The perfect fall quinoa salad

by Hong Diep
The Perfect Fall Salad 1 2

The perfect fall quinoa salad

Let’s jump straight into fall flavors, shall we?

Amidst all the comfort food and baking, I always seem to forget that fall brings a ton of healthy and delicious flavors to the table (pun intended) as well! Last week, I was perusing Pinterest and stumbled upon a recipe I knew I just had to try! This Fall Quinoa Salad from Cooking Classy combines hearty ingredients like quinoa, kale, apples, walnuts, cranberries, and goat cheese with a light and delicious dressing. It’s one of those salads that you could totally eat for lunch and feel satisfied. It’s filling, healthy, and just plain GOOD!

I know, I know. KALE! If you’re not a big kale fan, don’t worry. I’m usually not either! I haven’t jumped on the kale bandwagon since I don’t love the aftertaste and bitterness of the leaf, but this salad removes those “eh” flavors by letting the kale rest in the dressing to soften it up and soak up the dressing. If you’re looking for a kale salad that doesn’t really taste like kale, this is the recipe for you haha!

I knew I had to share this recipe as soon as I took a bite. Happy eating!

Kale, Apple, and Quinoa Salad Recipe

Serves: 8 servings

INGREDIENTS

  • ½ cup tricolor dry quinoa
  • 1 large bag of precut kale
  • 1-2 Fuji apples (cored and sliced)
  • 1 cup walnuts, lightly toasted and roughly chopped
  • ½ cup dried cranberries
  • ½ cup goat cheese, crumbled
  • ½ cup olive oil
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 1.5 tsp dijon mustard
  • Salt + pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Cook the quinoa using the directions on the package.
  2. Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, sugar, dijon mustard, and salt and pepper to taste.
  3. Put the kale into your salad bowl and pour ¾ of the dressing on top, tossing to combine. Refrigerate until the quinoa is done cooking.
  4. Toss together the kale, quinoa, apples, walnuts, cranberries, goat cheese, and remaining salad dressing.
  5. Refrigerate until time to serve!

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