This quinoa broccoli salad is easy to make, perfect for parties, to meal prep at the beginning of the week and is 100% vegan! This quinoa broccoli salad is hearty and nutritious to keep you fueled, while also being filling. If you are bored of the same old salad, mix it up and give this one a try! The vegan dill dressing is the showstopper of this dish to truly make it so delicious!
Where to Start
Start by getting all of your ingredients prepared.
Start by preparing the quinoa because it will take the most amount of time, about 10-15 minutes. Cook your quinoa with 1 to 1 ratio until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is fluffy.
Next is your sweet potato. Chop it up into small bite sized cubes. I like to coat them with a little olive oil and salt and pepper before roasting them in the oven at 375F for 20 minutes. If you are in a rush, and who these days isn’t, feel free to put your cubes in a microwave safe bowl for 3-4 minutes. Finally chop up your cucumber and broccoli into small pieces and set aside.
How do you make creamy dressing without dairy?
The creamy dill dressing is the star of this dish. For this you will need a blender, raw cashews, dill, macadamia milk for ultimate creaminess, lemon, dijon mustard, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. All of these ingredients will go in your blender and you will blend on high until it has a nice smooth creamy consistency that is easy to pour. Once your dressing is blended you are ready to put your quinoa broccoli salad together
Why macadamia nut milk?
I used the unsweetened original Milkadamia milk for this recipe and found that it helped make the texture perfect and tasted delicious, too. Milkadamia’s vegan nut milks are made from raw macadamia nuts that are sustainably farmed. If you want to read more about their regenerative farming practices, head over to Milkadamia’s website to learn all about it! Milkadamia’s products are all non-GMO, soy-free, gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan. Use the Milkadamia store locator here. I buy my Milkadamia at Whole Foods!
Making the Bowl
Now that your ingredients are ready and in the assembly line, scoop your quinoa into the bottom of the bowl as your base. Next add in your sweet potatoes, broccoli, cucumber and pomegranate seeds and almonds. The pomegranate seeds add the perfect amount of sweetness to the salad. The best part is that you get to make it your own adding in as much or as little of each ingredient as you would like. Finally, add in your dill dressing to the salad and mix it all up. Pro tip: the longer you let the salad sit in the dressing, the more delicious it gets!
Will my non-vegan friends and family enjoy this?
Absolutely, besties! Not only will they love it, but they’ll be asking you to make it for every gathering. It doesn’t matter the time of year, this dish can be served whether it is hot or cold out, and will be a fan favorite. This quinoa broccoli salad is a great way to get in those veggies, too! This is a great way to show your friends and family just how easy and delicious eating plant-based can be.
Important Tips
- Cut your broccoli into tiny bite-sized pieces to avoid huge chunks.
- Microwave your sweet potato cubes in olive oil, salt and pepper instead of roasting them to have them cook quicker (takes 5 minutes!).
- Feel free to use any type of quinoa or grain you like! Rice works great or even farro.
- Store in the fridge for up to 5 days. It gets even better as the salad soaks up the dressing.
- Meal prep this at the beginning of the week but healthy, easy plant-based lunches! This is meant to be served out of the fridge, do not heat.
- The fun part of making a salad is making it your own! Feel free to leave out any of the salad ingredients, or add in any ingredients.
Substitution Options
Quinoa: Feel free to use any type of quinoa or grain that you prefer. Brown rice, wild rice, farro, cous cous or pasta would work well too.
Vegan Milk: While I highly recommend Milkadamia as your milk of choice for making the dressing, you can use any vegan milk that you like if you can’t find Milkadamia.
Almonds: Don’t like almonds or have an allergy? You can use any type of nut you’d like, or even omit the almonds all together. Pine nuts or sunflower seeds would be a great substitute in this quinoa broccoli salad.
Quinoa Broccoli Salad (with creamy dill dressing!)
the ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa yields 4 cups when cooked
- 1 cup finely chopped broccoli
- 1 cup diced cucumbers
- 2 cups diced roasted sweet potato
- 3/4 cup pomegranate seeds
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
Creamy Dill Dressing
- 1 1/4 cup macadamia milk I use Milkadamia
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 1 cup fresh dill
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic
- 1/4 tsp pepper
instructions
- Cook the quinoa and let it cool. You need 1 cup uncooked quinoa (yields about 4 cups cooked).
- Dice sweet potato into small cubes and roast in the oven in olive oil salt and pepper for 25 minutes or microwave in a microwave safe bowl for 5 minutes.
- Chop the cucumbers, and broccoli and prep the pomegranate seeds if you didn't buy them pre-shelled.
- Into a large bowl add the quinoa, sweet potato, cucumber, broccoli, almonds and pomegranate seeds. Pour the dressing over and mix to combine well.
- Store in a container in the fridge up to 5 days
Dressing
- Add all of the dressing ingredients to a high-speed blender then blend until completely smooth. If you don't have a high speed blender like a Vitamix, soak the cashews in hot water for 10 minutes to soften them.
Made with love,
Danielle
I am genuinely in love with this Recipe, my family is Anit- salad team, you could say, and they actually had this salad and liked it as a meal, which is a very big healthy achievement for me and of course your Recipe, thank you so much for inspiring me to eat healthily and giving so many vegan options to go plant-based. I enjoyed the salad yet again.
I am so glad!
I asked before what to replace cashews with. Maybe it didn’t post.
hemp seeds!
This is heavenly! Definitely worth a try. I’ve tried a couple of your recipes and so far they’ve ALL be exquisite! Thank you so much for sharing your talent
This is heavenly! Definitely worth a try. I’ve tried a couple of your recipes and so far they’ve ALL be exquisite! Thank you so much for sharing your talent
Where do I find nutrition info for each recipe?
I don’t think she posts them. I wish she would because I need them as well.
so 10-15 minutes to cook quiona is LESS than 20 plus minutes for the oven bake?
Loved this recipe. I really loved the dressing too. I switched out the pomegranate seeds for golden raisins. I love how this can also be a meal. Thank you for sharing your talent with us.
What are the nutritional values for this?
I loved the crunchy texture! This salad was so full of flavor. Thank you for your awesome recipes.
Will frozen broccoli work for this recipe?
The dill dressing made it super tasty! I loved the salad, thank you for sharing!
This recipe was phenomenal. I’m normally not in love with dill, but the pictures looked so compelling – and I love the other ingredients enough – that I thought I would give it a try. It was fabulous. Like, INCREDIBLE. In my opinion, it is 8 servings as a side dish and 4 servings as a main meal. I would make this without hesitation as a contribution to a potluck or as a meal for guests. Yumriffic.
Wow. Just wow!! Been eyeing your recipes for so long. Saving a bunch of them….so this is my first recipe of yours!
First time making a dressing with raw cashews as well! why haven’t I realized how awesome this is earlier!!! Used oat milk…white quinoa
Just awesome.
Incredibly tasty! Another new go-to lunch during the workweek. The homemade ranch is delicious (though a little runny compared to the creamier versions in store). Recommend dried cranberries as a sub for pomegranate seeds if you can’t find them. Former full-time carnivore now thoroughly enjoying meat-free lunches, courtesy of HGK!