A lovely and airy twist on a salad for fall. It can be eaten hot or cold and the flavors blend nicely. It goes well with salmon with a Dijon crust.
| Prep Time: | 10 mins |
| Cook Time: | 15 mins |
| Total Time: | 25 mins |
| Servings: | 6 |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups chicken broth
- 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 ½ tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup, or more to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 1 large crisp apple, chopped into small pieces
- 1 cup pecan pieces
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese (Optional)
Instructions
- Stir chicken broth and quinoa together in a saucepan; bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, place cover on the saucepan, and cook until the broth is absorbed, about 10 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat and fluff with a fork.
- Whisk olive oil, Dijon mustard, maple syrup, and cinnamon together in a bowl; season with salt and pepper. Drizzle sauce over the quinoa; stir. Add apple pieces, pecan pieces, cranberries, and Parmesan cheese; stir. Return cover to the saucepan and let the mixture steam until the sauce warms and the apples soften slightly, 5 to 10 minutes.
- If you would like to serve the salad cold, you can prepare the recipe the same way, but don’t add the sauce, cranberries, apples, and pecans until the quinoa has cooled. Then, mix all together in a bowl and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 372 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 36 g |
| Cholesterol | 6 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 5 g |
| Protein | 8 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g |
| Sodium | 198 mg |
| Sugars | 12 g |
| Fat | 23 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
It was so good, my husband asked me to save it for an omelette filling!! Will make this frequently. I made it and served it cold, adjusted nothing!
So simple and so yummy!
Made it exactly like the recipe. Tasty with grilled teriyaki salmon due to the sweetness of the quinoa.
Served warm without the parm and was fantastic
This was delicious! I didn’t use the cheese since I don’t like it.
This is not my favorite quinoa salad. I think the maple syrup and the chicken broth are the parts that killed it for me.
This is not my favorite quinoa salad. I think the maple syrup and the chicken broth are the parts that killed it for me.
Excellent – I’ve made it without the cheese, usually, but I think feta could be good. Also switched out the pecans for sliced, toasted almonds and was equally as good as the pecans. Love the dressing.
Loved it! Used walnuts instead of pecans, because it’s what I had available. I did roast them before mixing them in, which I think helped. Delicious and light!
I liked this dish a lot but I did make some slight changes. I tossed the chopped apples in a squirt of lemon juice to keep them from browning. I used walnuts instead of pecans because that’s what I had on hand. I also used 1 tablespoon of pure maple syrup (the real stuff, not maple flavored corn syrup) and I omitted the cheese because it just sounded like it would not pair well with the other ingredients. It’s true this salad is on the sweet side, but I liked it.
The cinnamon in the dressing really makes it!
Awesome! Of course I changed some minor things because of diet, but overall I followed the recipe and it was fabulous. I used vegetable broth instead of chicken broth, I roasted fresh cranberries instead of using dried cranberries and I skipped the Parmesan cheese altogether. Excellent recipe.
I liked it. I looked for a recipe similar to the Trader Joe’s apple quinoa salad, I think I used way too much dijon so the taste is overpowering…
I was a little hesitant about the amount of mustard, but this turned out wonderful. Like many other reviewers, I left out the cheese and did not feel that it would have added to the flavour. I took the leftovers for my lunch and it was great at room temperate as well. Very filling! #Allrecipesallstarscanada #CleanEats
This salad is EXCELLENT! It has just become a staple in our home. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe, we love it! (made without the cheese)
The family enjoyed this dish! I added the juice of one orange for more liquid and in hopes of keeping apples from turning. It still looks good as leftovers!
Made this recipe exactly as written, except I did not add the Parmesan cheese, as others suggested. It tasted pretty good, but…. Since that cheese is salty, I did add some salt, and added some extra Maple Syrup. The sweet vs savory was wonderful Served it cold, but warm would be tasty also. Will definitely make this often.
This was the first time I made quinoa. I made it as a cold salad. It was very tasty. I used everything but the cheese. Will definitely make again.
Nice sweet and savory combo. Will make this again!
I served this salad cold. I did use the Parmesan cheese and added canned chicken. Instead of making the dressing I used Wishbone Sweet and Spicy Honey Mustard dressing. My family loved it. Will be great summertime light meal.
Absolutely delicious just the way the recipe is. I tried it with and without the cheese. Either way it’s amazing! Thank you for sharing this recipe!