This lemon quinoa with roasted grapes and walnuts is a sweet and savory salad packed with flavor.
Remember in middle school when you thought you were so cool and referred to everyone you didn’t like as a “poser”?
I’m sure I’m dating myself saying that because a coworker and I were just talking about how we’re now hiring people in my company that were born in the 90s and my jaw dropped about 5 feet from that realization.
Well if this was 1995, I’d be a poser.
The whole roasted grape thing is so totally not my idea. Stuffed inside of sweet potatoes they intrigued me. Smooshed with goat cheese in a sandwich they convinced me.
So, I decided to jump on the bandwagon because now it’s called being “inspired” and it’s totally cool. I can also hide behind the comfort of my computer screen instead of walking down the hall to some punk ass preteen glares and snide remarks.
The result was about as “poserish” as it gets. Part dessert, part side dish, part breakfast. Part sweet, part tart, part savory.
If quinoa was in style back in the mid 90s, this would’ve fit right in.
Slap some JNCO jeans (mine were about 4 sizes too big and purple) and hoop earrings on it and we would’ve been bff in my 1993 “I live in the suburbs but think I’m from the bronx” ghetto fab days.
This quinoa salad would go great alongside a protein — some grilled chicken or shrimp on top of the lemon quinoa with the roasted grapes would be perfect.
If you want a more “traditional” salad, try this mango quinoa spinach salad.
Lemon Quinoa with Roasted Grapes and Walnuts
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups red seedless grapes
- 2 tablespoons honey, divided
- 1 cup cooked red quinoa
- 1/4 cup almonds, roughly chopped
- 1-2 tablespoons feta
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- salt & pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Lay grapes on baking sheet and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of honey, salt & pepper.
- Roast grapes for about 15 minutes until they start to wrinkle and pop.
- While grapes are roasting, combine quinoa, almonds and feta in a large bowl.
- In a separate small bowl whisk together remaining tablespoon of honey & lemon juice.
- Add roasted grapes to the bowl with quinoa and toss to combine.
- Pour honey & lemon dressing on top and toss together.
- Season with additional salt & pepper.
- Serve warm or cold.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
I love roasted grapes and quinoa together. Add some goat cheese and it’s awesome.
i miss the 90s so much! you know, i used to have a pair of jeans (that i thought were super cool) that had pockets on each leg (at the bottom) and i thought i was AWESOME so i put pencils & pens in there hahahaha…great recipe here! simple and easy, especially with delicious quinoa!
Roasted grapes are a big yum factor item for me. They can do no wrong. I say this every post, but gorgeous pics!
I love grapes and just bought some at the store this weekend. They were so good, sweet and crispy, the way I like it and they didn’t last very long. We ate everything in three days. I would have to make another trip to the store to try a roasted version. All the ingredients in this dish sound so incredibly delicious together!
Looks amazing! Pinned and Tweeted! Yummers!
The 90’s…I was totally rocking my Winnie The Pooh Hoodie. Damn I was cool.
I can’t believe you just busted out the JNCO jeans reference… I swear to The Guy from High Atop the Thing that I saw someone wearing them last week and I almost died. I just didn’t know who to tell about it. I should have told you!! From now on – we tell each other of our JNCO jeans sightings… Deal? Deal.
And this dish might be “poser” circa 1995 – but I’d totally devour it. Like, totally.
I’m so glad I’m not the only one out there that remembers those! I seriously thought no one would get that reference.
Man, I miss the 90s. I’ve had roasted grapes in a dessert but I really need to get on board with the whole savoury thing too – this looks so good.
I don’t like quinoa, roasted grapes OR walnuts but your pictures are stunning! Especially the first one. I keep scrolling up. It’s just so… mesmerizing! What an insanely beautiful photo. And hiring people born in the 90s for “real” jobs does sound weird. And depressing. I’m 27 and still don’t have what I’d call a “real” job. Okay, I’m leaving now. I’ve really scrolled up to look at that first picture about 15 times now.
haha, thanks Erin :)
Ahahaha – I haven’t thought about the word “poser” in such a long time but that really takes me back.
Our brains must’ve been on the same wavelength because I made a wheat berry salad – only I used apples and not grapes. This post makes me seriously consider the whole roasted grapes thing…
yummmm. Love wheatberries. Now I want to remake this with those, it’s by far my favorite grain.
I’ve been seeing these roasted grape dishes around too and I’ve been more than intrigued. Warm grapes? hmmm. I was born in the 90s so my memories of that decade involve stretchy leggings and lots of brittney spears music, that’s about it.
oh my gosh, you were probably not even 10 when Brittany came out…that makes me feel so old! haha