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Rainbow Carrot Salad with Quinoa

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This gorgeous rainbow carrot salad with quinoa and feta is a wonderful warm salad! It's a great vegetarian main course or delicious side salad.

You'll shave the carrots into long strips using a Y-peeler or mandolin. Then, you'll combine these carrot ribbons with the warm, just-cooked quinoa, which will make the carrots tender and tasty without you having to cook them.

Rainbow carrot quinoa salad in a white serving bowl.

Why You'll Love This Carrot Quinoa Salad

This warm salad recipe is hearty and healthy. It's a riot of color from the shaved rainbow carrots, fresh herbs, red quinoa, and chopped pistachios.

This is a recipe you can feel great about - it's packed with protein, fiber, calcium, antioxidants, and good fats. It's a filling meal that's as healthy as it is delicious.

Rainbow carrots, red quinoa, herbs, feta, spices, garlic, pistachios, lemon, and olive oil.

Ingredients You'll Need

Rainbow Carrots - You'll use ½ pound of rainbow carrots.

Quinoa - You'll use ½ cup of uncooked red (or white) quinoa. This will make 2 cups of cooked quinoa.

Herbs - You'll need ½ cup of parsley and ¼ cup of dill.

Feta - You'll use 2 ounces of crumbly feta to top the salad.

Dressing - For the dressing, you'll use 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, ½ teaspoon of paprika, and 2 cloves of minced garlic.

Pistachios - You'll top the salad with 2 tablespoons of chopped pistachios.

Shaved rainbow carrots in a metal mixing bowl.
Shaved rainbow carrots, herbs, quinoa, and spices in a metal mixing bowl.

All About Rainbow Carrots

What is a rainbow carrot? Rainbow carrots are colorful, heirloom carrots (usually a mix of orange, white, yellow, and purple) that have the same flavor as regular orange carrots. They can be used the same way as regular orange carrots - in salads, soups, appetizers, and more. 

Do rainbow carrots taste different? Rainbow carrots taste very similar to orange carrots. The deeply pigmented carrots (red or purple) are slightly sweeter than orange carrots.

When are rainbow carrots in season? Rainbow carrots are available year-round, making them a great vegetable to cook at any time of the year.

Where to buy rainbow carrots? Rainbow carrots are often available at grocery stores (like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s) as well as farmer’s markets and farm stands. 

A rainbow carrot quinoa salad in a large white salad bowl.

More Warm Salad Recipes

These delicious salads are comforting and delicious; try some of our favorite warm salad recipes.

Be sure to check out our favorite Spring Salads and Winter Salad Recipes posts, too!

A rainbow carrot and quinoa salad in a white bowl.

Tips for Making this Recipe

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Cooking Tips - Cook the quinoa according to the package directions, but feel free to substitute the water for vegetable stock for a more tasty quinoa.

Specialty Ingredients - I like Ancient Harvest's red quinoa, and would highly recommend it.

Recommended Tools - You can use any vegetable peeler for this, but I have one I love - it's a little fancy. It's called the Rosle swivel peeler.

Storing Tips - You can save this salad in the refrigerator for up to three days.

If you try this recipe, let us know! Connect with us on Instagram and share your photos or leave us a rating.

Yield: 4 to 6 side salad servings

Rainbow Carrot Salad

A rainbow carrot salad with quinoa and feta in a bowl.

This delicious rainbow carrot salad with quinoa and feta is a fabulous vegetarian main course or great side salad.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

  • ½ cup uncooked quinoa (red or white)
  • ½ pound rainbow carrots
  • ½ cup chopped fresh parsley
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh dill
  • 2 cloves of garlic, finely minced or grated
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon paprika
  • 2 ounces crumbly feta cheese
  • 2 tablespoons chopped pistachios

Instructions

  1. Cook the quinoa according to package directions.
  2. While the quinoa is cooking, peel the carrots and then use a Y-peeler or mandolin to slice the carrots into long, thin strips. 
  3. Combine the cooked quinoa and carrot strips in a mixing bowl. Top with the parsley, dill, minced garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, kosher salt, and paprika. Toss several times to combine. 
  4. Spread the quinoa carrot mixture out on a large plate or shallow salad bowl. Top with the feta and pistachios. Serve immediately. 

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 227Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 13mgSodium: 505mgCarbohydrates: 22gFiber: 4gSugar: 3gProtein: 7g

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