This fall flavor Cranberry Apple Quinoa Salad is loaded with proteins from the quinoa and the chickpeas making it a complete, delicious, and healthy vegetarian dish for you.
Quinoa salad has always been my favorite type of salad on earth. No kidding!! Every time I go to a restaurant I check the menu to see if they have quinoa salad, but sometimes I try not to order because when I go out, I want to taste new dishes. Also, I always think my homemade quinoa salads like my mango quinoa salad, roasted Brussels sprouts quinoa salad and quinoa Greek salad are always much more flavorful than the ones I get at the restaurant. Just saying … hahahahha. Even my husband loves my quinoa salad with roasted asparagus and carrot quinoa salad.
Since it is fall and I love all autumn flavors, I was thinking of making agaaaaaain another quinoa salad for lunch but this time I added some cranberry and green apple to get the fall, sweet taste I was looking for. I also used chickpeas in this salad because I love the extra crunch that comes from these beans. So, this salad is packed with protein from the quinoa and chickpeas, making it a complete, delicious, and healthy vegetarian dish for you. It is also the time to make and eat comfort foods and we are going to forget to eat our favorite salads, right? If you want, you can even eat it with some boiled salmon or roasted chicken for the extra protein. We all should have salad all year long because there are thousands of salads recipes for all seasons! For this reason, I always have my salad for lunch because it is quick and easy to make and it is very fulfilling. Ah, don’t forget to use my homemade vinaigrette recipe in this recipe. Hope you give this recipe a try and let me know how it turned out. Got extra cranberries from this recipe? Try this Instant Pot Low-carb Cranberry Sauce!
Want a protein to go with this quinoa salad? Try my Pork Chops with Apples and Onions! It would go so wonderfully with this cranberry apple quinoa salad. If you want more salad recipes, try any of these 50 Healthy Salad Recipes!
Cranberry Apple Quinoa Salad
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Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked quinoa
- ½ cup red onions diced
- ¾ cup green apple diced
- ½ cup yellow bell pepper diced
- 1 cup chick peas drained
- ¼ cup dried cranberries
- ¼ cup walnuts chopped
- 1 tsp fresh chives chopped (save some for garnishing)
- 1/3 cup homemade vinaigrette
Instructions
- Place the quinoa in a large bowl and add the onions, green apple, bell pepper, chick peas, cranberries and walnuts.
- Pour the homemade vinaigrette dressing over the quinoa salad and stir to combine.
- Garnish with chives before serving.
- This salad is good served at room temperature or chilled.
- Enjoy!
Tips
- As it's a salad, make sure you chop everything evenly and finely so you get a little bit of everything with each spoonful.
- When you cook quinoa, it's best to rinse it first so it's not bitter.
- Feel free to use any coloured bell peppers for the salad but keep in mind that red is sweetest and green is least sweet.
- To store: I recommend not adding the dressing to the cranberry apple quinoa salad if you plan on storing it in the fridge as it can get soggy. This salad lasts for up to 4 days in the fridge when stored separately in airtight containers.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.
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More Quinoa Salads
Natalie @ Tastes Lovely says
You make such delicious quinoa salads! Love this fall version. Perfect lunch!
Julie @ Cooks with Cocktails says
This looks so YUM and so pretty! I hardly ever make quinoa salads, but I love them when I do. Im going to make this one stat!
richardmoderate says
could you please describe the homemade vinaigrette you used?
Olivia says
I use this homemade vinaigrette recipe https://www.primaverakitchen.com/how-to-make-basic-vinaigrette/
richardmoderate says
thank you-i want to bring this salad to a pot luck at my Quaker meeting Sunday-it looks perfect for fall
Nikki P says
This is insanely delicious!
Esther M. says
Can you tell me how long this recipe will keep in the refrigerator? (I would add the dressing as I ate it, so it doesn’t get everything soggy). It looks delicious, but not sure I can eat it for 5 or 6 days straight (or maybe I could!!)
Also, how much is a serving size – 1/2 cup?
Cherylin says
Is it 3 cups after the quinoa is cooked, right?
Olivia says
Yes, it’s 3 cups of cooked quinoa!
Yuri says
Would it be possible to freeze this? I’d like to make it and keep it for days I have no leftovers for lunch! Thank you!
Olivia says
I’m not sure cause I’ve never froze it but it stays good in the fridge for up to 6 days.
Suzanne says
This looks so good! What a great salad fall lunch meal prep!
Olivia says
Yes it is thanks to quinoa 😉
Vanessa says
Thanks for sharing! Does it keep long?
Olivia says
For about 3 days in the fridge.
Antonia says
I’m dying to try this….. I want to know if you could use fresh cranberries? Thanks
Olivia says
I think it’s better to use dry cranberries.