We were all so quinoa crazy a few years about and I’m bringing back the love! Check out these beautiful, nutritious and amazingly nutritious fruit and quinoa salads. Most have enough protein to make a balanced and satisfying meal, but you can also add your favorite protein — like shrimp, salmon, or beef – to the toss!
Actually, I’ve never given up my love for this ancient grain (which is actually a seed) that boosts your diet with nutrients like B-vitamins, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, vitamin E, and fiber. Additionally, quinoa is also one of only a few plant foods considered a complete protein, containing all nine essential amino acids.
Pomegranate Orange Quinoa Salad: This festive quinoa salad featuring pomegranate and orange is lovely for seasonal celebrations but can be made year-round for weeknight dinners thanks to those little tubs of pomegranate arils. The simple creamy dressing has a vinaigrette vibe but with Greek yogurt and date syrup for even more flavor.
Watermelon Raspberry Quinoa Salad with Ginger Mint Dressing: This fully-loaded watermelon quinoa salad is made hearty enough for a full meal with quinoa, sunflower seeds, feta cheese, loads of greens, juicy watermelon and raspberries. The Ginger Mint Dressing is so aromatic and invigorating, and easy to make in a personal blender.
Clementine Quinoa Kale Salad with Minty Poppy Seed Dressing: Clementines or any other type of “easy-peeler” tangerines (like Halos, Cuties, etc.) are fun to eat – even in a fruit quinoa salad! Get your boost of vitamin C (from the citrus + kale) in this fiber-loaded salad.
Maple, Pecan, Raisin Butternut Squash Quinoa Salad: While this quinoa salad might be screaming fall, it’s a taste sensation to make year-round. If you can’t source butternut squash, you can usually find a bag of cubed quash in the freezer aisle. If you’re not a fan of raisins (but trust me, that add so much YUM to this recipe), they can be left out.
Super Clean Strawberry Spinach Quinoa Salad with Zingy Vinaigrette: This strawberry quinoa salad is crave-worthy with baby spinach tossed into nutty quinoa and walnuts. It’s all balanced with a subtle sweet-tart flavor thanks to juicy berries and crispy Granny Smith apples and zingy vinaigrette
I tried the Watermelon Raspberry one and it was so delicious! I love how the flavors really complemented each other, especially fruits! The ginger mint dressing was the best! I can’t wait to try out the others!
First time I’ve fixed anything with quinoa in it. We loved your pomegranate orange salad! We’ll definitely be having this again! Fixed it as written. Delicious!!!
I love quinoa in salads, but I always buy mine from our local market, so I am glad to have your recipes to make my own. We have a pomegranate tree, and I always need to use them, so I started with your orange pomegranate recipe. It turned out great, and I just love the flavor combo. Will be trying your other recipes soon.
I tried the Pomegranate Orange Quinoa salad and it was really delicious. So easy and quick to make. I plan to try them out all. They all look good!