It’s that time of year again… the time when we’re still in the depths of winter, and I start dreaming of the beach.
The mountains are beautiful in the winter, the skiing is great, the food is hearty, blah blah blah. It’s cold and I need a vacation.
This weekend, in an attempt to find the warm weather, Nate and I drove down to Zion National Park for some sun and hiking. Hopefully I’ll have a post with pictures for you later in the week! But I don’t even have a long weekend, so this morning I’m back at work, chugging away. A little weekend getaway to southern Utah was lovely, but something longer and more tropical would be right up my alley at the moment.
Enter this tropical salad. I went to the store and bought everything I could find that was delicious, in season, and from a warm location (sorry, sustainability), chopped it up, and put it in a bowl. Then I ate it and fantasized that I was sipping a pina colada on a beach, rather than eating salad out of a Tupperware in my office break room. It was so delicious that it almost worked.
This salad is just what you need at this time of year. Pineapple, mango, coconut, macadamia nuts, avocado? Yes yes yes! I enjoyed mine drizzled with olive oil and a few squeezes of lime, which I would recommend. You could also use your favorite dressing here!
Now to plan my summer beach vacation. Only 5 1/2 more months…
Tropical Chopped Salad with Mango, Pineapple, and Coconut
Serves 4
Ingredients:
For the salad:
½ cup uncooked quinoa
4-5 cups shredded red leaf or romaine lettuce
1 mango, finely chopped
1 cup finely chopped pineapple (about ¼ large pineapple)
1 cup finely chopped jicama
1 avocado, finely chopped
½ cup roasted unsalted macadamia nuts, roughly chopped
½ cup flaked coconut, toasted
2-3 green onions, sliced
For dressing:
drizzle of olive oil
squeeze of lime juice
(or your favorite dressing)
Instructions:
Cook quinoa according to package directions. Add to a large bowl with all other salad ingredients. Toss and serve. Drizzle each serving with olive oil and lime juice.
Time:
30 minutes
i so need a beach right now! but your salad will do :-)
I am going to make this salad next week for sure! I had tons of quinoa leftover this week so I made moroccan ispired quinoa salad and quinoa raisin granola bars, I wish I would have seen this recipe sooner! Thanks, it looks delicious!
It’s disgusting and cold in Michigan, perfect time to pretend I’m somewhere warm. I’ve never tried jicama, but I’ve definitely bought it once and let it go bad while I figured out what I could possible do with it– now I actually know!
I do not know why I never think to add fruit to my salads. It always tastes so good. The addition of mango and pineapple to this salad sounds delicious and refreshing. It gets me in the mood for Spring and Summer!
This sounds AMAZING, and so refreshing… Definitely trying this!
Hello! I stumbled across your blog, and the recipes and pics looked amazing, so I subscribed for email updates :). I love all things coconut, and am craving anything tropical right now (especially during this cold Toronto winter) — can’t wait to try this salad!
Thanks Kat! We are on the same page with the tropical cravings :)
Zion is one of my favorite national parks! I have fond memories of taking a road trip all over the western U.S., stopping at all the national parks and Zion was definitely a beautiful and fun one! I hear ya on needing some beach time..I wouldn’t mind sitting on the warm sand with a cocktail in hand…and this salad by my side! My gosh, this salad is gorgeous! I’ve been so tempted to pick up jicama and have never known what to do with it – will definitely be squashing my jicama fear with this recipe!
Zion was beautiful! We are so lucky to live in the West :) Hopefully pictures coming tomorrow!
I’ve never thought of macadamia nuts in a salad, but it totally does the trick to make this super tropical :) The lime sounds perfect too!
This is such a gorgeous salad! It’s been freezing up here in Ontario too and I’ve been comforting myself with warm and hearty meals but maybe I need to be making tropical dishes instead to warm me up and give me hope for spring!
I’m jealous of your trip to Zion! I need this salad, a warm beach, and a margarita now!
This is such an awesome salad: Delicious and 15 minutes to the table! Thanks!