Keep meals fresh, fit and seasonally flavorful through the holiday season with my Autumn Crunch Quinoa Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette.
This quick and easy quinoa salad features a cornucopia of fall’s signature flavors including dried cranberries, shaved Brussels sprouts and pumpkin seeds. Plus, it’s all tossed with a homemade, “just-whisk-in-the-bowl” vinaigrette made with apple cider.
When I brainstormed this recipe (originally created for my friends at Litehouse Foods), I was looking for a quinoa salad that I could take to holiday potlucks, office parties, and other seasonal social gatherings – even to meal prep pack in my work lunchbox. My criteria were that it could be made ahead, would hold up well without getting soggy, and wouldn’t need reheating at the venue. And of course, balanced and beautiful and not at all boring! 
I love apple cider, as it fondly reminds me of fall activities with my family – hayrides, school carnivals, and cozying up around a fire pit. So, in addition to using apple cider in the dressing for this fall quinoa side dish, I also cooked the grains in part apple cider to infuse extra flavor – that was a tasty idea!
The dressing for this fall quinoa salad is super easy, it’s basically just apple cider, mustard and olive oil whisked together with some spices!
As I mentioned, this Autumn Crunch Quinoa Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette can be made ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator for several days, making it a favorite among busy foodies, holiday hosts, and meal preppers.
[Tweet “Autumn Crunch Quinoa Salad a new tasty tradition for the holidays, or #meal prep for lunch! #recipe”
Do you have a favorite quinoa side dish or quinoa salad? What healthy Thanksgiving side dishes are on your menu? Please share in the comments – XOXO, Jennifer
- 1 cup uncooked white quinoa
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup Apple Cider
- 2/3 cup finely sliced red onions
- 1 10- oz package shaved fresh Brussels Sprouts
- ¾ cup dried cranberries
- 1/3 cup raw, unsalted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
- ¼ cup Gala Apple Cider
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
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Rinse quinoa under cool water in mesh strainer to remove bitterness.
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Pour 1 cup water and 1 cup of apple cider into 2-quart pot. Add rinsed quinoa and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low, top pot with lid, and simmer for approximately 15 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed.
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Remove quinoa from heat, fluff with fork, and let cool for about 15 minutes.
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While quinoa cooling, add remaining ¼ cup apple cider, olive oil, vinegar, mustard, salt and red pepper to large bowl and whisk until combined.
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Once quinoa has cooled add to this dressing mixture and stir until combined. Next, stir in onion, Brussels sprouts, dried cranberries, and pepitas to bowl and stir until combined.
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May be made ahead and kept chilled overnight. Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days in fridge.
Oooh, this salad looks so good! Love the brussels sprouts and apple cider vinegar. A perfect addition to a Thanksgiving meal.
Thank you so much! I’ll be making it again for Thanksgiving, for sure!
Yum! I’m going to have to try this! I need to get back on track with my healthy eating.
It’s super easy to make, if that helps 😉
Love all of the textures and crunchies in this salad! Such a lovely and delicious flavor combo with all that apple cider, the Brussels sprouts and dried cranberries. Yum!
Thank you! It’s a very versatile salad that works for a nice dinner side. .. or quick lunch
Thanks Emily! So much going on in the salad, it’s definitely not boring! 🙂
This is the ultimate fall and winter salad! Love all of the green color. And the red onion is a must, it’s so so good in this!
Thanks Joni! YES, I love red onions in sweet savory dishes!
This looks amazing! So many of my favorite ingredients all in one place.
Thanks Annmarie . . it’s fall in a bowl!
That is a delightful looking salad. I just love the cranberries in there!
Thanks Stacey . . . dried fruit makes such a nice touch in salads like these!
Love all those autumn flavors in one bowl!
Thank you Anya, so yummy and sweet . . . but not too much so!
Love quinoa salad. So healthy and delicious!
Thank you so much ChihYu! xoxo
Wow, such a beautiful and tasty salad. My son dislikes anything with vinegar, but I’d really like to get more of it into his diet. What a great idea to sweeten it up with apple cider and all those other delicious ingredients.
Maybe you could just use the dressing sparingly on the salad and see what he thinks. My husband doesn’t like vinegar based dressings, but he likes pickles and things like that . . go figure.
Beautiful and simple. Love it!
Thank you so much Linda!
I’ve been having a moment with brussels sprouts lately, so I can’t wait to try this out!
There are so many yummy ways to enjoy Brussels Sprouts!
Love all of the flavour and texture in this salad! I love brussel sprouts so am always on the lookout for new ways to enjoy them. The rest of the family are not so keen on them but they eat them if I sneak them into a dish in other ways so this salad is perfect!
Lol, I have snuck so many veggies into my kid’s meals when they were younger.
Yum! My kind of recipe 🙂 My family will love this salad so can’t wait to make it!
Thanks Tina, I hope you get a chance to make it!
Seriously, this salad looks absolutely delicious. Definitely will be trying this! Great fall recipe.
Thanks Mirlene — hope you get a chance to try it!
Gorgeous! Love all the flavours and textures! I’ve never seen packages of Brussels’ sprouts like this in Toronto. Sure would make the salad prep go quickly!
Apple cider perfect here.. Sounds so tasty and “autumnal”!
Yes, we are spoiled with the shaved Brussels sprouts!
I love sweet and sour, like cranberry + ACV! Great textures and colors, too!
thanks Lindsey, this has quickly become one of my favorite fall salads!
Where are the instructions for assembling the salad? This looks delicious and I’m sure I could wing it from the ingredients list. It would be nice to have the additional guidance that is usually included with a recipe.
oh my goodness, YES, instructions would be nice, lol! I don’t know why they didn’t upload with the original post, but THANK YOU for catching that mistake. It is fixed now.