Description
Apple Cranberry Quinoa Salad is a simple salad that’s filled with fall flavors and amazing textures. It’s crunchy, nutty, tart, and sweet. It’s perfect for a side dish or light lunch.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
- 1 cup low sodium vegetable or chicken broth
- 2 cups baby spinach, chopped
- 1 apple, diced
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup sliced almonds
- 1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese
Maple Cider Vinaigrette
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons pure maple syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon dijon mustard
- sea salt, to taste
Instructions
- Combine the quinoa and broth in a small pot. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat, and simmer for 15 minutes or until the quinoa has absorbed all the broth. Remove from the heat and let sit, covered, for 5 minutes. Spread out on a large plate or baking sheet to let cool for a few minutes.
- While the quinoa cools, prepare the dressing. In a bowl or small jar, stir or shake together all the dressing ingredients. Season with sea salt, to taste.
- In a large bowl, toss together the quinoa, spinach, apple, dried cranberries, sliced almonds, and crumbled goat cheese. Drizzle with the maple cider vinaigrette and give it another toss until combined.
Notes
If you want to make it ahead of time, squeeze a little fresh lemon juice over the diced apples to prevent them from browning.
Nutritional Values (per serving) are approximates only.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 side serving
- Calories: 345
- Sugar: 17 g
- Sodium: 251.4 mg
- Fat: 19.9 g
- Saturated Fat: 4.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 36.4 g
- Fiber: 4.7 g
- Protein: 9.3 g
- Cholesterol: 6.5 mg