Harvest Quinoa Salad with Arugula is healthy, hearty salad that can be enjoyed all year long. It's adorned with fall flavors, including dried cranberries, toasted walnuts, and sharp goat cheese. Did I mention it only takes 25 minutes to prep and cook?
Hearty and Healthy Harvest Quinoa Salad
In order for me to full enjoy a salad, it needs to meet the following criteria: the lettuce must be fresh and crunchy and the salad must be made up of mostly toppings. This Harvest Quinoa Salad with Arugula achieves both of those goals. The arugula is spicy and citrusy, thanks to the lemons and herbs. It acts as a fresh, crunchy vehicle for the warm, flavorful quinoa mixture. For every bite of this salad, you should taste the lemony arugula, crunchy quinoa, sweet dried cranberries, tart goat cheese, toasted walnuts, and pungent shallots. It can be eaten on it's own or as a side!
Make Ahead
Harvest Quinoa Salad is something you can make ahead of time and plate whenever you're ready to eat it. Additionally, this salad can be made in a few easy steps: first, cook the quinoa on a stovetop or a rice cooker; then, stir the cheese, walnuts, and cranberries into the quinoa; thirdly, toss the arugula with lemon juice and herbs; and finally, top the greens with the quinoa mixture. Voila!
Not only is this recipe approachable and delicious, but it looks impressive! The flavors are balanced by the salt and fat in the toasted walnuts and goat cheese, the acidity of the lemon juice, and the tartness of the dried fruit. All of these tasty ingredients look beautiful when plated. I like to serve this salad on a simple salad plate or serving bowl with some simple wooden salad servers.
For more recipes like this, check out Orange and Goat Cheese Salad, Caprese Pasta Salad, Summer Pasta Salad.
Harvest Quinoa Salad with Arugula
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 15
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: Salad
Description
Harvest Quinoa Salad with Arugula is healthy, hearty salad that can be enjoyed all year long. It’s adorned with fall flavors, including dried cranberries, toasted walnuts, and sharp goat cheese. Did I mention it only takes 25 minutes to prep and cook?
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa
- 2 cups water
- 2 oz goat cheese, crumbled
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup toasted walnuts
- 3 tbsp basil, chopped
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 7 oz baby arugula
- 3 tbsp mint, chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Place the quinoa and water in a 1.5 quart sauce pan. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover the sauce pan and cook until the quinoa has completely absorbed the water, about 10-15 minutes. Empty the quinoa into a large mixing bowl and fluff with a fork. Allow the quinoa to cool.
Once the quinoa reaches room temperature, fold in goat cheese, cranberries, toasted walnuts, basil, salt, and pepper to taste. Set aside.
In a salad bowl or a serving plate, toss baby arugula, mint, lemon juice, and salt to taste. Top the greens with the quinoa mixture and garnish with herbs and lemon slices.
Notes
The quinoa mixture can be made and refrigerated up to two days ahead of time.
Keywords: quinoa, salad, quinoa salad, harvest salad, dried cranberries, arugula, lemon, healthy, vegetarian
Leave a Reply