This cranberry quinoa salad is a healthy, protein packed salad great for making at the beginning of the week and having on hand for lunches & dinners.
Here’s a shocking statement: It’s easier to eat better when you have healthy food on hand.
Genius, huh?
This salad was inspired by a few things.
-A very eager bodyrocker wanting to eat clean.
-An attempt to resist the remaining apple hand pies.
–Kate’s recent recipe.
I love having salads like this on hand to eat a little bit of with different meals. It’s perfect when you’re in a time crunch for dinner and can just scoop some on a plate as a side and it’s great for lunch by itself or with something like a goat cheese quesadilla (note to self: why don’t I eat more of those?!).
This salad, like my marriage, is all about opposites attracting. It’s sweet and tangy at the same time from the fig balsamic vinegar (regular balsamic will work just fine) and the fresh cranberries. And it’s soft from the cooked quinoa & black beans and crunchy from the raw peppers & celery.
I’ll let you guess who’s the sweet and who’s the soft one over here.
Cranberry Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup red quinoa
- 2 cups liquid, I used 1 cup water, 1 cup vegetable broth
- 1 clove garlic, smashed
- 4 stalks celery, diced
- 1/2 yellow pepper, finely chopped
- 1/3 cup fresh cranberries, chopped
- 3/4 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup parsley, chopped
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Rinse quinoa and combine with cooking liquid and smashed garlic clove in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer until all liquid is absorbed and fully cooked (about 25 minutes)
- While quinoa is cooking, combine celery, peppers & black beans in a large bowl.
- Once quinoa is cooked, add to large bowl and toss to combine.
- Let cool for about 5 minutes before adding remaining ingredients and tossing to combine.
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.
What a beautiful picture! I usually do black beans in my quinoa, but I’ve never added cranberries. I bet that would add a great sweet bite.
Yum! That is just the salad I need to have on hand for the week. Perhaps with some goat cheese because I love goat cheese and cranberries together.
goat cheese would be great in it! I had a tortilla on the side smeared with a ton of goat cheese when I ate this the other day :)
Yumm! This looks good. I love dishes with different textures and flavors just coming together so perfectly.
I was trying to find a new way to cook quinoa. This looks amazing!!
It looks awesome and the light hitting the food is just perfect. I can literally see the “strings” on the quinoa in the bowl that look like little tan-colored threads. Amazing detail capture in the photos, Gina!
glad your loving bodyrocking, isn’t it great! This looks so fresh!
Oh boy, your salad looks great! Glad mine could provide some inspiration. Celery and quinoa are quite a pair, and I never would have thought to combine cranberries with black beans. Yum.
Hi, Gina! I wanted to let you know that I made your sweet potato goat cheese puffs this weekend and they were absolutely delicious! I’ve loved everything I have made from your site so far – thank you for the great recipes. I am excited to make the real food Hamburger Helper soon! Have a great rest of the weekend.
Thanks Katie! Glad you enjoyed them :)
This looks totally amazing! I love the addition of cranberries and sweet and tangy together, win win combination!
Love having prepared salads on hand for the week! This one looks great!