Costco Quinoa Salad (Copycat Recipe)
When you want a healthy salad that is filling enough to be a main dish, then you need this Costco Quinoa Salad recipe. Cooked quinoa gets combined with chopped veggies and a delicious lemon dressing. Skip the store-bought version and make this copycat version at home instead!
If you’ve never had the Costco Quinoa Salad from your local Costco pre-made meal section, then you are missing out! But, that’s okay because I’ve re-created it for you today.
The simple salad has a delicious mixture of brown rice, quinoa, and lentils, plus lots of chopped veggies like cucumber, bell pepper, kale, and tomato. It’s the perfect gluten-free summer salad that I also often bring as a gluten-free potluck side dish.
The seasonings and homemade dressing for this vegan salad are really simple. Everything gets tossed together and tastes just like the store-bought version. The benefit is that you get to control the quality of the ingredients and you don’t have to make a trip to the store.
Why You Need This Recipe
- This salad is very healthy because it’s made using real food ingredients with lots of vegetables and fiber. One serving of this healthy quinoa salad recipe has about 255 calories, 7 grams of protein, 11 grams of fat, and 6 grams of fiber.
- You can enjoy this delicious salad as part of your weight loss program, or just as a meal with wholesome ingredients. I also re-created the Costco Potato Salad!
- Instead of using canola oil and soybean oil which is what Costco uses, I used olive oil instead. Olive oil is considered to have a much healthier nutritional profile than either canola oil or soybean oil. Read more about the healthiest cooking oils.
Costco Quinoa Salad Ingredients
- Baby Kale: Baby kale adds a mild, slightly peppery flavor and a tender texture to the salad.
- Red Lentils: Red lentils contribute a subtle earthy flavor and a slightly chewy texture. The original recipe also uses mung beans, but I’ve chosen to leave them out of this recipe as they don’t provide much flavor.
- Quinoa: Quinoa serves as the hearty base of the salad, offering a nutty flavor and a fluffy texture.
- Red Bell Pepper: Red bell pepper brings a sweet, crisp bite and vibrant color to the salad.
- Cucumber: Cucumber adds a refreshing crunch and a mild, watery flavor, helping to balance the more robust ingredients.
- Oil and Vinegar: A simple dressing of oil and vinegar binds the salad together, adding richness from the oil and a tangy acidity from the vinegar.
- Lemon Juice: Lemon juice imparts a bright, zesty flavor that lifts the overall taste of the salad.
- Parsley: Parsley contributes a fresh, herbaceous note and vibrant green color.
- Salt and Pepper: Salt and pepper are essential seasonings that enhance the flavors of all the ingredients, bringing out their natural tastes and adding a slight kick from the pepper.
Please see the recipe card at the end of this post for the exact ingredients and measurements.
Step-By-Step Instructions
Let me show you how easy it is to make this copycat version of the beloved Costco Quinoa Salad with a super easy lemon and olive oil dressing.
Step One: Cook your brown rice, lentils, and quinoa on the stovetop. You can use red quinoa or white quinoa, or a mix.
Step Two: While grains and lentils are cooking, chop your veggies and add them to a large mixing bowl.
Step Three: Prepare the ingredients for the dressing.
Step Four: Toss the salad with the dressing.
Chill this recipe or serve it right away. Hope you agree that this homemade version is a great salad in addition to being a nearly authentic copycat recipe.
This fresh salad is a great way to get lots of fresh vegetables with fresh herbs and a tasty dressing.
Serve the salad immediately, or chill it to serve later.
Recipe Tips
- Serve it as a main meal or a side dish. It’s perfect for summer salads or at any time of year for a healthy lifestyle.
- One-fourth cup of dry brown rice will yield one cup of cooked brown rice.
- One-half cup of dry uncooked lentils will yield about 1 cup of cooked lentils.
- One-half cup of dry uncooked quinoa will yield two cups of cooked quinoa.
- You can substitute more or less of the rice, lentils, or quinoa. Overall for the salad, you’ll need about four cups of cooked grains or lentils.
- Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, both the store version and this copycat version of the salad are vegan and vegetarian. My version is also gluten-free (the store version may have some cross-contamination for gluten). The store version also contains soybean oil. My version is soy-free.
In general I recommend keeping the salad covered in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days maximum.
Yes, this recipe is very versatile and adaptable. Feel free to make adjustments based on your personal preferences or based on what you have on hand.
The ingredient label includes: quinoa, mung beans, cucumber, bell pepper, tomatoes, kale, red lentils, white beans, brown rice, soybean oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, basil, garlic, salt, black pepper, parsley, and citric acid.
