
© Kaylee Murphy
Tropical Mexican Quinoa Salad
Full disclosure: I haven’t always been a fan of avocado. I know, shocking, right? However, lately I’ve been trying to incorporate more of it into my diet because it’s such a great fruit that’s full of nutrients and good fat. I also wanted to make something with pineapple because I haven’t had it for a while, and both avocados and pineapple are great fruits for digestive health.
I was getting sick of all of my usual quinoa salad recipes, so I decided to try something new that incorporated both of these great fruits. For just making this recipe up on the fly, it actually turned out great! My whole family loved it! I hope it gets demolished in your house as fast as it did in mine!

© Kaylee Murphy
The Recipe
- For the Salad:
- About 5 oz. fresh spinach (more or less depending on how you like your salads)
- ½ of one whole pineapple, chopped
- 1 and ½ small to medium-sized avocados, chopped
- ½ cup roasted macadamia nuts, chopped
- 1 cup uncooked tri-color quinoa
- 2 cups vegetable broth or homemade bone broth
- Salt, to taste
- For the Dressing:
- ½ of one small avocado
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2-3 tablespoons raw honey
- 2 tablespoons orange juice
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 1 tablespoon tahini
- About ¼ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- A pinch or two of cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely chopped
- First, cook the quinoa with the broth and salt to taste according to the directions on the package. Then, refrigerate the quinoa until it's chilled.
- Next, mix the rest of the ingredients for the salad in a large mixing bowl. Then, add the chilled quinoa.
- Throw all the ingredients for the dressing, except the cilantro, in a blender and blend until the mixture is smooth. Then, stir in the fresh, finely chopped cilantro.
- Next, pour the dressing over the salad and toss the salad until everything is well-coated. There may be leftover dressing.
- Then, refrigerate the salad for at least 30 minutes. From my experience, longer is always better to let the flavors soak in.
- Serve and enjoy!
Want more tropical food? Try my Paleo Piña Colada Shrimp!
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