to live in Cambridge! Yes, the M&S there is pretty small! I used mexican mangoes.

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  6. Gasp! I want this tomorrow…I love foods like this…I try to be a health nut and this looks like it fits the bill for health, beauty, and deliciousness. Thanks for sharing!

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  7. I just stumbled onto your blog via a Google search for “blogs and vegetarian” and am I EVER happy I did? Your photos are amazing and the recipes SO tempting! Thanks for sharing!

    /Zarah in Sweden

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  8. I would like to try all teh recipes on your blog! everything is beautiful. Sucha pleasure to come here to see the food and your photographs. I am so making htis salad with some pearl couccous that a friend had sent to me. I hope it will look as beautiful as yours! The colours are brilliant. I must look for a blue plate like in your picture. So beautiful. :)

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  9. Nice combination of flavors! I subsituted peaches from a farmer’s market for mangoes, added pecans and added little cayenne pepper to the dressing. Yum!

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    Sala @ Veggie Belly Reply:

    love the peaches and cayenne! glad you liked the salad :)

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  10. I made a 1/2 batch of this salad and now I wish I would have made a double! This really was so good :) Next time I think I will add more mango just for personal preference. Thanks for posting!

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  11. How well do you think this recipe would work for making ahead of time? I could wait to combine the quinoa with the fruit until just before serving, and hold off ’til the last on the basil too of course. That brings up another question. If the above WOULD be okay, should I wait until just before mealtime to toss the quinoa with the dressing or is okay to let it sit overnight already “dressed”?

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    Sala @ Veggie Belly Reply:

    you could do it 2 ways –

    1. keep the fruits, quinoa, dressing, and basil all seperate. and combine in the last minute.

    or

    2. toss the quinoa and dressing ahead of time, and add the fruits and basil in the last minute.

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  12. I quadrupled the recipe. I had no fresh blueberries so I substituted strawberries. I added mint, garbanzo beans and cherry tomatoes. Also, I a bunch of bulgur, so I used that instead. In turned out awesome. I will add some shredded chicken to it to make it a full meal salad. I may try this again. Thanks

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  13. Whoa, I just recently started eating quinoa in the morning with blueberries, almonds and some coconut milk. This looks likes another great way to pair quinoa and blueberries, along with my two other favorites lemon and basil. I can’t wait to try this!

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  14. Was a great motivator to take out that packet of Quinoa which the rest of the family didn’t accept wholeheartedly! I made myself a salad with mangoes, cucumber and coriander leaves, since I didn’t have blueberries (hard to keep them, they vanish instantly) and basil. Tasted great nevertheles. Thanks!

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  15. I had no idea what to do with the quinoa I got at Blogher Food. This is the perfect recipe. I can’t wait to try it. It was nice meeting you at the closing party for Blogher Food.

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    Sala @ Veggie Belly Reply:

    It was nice meeting you too! and how cool that we got to chat with Ree!

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  16. I found this on Pinterest a few months ago and was so excited to try it I spent a fortune on out of season fruit to make it. Now that summer has rolled around and fruit is so much more affordable, this has become a staple at my house. I love it!

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  17. Made this for dinner tonight, but added a bit too must lemon zest. To counteract the tartness, I added a packet of splenda. Otherwise, followed it exactly. Loved it!!

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  18. This is so good! Perfect for a hot summer day! I made this with my toddler and she liked counting the blueberries and throwing them in. She thought it was very good too :)

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  19. Wow! “This is a real keeper” says my husband and he never says this about much, especially salad! And it is. I used frozen mango (thawed, of course), fresh blueberries, quinoa cooked in store-bought chicken broth, cukes, dried cranberries, fresh basil and toasted walnuts. The basil added the beautiful flavor and the walnuts added the wonderful texture. Gorgeous color and taste!

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  20. Just wanted you to know that I came across this recipe on Pinterest and I made it tonight. It is to die for! So yummy! Thanks for the excellent recipe!

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  21. This was delicious! It’s difficult to measure how much lemon juice I’m squeezing out of the lemon, and same with the zest. I just grated the lemon right over the bowl with the olive oil and lemon juice. But I guess I should have grated it over a separate plate and then put the zest in a measuring spoon to make sure it was exact. I think I ended up putting too much in because it was just a tad bitter. But it was still super yummy! It looks beautiful too. Thank you!

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