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Serve this delicious Easy Quinoa Salad with Feta as a side or a main meal. It is made with readily available fall ingredients like Kabocha or Delicata squash, Pomegranate seeds, and cranberries, which are oh so good when you put them together.
This easy-to-make healthy Quinoa Salad with Feta is honestly the best tasting and most filling salad. Made with fall ingredients and fiber-rich ingredients that will help keep you full for hours. You can have this quinoa salad as a side dish or as a meal for lunch or light dinner. This is a vegetarian-friendly salad but you may add some grilled chicken over it to make it a complete meal. For those who want to add some protein to this salad, you can add some Shrimps like this Cilantro Lime Shrimp or some Chicken like this Lemon Garlic Chicken.
why this quinoa salad is so good
- So easy to make! This wonderful quinoa salad is packed with goodies and comes together so easily. Just pop the squash in the oven, chop, and mix your other ingredients and you’re done!
- A delicious fall salad. Bursting with fall flavors, like cranberries and squash, this hearty salad would be great for the holidays.
- A balanced meal. Loaded with nutritious grains, fruit, and veggies, you add in some protein like shrimp or chicken for a well-rounded and yummy meal!
ingredients you’ll need
- Squash: We used Kabocha squash, de-seeded it, and cut it into half-moons.
- Baby Spinach: If you prefer another form of greens you may go ahead and switch the spinach out.
- Cooked Quinoa: Cook your own quinoa.
- Pomegranate Seed: if you don’t have fresh pomegranate, you may use store-bought arils.
- Crumbled Feta Cheese: if you don’t like feta, use another crumbled cheese of your choice.
- Raw Pecans: We love pecans, but you may switch this out with walnuts
- Olive Oil: Or you can use avocado oil.
- Dried Cranberries: don’t like cranberries, use cherries or omit them.
- Smoked Paprika: adds a boost of flavor.
- Sea Salt & Pepper: To taste.
- Dressing: Olive oil, apple cider vinegar, honey (or maple syrup), garlic clove, salt & pepper.
How to make this fall quinoa salad
- Bake the squash: Cut the squash and coat them in olive oil and seasoning. Place on a baking tray and roast for 15-20 mins.
- Make the dressing: Add all the dressing ingredients into a jar with a lid, and shake well.
- Assemble the salad: Add your salad ingredients to a large bowl, and toss. Then add the dressing just before serving.
Frequently asked questions
When making this Easy Harvest Quinoa Salad Recipe you can use another type of squash you like and usually use. I happen to use Kabocha but you can also use Delicata. You can cook ahead of the quinoa if you like because this needs to be cooled off before you add it to the salad. The same goes for the Roasted Squash.
Quinoa is not only filling but it’s loaded with goodness. Quinoa is gluten-free, high in protein, and one of the few plant foods that contain sufficient amounts of all nine essential amino acids. It is also high in fiber, magnesium, B vitamins, iron, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, vitamin E, and various beneficial antioxidants.
It is best to serve your quinoa salad cold. You may cook the quinoa a day before or a few hours ahead and store them in the fridge until you are ready to use in your salad
Place the remainder of your quinoa salad in a sealed container and store it in the fridge for up to 3 days. They are best served cold and store well.
A delicious homemade dressing
It’s all about the dressing right? It can either make the salad amazing or completely ruin the taste. We love keeping the dressings simple so we don’t overpower the taste. The simpler the better, especially since there are a lot of ingredients and flavors thats already going into the salad. This dressing is easy to make and has a lovely mix of sweet, salt, and acid, it works so well with this fall quinoa salad.
recipe notes and tips for quinoa salad with feta
- One cup of uncooked quinoa approx yields 3 cups of cooked quinoa. We recommend you measure out your cooked quinoa for accuracy.
- To cool the quinoa quickly – transfer to a bowl and place in the freezer and toss occasionally until cooled. Do not use hot quinoa or it will soak up a lot of the dressing and the salad will be dry.
- Add your dressing just before serving, so the salad doesn’t lose texture. Make sure to toss well in the dressing.
- Quinoa salad lasts about 3 days in the fridge.
Other delicious and healthy salads
- Mango Black Bean Salad Recipe
- Ahi Tuna Nicoise Salad Recipe
- Green Beans and Tomato Salad
- Honey Mustard Grilled Chicken Arugula Salad
- Cilantro Lime Grilled Chicken Salad
- Healthy Grilled Shrimp Salad
- Summer Corn Salad
- Healthy Chicken Taco Salad
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Harvest Quinoa Salad with Feta
Ingredients
- 1/2 medium Kabocha Squash, de-seeded and cut into half moons
- 8 Cups Packed Baby Spinach
- 1 Cup Cooked Quinoa
- 1 Green Apple
- 4 oz Crumbled Feta Cheese
- 1 Cup Pomegranate Seeds
- 1/4 Cup Raw Pecans
- 1 Tbsp Olive or Avocado Oil
- 1/4 Cup Dried Cranberries
- 1 Tsp Smoked Paprika
- Sea Salt and Pepper, to taste
Dressing
- 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 2 Tbsp Honey or Pure Maple Syrup
- 1 Garlic Clove, minced or pressed
- Sea Salt and Pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F, and line a large baking tray with parchment paper. Place in the squash and sprinkle with salt, pepper, paprika and a drizzle of oil (1 Tablespoon).
- Using your hands toss to get all pieces coated, then arrange them in a single layer with some space in between.
- Roast for about 15-20 minutes, or until fork tender. Allow it to cool before adding it to the salad.
- In a small jar add all dressing ingredients, then put the lid on and shake vigorously to blend together.
- In a large bowl, add baby spinach first, then top with roasted squash, quinoa, sliced apple, cranberries, pecans, pomegranate seeds, and feta cheese.
- Just before serving add the dressing and toss to combine. Enjoy!
Notes
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa approx yields 3 cups cooked quinoa. I recommend you measure out your cooked quinoa for accuracy.
- To cool the quinoa quickly – transfer to a bowl and place in freezer and toss occasionally until cooled. Do not use hot quinoa or it will soak up a lot of the dressing and the salad will be dry.
- Add your dressing just before serving, so the salad doesn’t lose texture. Make sure to toss well in the dressing.
- Quinoa salad last about 3 days in the fridge.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
