Quinoa Salad

Tanya Eisenwasser

Print Recipe

A low histamine quinoa salad with cucumber, carrot, green onions, fresh parsley, and olive oil.

Prep 20 min

Cook 20 min

Serves 4

Gluten-freeDairy-freeVegan

Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa, rinsed well
• 2 cups water (or homemade vegetable broth)
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
• 1 medium cucumber, seeded and diced small
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and grated
• 3 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds (optional)

Instructions

Cook the Quinoa

1. Put the quinoa in a fine mesh sieve and rinse it under cold running water for 30 seconds, rubbing the grains with your fingers. Drain well.
2. Combine the rinsed quinoa, water, and salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
3. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, until the water is gone and the grains have uncurled.

Cool It Down

1. Take the pan off the heat and fluff the quinoa with a fork.
2. Spread it in a thin layer on a sheet pan so it cools quickly. It should be at room temperature in about 15 minutes.
3. Do not skip this step. Adding vegetables to hot quinoa wilts them and leaves the salad watery.

Toss and Serve

1. Put the cooled quinoa in a large bowl. Add the cucumber, carrot, green onions, parsley, and chives.
2. Pour the olive oil over the top and toss until everything is coated.
3. Taste and add salt. Scatter the pumpkin seeds over the top and serve.

Tips & Substitutions

• No citrus and no vinegar here. Nearly every quinoa salad is built on a citrus or vinegar dressing, and both are off the list for most people eating low histamine. For brightness, stir in a tablespoon of apple juice or double the parsley and chives, which do more work than you would expect.
• Rinse the quinoa, every time. Unrinsed quinoa carries a bitter coating that leaves a chalky feeling on your teeth. Thirty seconds under cold water fixes it.
• Eat it the day you make it. Freshly made is the version most people tolerate best, so this is a make-and-eat salad rather than a batch-cook-for-the-week salad.
• Swap the vegetables freely. Diced celery, grated zucchini, and finely chopped broccoli stems all work in place of the cucumber or carrot. Keep the pieces small so they distribute evenly.
• Salt at the end, not the middle. Cucumber releases water once it is salted. Season the finished bowl right before serving so the salad stays crisp.
• Related recipes. Quinoa with herbs is the warm version of this bowl, and cucumber salad is a good side if you want something even lighter.

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Why This Works

Quinoa. Generally considered low in histamine and a straightforward gluten-free grain. It is naturally bland, which is the point in a salad with no acidic dressing to hide behind.

Cucumber. Commonly tolerated raw and adds the crunch and water content this salad needs. Seeding it first keeps the bowl from going soggy.

Fresh parsley and chives. Both are generally considered low histamine, and fresh herbs are the main flavor here. Chopping them just before tossing keeps their taste strongest.

Olive oil. A commonly tolerated fat that carries flavor through the grains. Tolerance varies with quantity, so start with two tablespoons if you are unsure and add more from there.

Storage

This salad is at its best within an hour or two of being tossed. Eat it the day it is made, and make only the amount you will finish in one sitting, since freshly made is the version most people tolerate best. To get ahead, cook plain quinoa and freeze it in portions the same day, within an hour of cooking, then thaw a portion and add the fresh vegetables and herbs at serving time. Do not freeze the finished salad, since the cucumber turns to mush.