a close up of a big bowl filled with quinoa salad with fresh vegetables and raisins

Would you like to save this?

We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!

I tried this amazing rose water quinoa salad at a party recently and could not stop eating it! I loved the plump, juicy raisins and the fresh taste of the vegetables. With every bite, I found myself trying to figure out what *that* ingredient was that made it taste so special. After taking a few guesses, the “secret ingredient” was finally revealed: rose water! I’d had desserts with rose water before but never had it in quinoa salad until now.

THE RECIPE

When I asked for the recipe, our family friend who had made the salad told me that the salad was just something she throws together without a recipe. She told me the “little bit of this, some that” version which was enough to help me figure out the recipe in my kitchen! It took a few attempts, but I was finally able to recreate the taste I remembered.

a freshly made lemon olive oil vinaigrette being poured into a bowl of chopped vegetables and raisins

LEMON-OLIVE OIL DRESSING

To start making this unique salad, start by whisking together my easy, four ingredient lemon-olive oil vinaigrette. The four ingredients are:

lemon
olive oil
salt
pepper

I add the rose water at the end of the recipe, but it technically is part of the dressing. I don’t think I’d had anything with rose water and olive oil together before. It’s so nice!

QUINOA

After I have my dressing prepared, I cook the quinoa. I cook the quinoa in water, but if you want to add extra flavor, you can cook it in vegetable or chicken broth. After rinsing the quinoa, add it to boiling water or broth. Reduce heat and cook for about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and cover. After five minutes, grab a fork to fluff the quinoa and it should be all set.

FRESH VEGETABLES

In addition to the taste of the rose water, it’s all the fresh, finely chopped veggies that make this salad delicious. As you can tell from the pictures, all the vegetables are chopped into small pieces. This ensures that every bite ends up with bits of chopped onion, garlic, red and green pepper, and parsley!

Once all your vegetables are chopped, add the raisins, dressing and rose water. Finally, add the quinoa and mix well! You can serve it right away and cold or at room temperature. I prefer to let it sit in the fridge for at least an hour to allow the flavors to come together!

a close up of quinoa with bits of chopped red and green peppers and raisins

I have tried some really good quinoa salad recipes before, but have honestly never had one so packed with so many veggies or flavor as this incredibly flavorful quinoa salad! Whether you serve it alongside meat or a vegetarian option such as my Grilled or Fried Halloumi Cheese , you’ll love the bites full of veggies and amazing flavor!

an overview photo of quinoa with finely chopped, colorful vegetables and raisins

ROSE WATER

Rose water is a common ingredient in Middle Eastern cuisine (most often used in desserts). It’s made by distilling fresh rose petals with water. If you haven’t tasted or made anything with it yet, I highly recommend it! It adds an exotic scent and a special, lovely taste to food. It’s pretty potent, so as good as it smells and tastes, use it sparingly!

You can find rose water in Middle Eastern stores. I’ve also been seeing it more in the international foods aisle of many grocery stores.

two photos of bottles of orange flower water and rose water