It would seem that spring is upon us – at least in some parts of the country. (Hopefully you are one of the lucky ones!) Now that the weather is getting warmer I’ve been in the mood for more quinoa salad recipes. I always find that when it is warm I would rather be outside than in the kitchen and quinoa salad is the perfect solution. When I think quinoa salad, cranberries are one of the first things that comes to mind! This recipe combines some of my all time favorites – cranberries, walnuts, pecans and fresh buffalo mozzarella! With those things in a dish, you just can’t go wrong! 
It is the perfect amount of crunch with a hint of sweetness! This would also make a really pretty red quinoa salad!
Time Saving Tips
Most of the time I will make up a really big batch of quinoa over the weekend, which means with just a little chopping and I’m done with dinner without even having to turn on the stove. For those of you looking for quinoa recipes easy enough for after your toughest work day, I also recommend making up some of my balsamic vinaigrette (or even my super healthy balsamic vinegar dressing with chia seeds!) over the weekend. Just by changing up your other ingredients you can come up with two or three easy meals during the week in just a fraction of the time. I just got a Garlic Peeler
Now, about the cranberries – I use dried cranberries that I purchase in bulk. You could use craisins if you don’t have a place to buy bulk foods handy.
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Recipe: Quinoa Salad Recipe with Cranberries and Nuts
Ingredients
- 2 cups quinoa
- 1 ½ cups green onions, sliced
- 1 ½ cups celery, thinly sliced
- ¾ cup pecans
- ½ cup walnuts
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- 8oz buffalo mozzarella, diced
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 3 T olive oil
- 4 T balsamic vinegar
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tsp ground cumin
Instructions
- Place the rinsed quinoa in a large stockpot of boiling water. Boil for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and drain using a fine metal colander. Rinse. Bring several inches of water to boil in the pot. Place the quinoa in the metal colander over the water. Cover tightly and steam for 10 minutes. Allow the quinoa to cool.
- When cool, combine with onions, celery, parsley, pecans, cranberries, walnuts and mozzarella.
- In a small bowl combine vinegar, garlic, mustard and cumin. Slowly add in olive oil in a steady stream. (Or use a salad dressing mixer)
- Toss dressing with quinoa. Serve chilled or at room temperature.
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If you have quinoa recipes that you would like to share I would love to hear from you!
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Is this dry mustard or mustard spread?
Dijon mustard is mustard spread.
Hi Wendy–
This recipe looks really great. I was wondering if these cranberries are fresh or dried (craisins). I looked in the recipe instructions to see if I could find out if they are supposed to be fresh/dried but couldn't find cranberries mentioned at all. I did see that you listed currants in the instructions but they aren't listed above in the ingredients. Could you clarify it for me?
Thanks so much!
Recipe corrected! I made it the first time with currants but liked cranberries better!