Quinoa Apple Salad features so many good-for-you ingredients: spinach, quinoa, apples, pears, pistachios, and dried cranberries. The salad is tossed in a simple lemon-poppy seed vinaigrette.
A light and nutritious salad
This salad is healthful, nourishing, and loaded with complementary textures. The spinach and quinoa are topped with crisp apples, juicy pears, salted, crunchy pistachios, and sweet dried cranberries.
And in theme with all the other ingredients, we stick to a lighter dressing — a lemon-poppy seed vinaigrette. While I’m totally obsessed with a good creamy poppy seed dressing (like in this Strawberry Poppy Seed Salad!), I love how light and flavorful this lemon vinaigrette is. It’s also a lot healthier — no mayo or heavy cream; instead, we use vinegar, oil, and lemon juice as the main dressing ingredients.
Quinoa Apple Salad tips
- Chop the spinach coarsely. This gives the spinach more surface area for the quinoa to cling to.
- Use dry-roasted and lightly salted pistachios. This ingredient adds a ton of flavor without adding any work (like toasting the pistachios) on your part.
- A ripe, juicy pear makes all the difference (as opposed to an unripe, crunchy one!).
- Speaking of ripe pears, you can test a pear for ripeness by applying gentle pressure near the stem end. If there is a slight give, it is most likely ready to be sliced and added to this Quinoa Apple Salad. And if you can’t smell any sweet pear-ness, it probably isn’t ready to use.
Quick Tip
If you have a fresh lemon on hand, squeeze a bit of lemon juice on the sliced pears and apples to keep them from browning too quickly.
How to make quinoa more flavorful
I love adding quinoa to this salad because it adds texture, flavor, and lots of protein. I find quinoa to be quite mild, especially in a salad with lots of other ingredients. The quinoa tends to take on the flavor of the supporting ingredients and dressing.
- Make sure to rinse the quinoa before cooking it. Quinoa has a natural coating called saponin which can make it taste bitter. Pour the uncooked quinoa into a fine mesh strainer and rinse under cold water thoroughly for 30 to 60 seconds.
- You can improve the flavor of quinoa by seasoning it properly. Don’t forget the seasoning: A little bit of salt and pepper can go a long way! I also like adding a few tablespoons of the dressing to the quinoa right after it’s done cooking. This gives it loads of flavor.
- Another way to infuse quinoa with great flavor is to cook it in chicken or vegetable stock. For this quinoa apple salad, I recommend cooking the quinoa in vegetable stock and seasoning it with salt and pepper.
Quinoa Apple Salad variations
- Make this salad vegetarian or vegan: Use water or vegetable broth to cook the quinoa in. That will make this salad naturally vegan and vegetarian!
- Make this salad gluten free: Quinoa Apple Salad is naturally gluten free, but make sure all the packaged products are processed in a gluten-free facility. Quinoa is gluten free, but it is still considered a high-risk ingredient because of the cross-contact possibility with other grains.
- Add a creamy element such as avocado or some cheese (like goat, feta, or bleu cheese). For maximum creaminess, pick out a ripe avocado.
- How to test if an avocado is ripe: If an avocado yields to firm gentle pressure (shouldn’t give in too easily) you know it’s ripe and ready to eat.
- Add more protein: Using this chicken marinade recipe, grill some chicken and serve on top of this salad. Alternatively, some roasted chickpeas would be a delicious salad addition.
Leftovers
Once dressed, Quinoa Apple Salad doesn’t store well. The dressing makes the spinach soggy and the quinoa bloats. The apples and pears begin to brown and become mushy.
I’d recommend only dressing what you will enjoy the same day. Store dressing and salad separately. Try to only cut pears and apples that will be consumed immediately after making.
Quinoa Apple Salad made ahead
The dressing for this salad can be prepared ahead of time and it stores well for up to a week. Store the dressing in a covered jar in the fridge and shake before tossing it with the salad.
Don’t be alarmed if the dressing separates or forms clumps. It’s just the olive oil solidifying, which it does at cold temps. Take the vinaigrette out of the fridge about 20-30 minutes or so before you need it to bring it back up to temperature; then shake it up to remix.
More delicious salad recipes
- Quinoa almond salad with a raspberry vinaigrette
- Pasta Salad with a two-ingredient dressing
- Asian Cucumber Salad with a sesame dressing
- Greek Quinoa Salad with a Greek-inspired vinaigrette
- Detox Quinoa Salad with a lime vinaigrette
Apple Quinoa Salad
Equipment
- Small pot
- Small blender or food processor
Ingredients
Salad
- 1/2 cup quinoa tri-colored or plain
- 1 cup chicken broth or vegetable broth or water
- 6 cups baby spinach 5 ounces
- 1 large apple Pink Lady or Honeycrisp
- 1 large pear Anjou
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1/2 cup shelled, roasted, and salted pistachios
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries
Lemon Poppyseed Dressing
- 2 lemons
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard not regular mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar see note 1
- 1/3 cup olive oil or vegetable oil
- 1/2 tablespoon poppy seeds
Instructions
- Prepare quinoa by rinsing it under cold water in a fine-mesh sieve. This removes the bitter saponin coating. Combine quinoa and water (or broth) in a small pot over high heat. Bring to a boil, add in a heaping 1/4 teaspoon salt, reduce heat to low, and cover the pot. Simmer 10–15 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat, keep covered, and let stand 10–15 minutes. Fluff with a fork, then add 2–3 tablespoons of the prepared dressing (see next step). Toss and refrigerate to chill until at room temperature.
- While quinoa is cooking, prepare the dressing. Combine 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest, 4 tablespoons lemon juice, onion powder, mustard, salt, and sugar in a small blender or food processor. Blend or pulse until completely smooth. Slowly pour in the oil and blend just until emulsified. Do not over-blend. Stir in poppy seeds, transfer to a jar with a lid, and chill in the fridge while preparing the other parts of the salad. Re-shake to combine before dressing the salad.
- Remove large stems and coarsely chop the spinach (just a few coarse cuts through all the spinach). Add to a large bowl and toss with room-temperature quinoa.
- Chop or thinly slice the apple and pear. Toss both fruits with lemon juice to keep from browning too quickly. Add to the spinach and quinoa.
- Sprinkle pistachios and dried cranberries into the salad. This salad doesn’t sit well with the dressing, so only dress what will be enjoyed the same day. Drizzle with dressing (add to preference; store any leftover dressing in the fridge for up to 1 week). Gently toss to combine and enjoy.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is one gorgeous salad!
This salad is GORGEOUS! You just reminded me that I should really use apples more in salads…they ARE delicious!
Looks absolutely delicious! So many amazing flavours! Cranberries and pistachio go so well together 🙂
This is one totally stunning fall salad! Apples and pistachios go hand in hand this time of year, and I love that this is a whole-meal-in-one with all that gorgeous quinoa! Such stunning photos too, Chelsea! 🙂
Such a beautiful salad. I love every component of this dish and am happy for your reminder to integrate quinoa in my salad! Thanks for the share!
This looks delish! Love the quinoa pistachio combo!
Apples and spinach are one of my favorite combos! I love that you used quinoa in here, Chelsea! What a perfect meal for the fall!
Mmmm I love poppyseed dressing and apples in salads…this is right up my alley!
Chelsea, this looks so fresh and delicious! I haven’t eaten dinner yet, and looking at these pics has me wanting to gnaw my arm off! I love the color in this dish, and I do need more meatless recipes. Thanks for sharing!
This looks delicious! So many awesome flavors 🙂