A healthy recipe for cranberry quinoa salad that is as easy as tossing simple ingredients like fresh herbs, almonds, and feta cheese together, making a lemon dijon dressing to mix, and enjoying in less than thirty minutes!
I literally could not wait any longer to share this quinoa salad recipe with you guys!! It is easily my go-to side dish when I’m asked to bring something to a friend’s house!
This cranberry quinoa salad is so easy to make because it really is just about assembling the ingredients after you’ve cooked your quinoa.
I break down step-by-step how to cook quinoa to make sure that it is full of flavor and very fluffy. This is my go to method when it comes to making perfect quinoa every time!
It is so refreshing, light, full of honey, dijon, and garlic flavor. The saltiness from the feta cheese amplifies the sweet cranberries and all of the fresh parsley and green onion.
Every bite is a little bit of everything and that’s why I like it so much! There is a flavor explosion with every little spoonful (or forkful!).
The lemon dijon dressing is one of my favorite parts. Made with dijon mustard, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt, it is simple, full of flavor and adds the perfect zing to the quinoa salad.
I love to make extra of the dressing to have on hand for green salads during the week! An expert tip 🙂
Why you should make this cranberry quinoa salad
- It’s super easy. Seriously, just chop up your fresh herbs, cook your quinoa, and then dump everything into a bowl, whisk up your dressing, and stir!
- It can be prepped ahead. It’s one of those meals where it is actually better if it’s prepped ahead! We’re talking a real trip to flavor town as you let the salad soak.
- Your guests will beg you for the recipe. No joke after I served this, everyone was like how can I get some of this?! I need the recipe! They will all love it so much.
It’s seriously a crowdpleaser in so many different aspects.
I decided to make a video on how I made it if you want to see me in action and see for yourself just how easy it is to make 🙂
So next time you need to make a side dish, or are looking to meal prep something really delicious for you week ahead, you should make this cranberry quinoa salad with lemon dijon dressing!
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Cranberry Quinoa Salad
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 cups 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
A healthy recipe for cranberry quinoa salad that is as easy as tossing simple ingredients like fresh herbs, almonds, and feta cheese together, making a lemon dijon dressing to mix, and enjoying in less than thirty minutes!
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry quinoa, rinsed.
- 2 cups veggie brothÂ
- 1/2 cup cranberries
- 1/2 cup chopped green scallion
- 3/4 cup slivered almonds
- 3/4 cup feta cheese
- 1/2 cup chopped parsley
Dressing:
Instructions
To see how it’s made, watch the video above in the post!
- Rinse your quinoa in a fine mesh strainer and then add to a saucepan.
- Add in veggie stock and turn on heat.
- Bring to a rolling boil, then stir and turn the heat down to low and cover.
- Cook for 15 minutes covered.
- Turn off heat and let sit for about 5 minutes.
- After 5 minutes, open lid and fluff with fork.
- Your quinoa should have absorbed all the water, if not, return to heat for a few more minutes.
- Pour quinoa into bowl for cooling.
- Assemble the dressing while you wait.
- Whisk together oil, lemon juice, garlic, dijon mustard, salt and pepper in one bowl.
- Once quinoa as completely cooled, add cranberries, green scallion, almonds, feta cheese, and parsley.Â
- Add dressing on top and mix together!
- Serve immediately or cold. This salad gets better the longer it sits in the fridge!
- Enjoy.
- Category: dinner, side dish, gluten free, vegetarian
Keywords: quinoa salad, side dishes, gluten free, healthy side dishes, vegetarian
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Gina Dwyer says
Yum, yum, yummers!! I just made this for lunch and it is OH SO GOOD!!! This will be on a regular rotation for me now – so glad to have another delicious quinoa recipe! Thanks Erin!!
★★★★★
Erin says
Gina!! Thank you so much for letting me know! Im glad you are enjoying it so much!! 🙂
Gina Dwyer says
I just made it again 🙂 I added some cucumber, and maybe next time I’ll add some spinach or some kind of greens for a bit more nutrition – but gosh it’s so good!!
Erin says
Omg cucumbers would be amazing for crunch!! Great idea! And yes, or eat it over a bed of spinach!! YUM!
Mar says
Love this recipe so much!!! It’s become a staple for weekly lunches. I sometimes add cucumbers and chopped spinach. This week I added basil and it was delicious!
★★★★★
Erin says
Okay you are a genius, I love the sounds of adding basil! Going to try!
Reyna says
Erin, can we make this with chicken stock instead?
Erin says
Chicken stock will work great in this recipe.
Meghan says
Delightful salad! Light and refreshing. I didn’t use all the dressing and added extra cranberries and parsley. I also exchanged walnuts for almonds. Fabulous reviews from those that ate it. Thank you!
★★★★★