California Quinoa Salad is bright, light, amazingly healthy combo served with a delicious tropical piña colada dressing. (Inspired by Chef Marcel Gutierrez of Arugula Deli, Idaho Falls, Idaho.)
Finding a lunch spot that sources locally grown products and serves up fresh, healthy (and affordable) plates in Portland is usually no harder than walking around the next corner. In fact, when it comes to finding a great place to eat in our town, we are downright spoiled.
Idaho Falls, Idaho, on the other hand, is a town heavy with steak houses, chain restaurants (Chuck-o-rama, anyone?), and fast food drive-thrus. Finding something locally sourced, unique, and delicious there takes a little more work, and going vegetarian takes a whole ‘nother level of dedication.
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So imagine our delight (yes, delight!) when, while on a recent trip to the Potato State to see one of our daughters graduate from college, we Yelped our way into the bright, airy Arugula Deli, tucked modestly into the side of what looks to be an old brick school building on the north side of town.
The food was, in a word, Fresh. Wonderfully, deliciously fresh, in every sense of the word. We sipped on our lemon and cucumber infused waters while we perused the globally-inspired menu, which has options for all eating styles, from vegan to steak lover.
My lunch choice – the California Quinoa Salad – turned out to be our table favorite; a clean, light, grain-based salad full of interesting textures and bright flavors that filled me up and kept me going all day. (And it was a very long day, let me tell you.)
DID YOU KNOW? Quinoa is an ancient grain related to spinach, beets, and chard. Not only is quinoa considered a super-food, but it is also a complete protein: it contains all nine of the essential amino acids (the ones the body cannot produce on its own).
My inspiration: Chef Marcel’s California Quinoa Salad with Piña Colada Dressing at the Arugula Deli
The element that put this salad over the top for me – and inspired me to practically run home to recreate it – was the amazing “secret recipe” piña colada dressing that was served along side. I loved it so much that I asked if I could get the recipe, to which our waitress laughed and told me that the chef was so cagey about its composition that he made it behind closed doors. The staff didn’t even know what was in it.
Aha! A challenge!
Our waitress did offer to sell us a bottle of the dressing, which of course I accepted. I also took a few minutes to chat with the enigmatic chef himself. Marcel Gutierrez, who owns the Arugula Deli with his wife Mindy, is responsible for the deli’s amazing menu.
Chef Marcel is an affable and engaging man who is passionate about his work. Were it not that we had places to go and things to do, I would have loved to have had time to visit with him more. As it was, we had commencement exercises to attend, and then the long drive back home to Oregon.
Once home, the salad itself was easy to make: I just had to take all the ingredients listed on the menu and throw them together in the right proportions. For my recipe, I chose to go with tri-colored quinoa instead of single-grain, mostly because I like the extra color, but also because I personally think it has a little more crunch. The trade-off is that the other ingredients don’t visually stand out quite as much in the finished salad. If you make it at home, the choice is yours – any kind of quinoa will one will work.
EASY RECIPE PREP VIDEO ⬇️
California Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
- 4 cups cooked quinoa
- 1/2 cup chopped mango
- 1/2 cup chopped red pepper
- 1/2 cup shelled edamame
- 1/2 cup chopped red onion
- 1/4 cup sliced almonds
- 1/4 cup Craisins
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- Juice of two limes
- 1/2 cup sweetened coconut toasted
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients except toasted coconut. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Garnish with toasted coconut. Serve cold with Piña Colada Dressing on the side.
Notes
The real challenge came in creating the dressing. I took a couple of wrong turns before I finally got it, and I want to send out a big thank you to our son-in-law Mason for his invaluable input. I am nearly certain that the ingredient list for my condensed-milk-based dressing below is not even remotely close to Chef Marcel’s recipe (which I believe is mayonnaise based), but the end result tastes spot on.
PRO TIP: Hollowed out lime halves are the perfect vessel for serving salad dressing!
Piña Coloda Salad Dressing
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
- 2 tablespoons pina colada mix
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons pineapple juice
- 1 tablespoons lime juice
- Dash salt to taste
Instructions
- Whisk together all ingredients. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
As you may have noticed, I totally copied Chef Marcel’s presentation, too: it makes for a far more interesting plate than just throwing the salad on top of a bed of greens. While you can buy all sorts of cool kitchen forms to create this effect, a clean tin can with both ends cut out works just as well.