More Healthy Salad Recipes You Might Like
- Romaine Salad with Simple Vinaigrette
- Mango Avocado Salad
- Sweet Potato Beet Salad
- Vegan Tuna Salad
- Dairy-Free Southwestern Chicken Salad
- Healthy Tuna Pasta Salad
Or, check out my entire index of Clean Eating Salad Recipes.
Don’t Miss These Copycat Recipes!
Copycat Costco Quinoa Salad Recipe
When you want a healthy salad that is filling enough to be a main dish, then you need this Copycat Costco Quinoa Salad recipe. Quinoa and lentils get combined with chopped veggies and a delicious lemon dressing. Skip the store-bought version and make it at home instead!
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked brown rice
- 1 cup cooked red, brown, or green lentils
- 2 cups cooked quinoa
- 1 red bell pepper, de-cored and chopped finely
- 1 large tomato, diced
- 1 cucumber, diced
- 1 cup baby kale, chopped finely
- 1/2 bunch flat-leaf parsley
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Combine the cooked rice, lentils, and quinoa in a large mixing bowl. Toss to combine.
- Next, add the red bell pepper, tomato, cucumber, parsley, olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, maple syrup, ground cumin, salt, and pepper. Stir well to combine.
- Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate for about 30 minutes to let the flavors combine.
Notes
- You can use red or white quinoa, or a mixture of both for this recipe.
- You can cook for rice, lentils and quinoa up to several days ahead of time prior to making this recipe.
- One-fourth cup of dry brown rice will yield one cup of cooked brown rice.
- One-half cup of dry uncooked lentils will yield about 1 cup of cooked lentils.
- One-half cup of dry uncooked quinoa will yield two cups of cooked quinoa.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Salads
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/6 of recipe
- Calories: 255
- Sugar: 3.9 g
- Sodium: 400.9 mg
- Fat: 11.2 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 32.9 g
- Fiber: 6.3 g
- Protein: 7.6 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
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About the Author: Carrie Forrest has a master’s degree in public health with a specialty in nutrition. She is a top wellness and food blogger with over 5 million annual visitors to her site. Carrie has an incredible story of recovery from chronic illness and is passionate about helping other women transform their health. Send Carrie a message through her contact form.
This looks so good. I am Nutritarian, so if I left out the syrup and the oil do you think it would still turn out?
Yes but you might need to add some vinegar to add some more flavor.
I love the Costco quinoa salad so was happy to stumble across your “deconstruction”. I had to make changes (I didn’t have lentils or kale handy). I added avocado and the whole thing was delicious! And filling!
I’m so glad you liked it, Hilary! Happy New Year!
I make a similar salad, but I don’t include tomatoes, cucumbers, or bell peppers if I’m going to store it since they can deteriorate more quickly. I just add them to my individual bowl before I eat. I do add grated red cabbage which turns it pink if stored for 2 days! I also add whatever raw veggies I happen to have such as bok choy, celery, radishes, grated carrots, grated beets, etc. I usually soak some sunflower seeds and unhulled sesame seeds with the quinoa overnight, but next time I’ll have to try it with lentils. Thanks!
brilliant, thanks Shari!
This was really, really good and tasted almost exactly like the Costco version. One thing that would’ve been really helpful for me was to have the uncooked quantities of brown rice, quinoa, and lentils listed. I had to do some digging from other sources to figure out home much would yield the cooked quantities for this recipe. Directions for possibly cooking all the grains together would also make this recipe much easier to make. Overall, a very tasty recipe that was what I was looking for.
I’m so glad you liked it and I will add in those quantities you suggested…great idea.
Thank you! This recipe is delicious. I appreciate you taking the time to add that info in.
Delicious! Tastes very similar to the Costco version, if not better; hard to beat fresh ingredients. I subbed black beans for the brown rice since I didn’t have any. It looks beautiful! I might try halving the dressing next time to see if half is sufficient. The current amounts are fine, not overly dressed, I just thought I’d try to cut a few calories if I can. Thank you!!
So glad you like the salad, Meagan! And thanks for sharing your substitutions.
Hi! Should the grains be cooled first?
Maybe just a few minutes but it’s not totally necessary as the salad gets chilled after it’s assembled.
Nice! Looks super delicious and easy to make – win win!
Thanks, Kelly!
I love quinoa! I’ve made something very similar to this using honey instead of maple syrup and added chickpeas. I’ll have to try your version. 😊
Great I hope you enjoy Jocelyn!
Love this main dish salad recipe.
Beautiful clicks , and beautiful looking Salad . Perfect for a healthy lunch .