Steak-Quinoa Salad with Avocado-Lime Ranch Dressing
This steak and quinoa salad couldn’t be easier, and it’s great all year round if you have an indoor grill pan, or if you don’t mind grilling outside in the cold weather (I don’t). It uses a basic marinade that lends a bit of flavor to the meat without overpowering it.
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I chose to make an avocado-lime ranch dressing for this, but this salad would also be good with a basic balsamic vinaigrette (you could just slice the avocado and include it in the salad, or just omit the avocado altogether).
I love all of the different textures in this salad, and it’s a complete meal – you get your vegetables, meat, dairy and grains all in one bowl! Oh, and did I mention that quinoa is very high in protein?
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Steak-Quinoa Salad with Avocado-Lime Ranch Dressing
Ingredients
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 lb. flank steak
- 1 avocado pitted and peeled
- ⅓ cup prepared ranch dressing
- 1 ½ tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 8 ounces salad greens whatever you want – I used 1/2 spring mix, 1/2 spinach
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- ¾ cup grape tomatoes halved
- ⅓ cup crumbled feta cheese
- ¼ cup thinly sliced red onion
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together garlic, oil, Worcestershire, lemon juice, brown sugar, cumin and cayenne. Place steak in large ziploc bag; pour marinade over steak. Seal bag and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 8 hours.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mash together avocado, ranch dressing and lime juice until everything is nicely combined – you can leave the avocado chunky, or keep mashing until the mixture is smooth.
- Preheat an outdoor grill for direct grilling over medium-high heat. Remove steak from marinade; discard marinade. Grill steak 8 to 10 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 135 degrees F for medium-rare, flipping once halfway through cooking. Transfer to plate; let rest at least 5 minutes.
- To serve, divide salad greens, quinoa, tomatoes, feta, onion and basil between 4 plates. Thinly slice steak across the grain, and divide between plates. Serve with dressing.
I love quinoa! I mix it with red/brown rice for black beans & rice recipes. Thanks for avocado/ranch/lime dressing idea…sounds delish, & would even go great on chicken tacos ?
Love the chicken taco idea!
Good luck, Paige. I hope you like it!
This looks so delicious and healthy! I’ve been wanting to try quinoa for a long time now! I’ll have to give it a shot!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.blogspot.com
Thanks, Suzanne! Yeah, maybe if you want to give it another try, try The Kitchn’s method that I linked to. I think toasting the grains really helped! I’m still not IN LOVE with quinoa, but I like it a little more than I used to 🙂
I have a love hate relationship with quinoa, there are no end of recipes and for me it’s just ok most of the time. I love your salad, and that ranch dressing sounds amazing.