Description
Fresh, nutritious quinoa salad with crisp apples, dried cranberries, and walnuts in a tangy lemon dressing. Ready in just 15 minutes!
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
- 2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth or water
- 2 medium Honeycrisp apples, cored and diced
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
- 1/4 cup red onion, finely diced
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese (optional)
Instructions
- 1. Rinse quinoa thoroughly under cold water until water runs clear.
- 2. Bring broth to a boil, add quinoa, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 12-15 minutes.
- 3. Remove from heat, let sit 5 minutes covered, then fluff and cool on plate.
- 4. Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, honey, salt, and pepper.
- 5. Dice apples, keeping skin on. Finely dice red onion.
- 6. Toast nuts in dry skillet 2-3 minutes if desired.
- 7. Combine cooled quinoa, apples, cranberries, nuts, onion, and parsley in large bowl.
- 8. Pour dressing over mixture and toss thoroughly.
- 9. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
- 10. Fold in feta cheese if using.
- 11. Let sit 5-10 minutes before serving to allow flavors to meld.
Notes
Store covered in refrigerator for up to 3 days. Best served at room temperature. Can be made ahead – keep dressing separate until ready to serve.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Salad
- Method: No-cook
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 280
- Sugar: 18g
- Sodium: 240mg
- Fat: 12g
- Carbohydrates: 38g
- Fiber: 5g
- Protein: 8g