Grainy Goodness

Copycat Costco Quinoa Salad

with lentils, chopped veggies and lotsa parsley

SOUND BITE

If you’re a Costco member and a salad lover (I am!), t hen I’m positive their famous quinoa salad has made its way into your cart. I no longer live near Costco, so I created a simplified but equally addictive version of their wildly popular salad. Make it in advance, since it tastes better when the ingredients have time to “marinate” in the fridge. Confession: Sometimes I can’t wait and scarf it down immediately.

My Recipe vs. Costco’s 

Given the popularity of Costco’s famous quinoa salad and the fact that I no longer live near Costco, I decided to take a stab at recreating it.

I LOVE my homemade version because, yes, it tastes great, but it also lasts for days in the fridge and only seems to get better as time goes by.

And since I’m not mass-producing it like Costco, I can use some higher-quality ingredients and modify the recipe based on what’s easy to find at grocery stores.

For example, Costco’s salad contains mung beans, which are great, but I searched at 5 different stores before I found them. That’s a no-go for me, and probably for you, too. 

So I eliminated the mung beans from the recipe. 

I also decided to skip the bulgur to make this salad gluten-free. I don’t miss the bulgur AT ALL. 

The quinoa and lentils are so filling and full of plant-based protein and fiber, you won’t miss the beans and bulgur. I promise.

The cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers, parsley and chives are the same.

Then I created a light and lemony dressing that brings everything together into one big bowl of pure salad joy!

I’ve used light-tasting olive oil instead of soybean oil, but you could also use organic sunflower or safflower oil since their flavor is neutral. 

Inspired by the big-box favorite, but made for real-life kitchens.

Are the salads identical? No. But they’re pretty darn close and equally delicious!