Watch the video ⬆️ above the salad recipe card to see how this process works. (Just be careful of sharp can edges when you do it!)
The next time you are in Idaho Falls, I encourage you to stop by the Arugula Deli for a meal – and be sure to say hello to Chef Marcel for me!
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How funny! Lloyd and I both grew up in IF and we know all about finding a good place to eat. We are planning to be there the 2nd week of May. We will have to check it out
It was a bit of a treasure hunt for sure, Annette! You should definitely try it out. It’s the best lunch I’ve eaten in IF so far.
Wow not only does that look delicious it is GORGEOUS! I would love to give this a try. I really enjoy Quinoa!
It is pretty enough for company, as my mother used to say. 🙂
Dang! That sounds SO good. I need to try that pina colada dressing STAT!
I love the presentation of this salad! That is so awesome. I would never have thought to mold it like that. It looks so much better than tossed on a plate!
Thanks, Angela! I wish I could take credit for the idea, but that was all Chef Marcel’s. 🙂
That looks so good. The dressing sounds like something I could drink! I can think of a million ways to use that dressing!
This looks amazing! I can’t wait to try this recipe out I know my family will love it.
I love making my own versions of recipe from restaurants! What a unique dish, too!
I love quinoa salads so much! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Ooh I love how colorful this is, and the combo of textures and flavors in this! Beautiful! And I’m not a big fan of Pina Coladas but is it weird that the dressing sounds better to me than the drink? It sounds yummy!
I love the presentation of this dish! And the balance of quinoa to veggies is lovely–I’ll be adding this to my must try list 🙂 Thanks for sharing Renee!
I saw this on Pinterest earlier and can’t get over how beautiful it looks! I love quinoa but there’s a fine line when cooking it – I usually end up making it too crunchy or too soft! x
Um, YUMYUM YUMMY!! I adore quinoa and am always looking for fresh ways to cook it. This recipe looks and sounds so amazing! Just the right combo of healthy, refreshing and energy-packed.
What a beautiful and delicious salad, especially for summer! Quinoa is my favorite ingredient to cook with and it’s healthy. Thanks for sharing!
That looks really REALLY good!! I never have made quinoa before, but I think I need to!
This salad sounds divine. I love quinoa, especially cold, and the idea of mixing it with some tropical flavors.
I love being able to recreate recipes that I enjoyed from restaurants. This sounds like a lovely salad! I’m really curious about the dressing.
It sounds like a salad that I will enjoy! Especially since it really fits my whole diet. I would love to try this one of these days.
This is so pretty and colorful and healthy! I love how you presented it and that dressing sounds heavenly!
This looks so pretty and colorful and full of healthy things! I love how you presented it and that salad dressing sounds heavenly! Yum!
I always liked quinoa but did not realize it had all that protein. I love a dressing that has a little sweetness so I will have to try the pina coloda. It is great to find a special restaurant in a new place.
This presentation is gorgeous! I’ll definitely give this recipe a try.
How impressive that you didn’t use a recipe! The pina colada dressing sounds amazing… and with the quinoa and veggies, it must’ve been delicious! That restaurant sounds like one I would fancy…
I’ve never actually made anything with quinoa before so this might be a fun way to introduce it to the family!
Ooh this looks so delicious. I have a love hate with quinoa, but I think I would definitely love this recipe
I love quinoa salads and I have to admit that I never thought of pairing it with pina colada dressing. So interesting and I’m intrigued by this recipe. Will have to try it!
This looks intriguing and delicious all at the same time! I will definitely have to give this recipe a try.
OMG, just the title of this post has my favorite ingredients. I am surely going to try this soon. I am saving this for later too.
Omg can we say yum?!? This salad looks absolutely delicious. Must give your recipe a try!
I had a bite of this salad yesterday at Arugula! It is amazing. The dressing makes this salad.
Arugala Deli in Idaho Falls is the reason I went searching for a recipe and found you. This is seriously so good! Its definitely crave-worthy! Thanks for the recipe.
LOOOOVED your commentary! I have lived in Idaho Falls since I was 5 years old and your description was spot on! I also LOOOOOOOVE Arugula Deli and Chef Marcel! Just brought home a quinoa salad tonight as well and was drooling all the way home thinking about that amazing dressing only to be heartbroken when it had been forgotten! I jumped on pinterest to try to find something similar to use so I’m ecstatic to find your post & recipe! Thank you! 🙂
Thank you so much, Amy!