Quinoa is used in this salad, which gives the dish a wonderful texture and a light nutty flavor. This salad tastes best when chilled and is great for picnics.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 15 mins |
| Additional Time: | 1 hr |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 30 mins |
| Servings: | 8 |
| Yield: | 4 cups |
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa
- 2 cups water
- 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup golden raisins
- ⅓ cup sliced almonds
- ¼ cup mint leaves, chopped
- ¾ teaspoon ground coriander
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Bring the quinoa and water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the quinoa is tender, and the water has been absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes. Scrape the quinoa into a large bowl, and refrigerate until cold.
- Stir the garbanzo beans, cranberries, raisins, almonds, mint, coriander, cumin, and olive oil into the quinoa. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Reviews
Such a great cold salad and packed full of flavors and protein!
Delicious and easy, changed it up just a bit. I used sugar-free raisins, and used chicken stock to bump it up, and had to increase the liquid after burning the first batch.
I loved it! So easy to make and so delicious to eat.
Really good! Teenage daughter and I really liked it!
Good receipe! I made it to bring to work. Delicious and filling. It was very easy to make too!
This turned out great! I used a bit more oil because it seemed a bit dry – added lemon flavored olive oil. Didn’t have raisins, so I added some green pepper. This all gave it a great flavor combination. I’m going to add chicken next time for additional protein.
My picky bf ate almost all of this in one sitting because he thought it was so good. The cranberries, raisins, and mint were awesome in the mix. I added 3 tbsp of olive oil (instead of 1) and a bit more cumin than the recipe called for. Also, it’s actually much more tasty at or slightly above room temp, so cooling it was kind of unnecessary.
I keep this salad on hand at all times. I became a vegan a few weeks ago and I have researched many quinoa recipes because quinoa is a complete protein. So far, this is my favorite salad. The spices are perfect. The only tweaks I have made is that I add the fresh juice of one lime and I leave out the cranberries (my husband hates them) and I replace with more golden raisins. I also add a little more EVOO than the recipe calls for. This salad is perfect for a meal or for grabbing a few spoonfulls when hunger attacks. I adore this recipe!
I made this dish as written, but then decided that it needed “something” so I added about a cup of pomegranate arils and that helped with the dryness of it and added a bit more sweetness (which I usually want no matter what I’m making!). I’m fairly new at using Quinoa I’m not sure how a dish like this is supposed to taste. My husband decided it needed a bit of pineapple juice and agave syrup, so what do we know? I wanted something healthy for us to eat and I got that.
I really like this recipe ‘as is’ but last time I made it I added a dash of cinnamon and a tsp or so of grated lemon zest and WOW! So good!
I made this delicious salad exactly as directed, and the combination of flavors and textures is wonderful. Next time I might add some celery to give it even more crunch. Perfect meal for lunch at work.
Loved it! I am trying to get away from cereals for breakfast and this is a great alternative. Thanks, Magpie.
This was very good. I added an extra tablespoon of olive oil, and it was still a little too dry for me. Next time I would add more liquid of some type. But the flavors are so yummy – wonderful combination of flavors – this is a keeper, thank you
I loved this recipe and will definitely be digging into it again
Love, love, love this recipe. Healthy and simple; I add chicken to mine when I want a little more protein. I especially like that it keeps for a few days and it’s great for picnics!
This was a hit at the potluck I attended the other day. I substituted unsalted roasted sunflower seeds for the almonds and had only 7.5 oz can of garbanzo beans. Very good. Very easy.
Loved this! Used chopped dates and extra cumin and added fresh basil. Was a hit at a potluck!
This was very good! Great flavor and different than all the other quinoa salads. Only thing I did was use regular raisens, added some chopped dates and toasted pine nuts, no olive oil needed! This is a great low fat, vegan dish! I used extra mint too. Yum!
I really loved this recipe. The combination of coriander and cumen was great. I made it just as stated.
This is a yummy recipe for quinoa, and healthy too. I have made it twice and never had mint, so I just left it out and it was still good. I agree it needs a little more oil, maybe 2 Tbsp, and chopped leftover chicken or turkey is excellent too. Definitely add salt and pepper to taste. It makes just enough, to serve with salad as the main dish or as a side for four, and still with enough for lunch leftovers. This is one of my go-to quinoa recipes!
I found this salad to be quite bland… I could barely taste the spices. I added goat feta and approx. 1 tbsp of red wine vinegar to try rescue the dish, along with more salt/ pepper.