The Costco Quinoa Salad is a ready to eat meal that tastes great and is incredibly healthy. I love the explosion of flavors and textures and appreciate that there are no onions in the meal.
Taste Test!
I think the Quinoa Salad tastes great and it reminds me of a cucumber salad that has been mixed with brown rice.
The cucumbers, tomatoes and lemon based dressing give the salad a bright and fresh flavor that is balanced out with a nutty earthiness from the quinoa and brown rice.
There are delightful textural variations between the ingredients which makes the meal fun to eat.
And, most importantly to me, the salad tastes great because it does NOT contain any raw onions!
How to Make the Salad Better
I really enjoy the salad by itself but you can easily dress it up depending upon your dietary needs.
If you wanted to keep the meal vegetarian then you could really make it pop by adding crumbles of feta cheese along with slivered almonds.
If you wanted to add some protein but keep the meal pescatarian then this salad would be amazing when mixed with Costco’s Cilantro Lime Shrimp.
And, if you just wanted to load up with lean protein then go ahead and add some Kirkland canned chicken breast.
You could adjust the flavor profile by adding a few shakes of Cholula Hot Sauce but try it on a small bite first to make sure it suits you.
Storage
The salad is not shelf stable and must be refrigerated.
The package I bought had a “Packed On” date of 10/01 and a “Sell By” date of 10/04. You should get several days of freshness past the “Sell By” date which means the tray of salad should last about a week in your refrigerator if you buy it soon after it has been packed.
If you are the only person eating the salad then count on it lasting for several meals as there is a LOT of food (over two pounds).
I have been eating the salad by the random spoonful as I pass through the kitchen just to have something to nibble on and I am going to struggle to finish the whole thing by the end of the week.
Calories and Ingredients
One cup of the Quinoa Salad is a single serving and has the following caloric and nutritional information:
- Calories: 110
- Sodium: 360 mg (15% DV)
- Total Carbs: 12g (4% DV)
- Protein: 3g
This is a low calorie meal with low levels of sodium and carbohydrates which counts as healthy in my book!
The salad contains:
- Quinoa
- Cucumbers
- Tomatoes
- Mung Beans
- Red Bell Pepper
- Brown Rice
- Kale
- Cilantro
- Red Lentils
- Dressing (Oil, Lemon Juice, Vinegar, Salt, Water, Sugar)
It’s nice to see an ingredient list full of healthy veggies and without preservatives. This might be the healthiest prepared meal that Costco offers.
Although the label does not make any health claims, from looking at the ingredient list it appears that the salad is:
- Gluten Free
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
Price
The Quinoa Salad is Item Number 42825 and is found in the refrigerated coolers near the deli.
The salad costs $4.79 per pound. You get about 2.25 pounds of food per container so expect to pay around $10 for the meal.
You can probably make your own from scratch for less money but considering how tasty and easy the meal is I don’t mind paying extra for someone else to make it for me!
