Fall Quinoa Salad

This Fall Quinoa Salad recipe is a delicious and nutritious mix of red and green apples, pears, pomegranate seeds, dried cranberries and pecans, all tossed in our tasty citrus vinaigrette. 

If you’re looking for a quick and easy salad, this Fall Harvest Quinoa Salad with apples and cranberries is a delicious mix of flavors and lots of crunch, and it’s a perfect salad to serve with chicken, fish, a sandwich, or a bowl of soup. 

Our fall harvest quinoa salad with apples and cranberries is an easy salad to prep ahead of time. Just make the quinoa and dressing a day or two in advance, storing each in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator, then chop the apples and pears and toss all of the ingredients together. 

Fall Harvest Quinoa Salad

• Cooked Quinoa. We use white quinoa for this recipe, but tri color works just as well.
• Fresh Fruit.  We use Honeycrisp and Granny Smith apples, Bartlett pears and pomegranate seeds (arils) for this salad. You could also add Mandarin orange if you like.
• Dried Fruit. We toss in dried cranberries, but you could use raisins, dried cherries or figs if you like. 
• Nuts. We add pecans, but walnuts, almonds, pistashios, pepitas and sunflower seeds all work as well.
• Onion.  We sprinkle in just a little green onion, but you could use red onion if you like, or omit the onion altogether. If you want to mellow the flavor of red onion, just soak sliced onions in a bowl of water for about 10 minutes while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. The drain and pat dry. 
• Celery. We also add a little celery for flavor, nutrition and crunch.
• Vinaigrette.  We toss this salad with our popular Citrus Vinaigrette. It’s SO good, you might even want to double the batch!

Find printable recipe with the measurements below.

Variations

• Cheese. Sprinkle in Feta, Gorgonzola or Goat cheese.
• Herbs. Toss in finely chopped mint or parsley.
• Dressing. Instead of the citrus vinaigrette, you could toss this salad with our Maple Vinaigrette or Pomegranate Vinaigrette. They are both really good dressings! 

How To Make Quinoa Fall Salad

1. Make Dressing. Add the ingredients to a wide mouth mason jar and use an immersion blender (stick blender) to blend the ingredients. You can also add everything to a mason jar, seal the lid and shake vigorously to blend the ingredients. Or simply add the ingredients to a bowl and whisk them together. 
2. Cook Quinoa. This is our go-to recipe for how to make quinoa. We always use 1 cup dried quinoa (rinsed) to 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, then put lid on pot and reduce heat to low simmer. Cook for 15-20 minutes then remove from heat. Set aside for 20 minutes for all of the liquid to evaporate before fluffing quinoa. This waiting for 10-15 minutes after cooking quinoa will give you light fluffy quinoa. The quinoa can be prepped 1-2 days ahead of time and stored in an airtight container before you’re ready to toss the salad together.
3. Prep Ingredients. Chop the apples, pear, pecans and dried cranberries.  If your dried cranberries are small, no need to chop. But if they’re large – I like to give them a rough chop so more pieces scatter throughout the salad. 
4. Toss Ingredients. Put the quinoa in a bowl and toss with the finely chopped mint. Add the nectarines, strawberries, corn, cucumber, and onion and toss.  . 
5. Dress Salad . Drizzle dressing over the salad and toss to lightly coat the ingredients.
6. Season. Season salad with salt and pepper to taste.
7. Storing Leftovers. Leftover salad can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. If properly stored, it can last up to 2-3 days. 

How To Cook Quinoa

Cooking quinoa is a lot like cooking rice. We use a ratio of 1 cup quinoa (rinsed unless package says it’s already pre-rinsed) and 2 cups water (you can use vegetable broth or chicken broth if you want to add more flavor).

1. Rinse. Rinse under cold water if the package doesn’t state that it has already been rinsed.
2. Cook. Add it to a saucepan and pour water or broth over it and stir.Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover with lid and simmer 15-17 minutes.  Don’t remove the lid.
3. Remove from heat. As soon as the water is absorbed, remove from heat and set the cooked quinoa aside for 8-10 minutes before fluffing with a fork.

Why You Will Love This Fall Quinoa Salad With Fruit

• Fresh and Flavorful. The combination of fresh apples, pears, pomegranate and dried cranberries with our citrus vinaigrette, gives this salad cozy fall feel. 
• Quick and Easy. This salad comes together in a pinch. 
• Perfect For Fall. This salad is perfect for fall entertaining. Serve it with chicken, fish, soup or sandwiches.

More Quinoa Salads

• Strawberry Quinoa Salad
• Watermelon Arugula Quinoa Salad
• Tomato Basil Quinoa Salad
• Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
• Best Quinoa Salad
• Strawberry Quinoa Salad
• Summer Corn Salad

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Yield: 6 Servings

Fall Quinoa Salad

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

This Fall Quinoa Salad recipe is a delicious and nutritious mix of red and green apples, pears, pomegranate seeds, dried cranberries and pecans, all tossed in our tasty citrus vinaigrette. 

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cups cooked quinoa
• 1 large Honeycrisp apple, chopped
• 1 large Granny Smith apple, chopped
• 1 large Bartlett pear, chopped
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries, coarsely chopped
• 1/3 cup pomegranate arils (seeds)
• 1/3 cup celery, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
• 1-2 green onions, light green parts, sliced

For the Citrus Vinaigrette

• 3-1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1-1/2 teaspoons orange zest
• 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice
• 2-1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 2/3 cup light olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Place 1 cup uncooked quinoa in a sieve and rinse under cold water for just a minute unless the package says it is pre-rinsed.
2. Place the quinoa in a saucepan with 2 cups water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
3. Reduce heat to low and simmer covered for about 15 - 18 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and let the quinoa rest in the saucepan for about 10-15 minutes before you fluff with a fork.
5. Transfer the quinoa to a bowl covered with a paper towel or plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to cool.
6. Place all of the prepared ingredients in a large bowl. Spoon about 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 cups cooled quinoa into the bowl and toss.
7. Add the vinaigrette and lightly toss so the ingredients are evenly coated.
8. Season with salt and pepper to taste if you like.

For The Vinaigrette

1. Add all of the ingredients to a blender and pulse a few times to blend. Or add the ingredients to a wide mouth mason jar and blend using an immersion blender (stick blender). You can also add the ingredients to a mason jar, seal the lid and shake well or simply whisk the ingredients in a bowl with a wire whisk.
2. Store the dressing in a mason jar or an airtight container in the refrigerator. If properly stored, the dressing should last up to 5 day

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 448Total Fat: 30gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 25gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 107mgCarbohydrates: 45gFiber: 7gSugar: 24gProtein: 4g

theharvestkitchen.com attempts to provide accurate information, however, this nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. The nutritional information provided comes from online sources and calculations. See full disclaimer on About page.