Fall Quinoa Salad

A bowl of quinoa salad with roasted sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts, chickpeas, dried cranberries, feta cheese, and fresh herbs on a marble surface.

5 from 4 votes

🍁🍠🍂 Harvest ingredients come together in this easy side dish or healthy main. Roasted sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts, cranberries, chickpeas, feta and more! A light maple syrup and apple cider vinegar vinaigrette coats everything to perfection! Extremely flexible and customizable and is great or meal prepping.

Servings: If you're only serving this, it'll serve about 4 (depending on appetites); but if you're serving this as a side salad with other things, it'll serve 6-8.

Prep Time15

Cook Time25

Course: 30-Minute Meals, Dinner, lunch, Sides, Sides, Salads & Vegetables

Cuisine: American, Salads, Sides

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegetarian

Keyword: fall harvest quinoa salad, fall harvest salad, fall quinoa salad

Servings:

Calories: 258cal

Equipment

Ingredients

Vegetables

1 large or extra large sweet potato peeled and diced into small 1/2-inch pieces (butternut or other squash may be substituted)
1 cup Brussels sprouts trimmed and halved or quartered
1 tablespoon olive oil or as needed
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Quinoa & More

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium red onion finely diced (yellow or sweet Vidalia onion may be substituted)
1 cup dry uncooked quinoa I used white; another color may be substituted
1 ½ cups water
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 cups fresh spinach loosely packed (about 2 heaping handfuls; kale or Swiss chard may be substituted)
one 15-ounce can chickpeas drained and rinsed (I use reduced sodium)
½ cup dried cranberries
6 ounces crumbled feta cheese crumbled goat cheese, crumbled blue cheese, shredded Parm, or another cheese may be used; omit or use a plant-based version to keep vegan

Vinaigrette

1 to 2 tablespoons lemon juice or to taste
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar or to taste
1 tablespoon maple syrup or to taste (honey may be substituted)
1 tablespoon olive oil optional (I don't usually add it)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt plus more to taste if desired
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper plus more to taste if desired
1 tablespoon fresh parsley finely minced; optional and to taste

Instructions

Vegetables - Preheat oven to 425F and prep and chop the sweet potatoes (tip - make sure to keep them small so they roast through in 20-25 minutes because if not, the Brussels will start to burn) and the Brussels sprouts.
Place them on a large baking sheet, evenly drizzle with olive oil, evenly sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast for about 20-25 minutes, or until done. If possible, flip and toss once midway through roasting to ensure even cooking and browning. When done, set the baking sheet aside.
While the veggies roast, begin the quinoa.
Quinoa & More - To a large skillet, add the oil, onions, and saute over medium high-heat for about 5-6 minutes, or until the onion is becoming soft and translucent; stir frequently.
Add the dry quinoa and stir it well into the softened onions. Allow it to toast for about 30 seconds like this.
Add the water, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, bring to a gentle boil, and once boiling, cover the skillet with a lid, reduce the heat to low, and allow the quinoa to cook for about 10-15 minutes, or until it's tender and all the liquid has absorbed. Tip - If after 15 minutes, the liquid hasn't absorbed, uncover the skillet, increase the heat, and any excess liquid will boil off in a minute or two, although I don't expect this to be an issue.
When the quinoa is done, turn off the heat, add the spinach, and stir continuously to wilt it, about 1 minute.
Add the chickpeas, cranberries, feta, and stir to combine.
Vinaigrette - Add all ingredients from this section, stir to combine, taste, and make any necessary flavor adjustments.
Flavoring Tips - If it tastes at all flat or boring, it likely will benefit from additional salt, and perhaps pepper. There's plenty of acid from the lemon juice and apple cider vinegar used in various places, but you can always add more of either one. I personally like to use 2-3 tbsp maple syrup or honey but I love overall savory dishes with a healthy undercurrent of sweetness. If you want it to have a hint of spiciness, a couple generous shakes of red pepper flakes or a tiny pinch of cayenne pepper will do the trick.
Serve immediately; or cover, chill, and serve later. Salad can be served warm, at room temperature, or chilled. See Storage info below.

Notes

Meal Prep/Holiday Prep: This is a great meal-prep salad because it keeps well in the fridge and reheats well; or you can serve it at room temperature, or serve it chilled straight from the fridge. Because of this, it's a great holiday side salad because you can prepare it the day before your event and it'll be just fine.

Storage: Salad will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months, noting that the texture of the Brussels sprouts will change a bit after being frozen and thawed.

Nutrition