The perfect make-ahead recipe! Berry Nutty Quinoa Salad is made with strawberries, blueberries, and toasted almond slices. Tasty and ready in only 25 minutes, this is one great dish.
Summertime is a busy time. Especially when the end of July arrives and we celebrate my husband’s and daughter’s birthday. With about a week and a half between the two days, it feels like birthday season in our house.
Last weekend was my daughter’s third birthday and we whipped up some Yummy Vanilla Cupcakes. This weekend we celebrated with her friends.
Turning three was a whole new experience for us. My daughter helped with every aspect of party planning, from designing the invitations to choosing the music and even the menu. While cake, pizza, and fruit are always birthday party staples for us, I also wanted to include some healthier options, like fish-shaped cream cheese sandwiches, Miso Caesar Salad and Berry Nutty Quinoa Salad.
Quinoa is such a versatile grain. It’s like the little black dress of healthy grains. You can make it savoury or sweet, depending on how you prepare it. Pair it with berries, beans or even fish. There are endless ways to enjoy this super food. No wonder it’s so popular these days.
With a tasty combination of summer berries, roasted almonds and a honey-sweetened lemon dressing, Berry Nutty Quinoa Salad salad just screams summer. But what makes this salad extra tasty is one very special ingredient, vegetable broth.
Sure, it’s a great base for soups and stews, but vegetable broth also makes perfect quinoa. It adds an element of flavour that you just don’t get when you cook with water. The broth infuses the grain with a wonderfully hearty flavour that adds a savoury element to this fruit-filled salad.
Berry Nutty Quinoa Salad is super easy to make. And it’s the perfect make-ahead dish. You can have the berries chopped in one container, the quinoa in another, and the roasted almonds in the smallest one. Even the dressing can be made ahead of time. In fact, the dressing just gets better with time.
On the first day the lemon juice, water, honey, mint and Dijon mustard, have a fresh lemony flavour. But by the second and third day, the mint infuses the dressing, making it even more refreshing.
Whether you make Berry Nutty Quinoa Salad ahead of time or not, when it’s time to serve, everyone will love this crowd-pleasing dish.
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PrintBerry Nutty Quinoa Salad
A cold quinoa salad that’s quick and easy to prepare for lunch, dinner or a big backyard party. With a crowd-pleasing flavour of berries, roasted almonds and a honey-sweetened lemon dressing, this sweet and savoury dish packs a delicious punch.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 25 mins
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Salad
Ingredients
- SALAD INGREDIENTS:
- 2 cups vegetable stock or water
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
- 2 cups strawberries, quartered
- 2 cups blueberries
- 1/2 cup almonds, sliced
- SWEET LEMON DRESSING INGREDIENTS:
- 1 and 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 and 1/2 tablespoons water
- 1 and 1/2 tablespoons honey
- 1 and 1/2 tablespoons fresh mint
- 1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Instructions
- Boil vegetable stock in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. When the stock begins to boil, lower the temperature to simmer.
- Add quinoa, cover the saucepan and cook for 12 to 15 minutes or until all of the liquid is absorbed. Set aside when done.
- Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C).
- Place almonds on a parchment paper covered baking sheet. Bake for 5 to 10 minutes, or until lightly browned and roasted.
- In a small bowl, combine lemon juice, water, honey, mint and Dijon mustard.
- In a large bowl, add strawberries, blueberries, half of the almonds, and quinoa.
- Drizzle with sweet lemon dressing. Gently mix. Top with remaining almonds.
- Plate and enjoy!
If you love salad, you may also enjoy Warm Avocado Quinoa Salad
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Your healthy and delicious salad is my feature for this week at Sweet Inspiration. We hope to see you on Friday.
Thanks Mary! I am so happy to hear that you are featuring Berry Nutty Quinoa Salad. Hope you enjoy it!
This is a very refreshing salad, I would love to sit down and eat this. We will feature this on the next Blogger’s Pit Stop.
Kathleen
Blogger’s Pit Stop
Thanks Kathleen! It’s so nice that you are featuring this recipe. Hope you enjoy Berry Nutty Quinoa Salad.
What a lovely salad, Jessica, so wholesome, and so delicious too. I think this would be perfect for lunch boxes as well. How lovely to have your Berry Nutty Quinoa Salad on hand in the fridge. Thank you so much for sharing it, and for being a part of the Hearth and Soul Link Party. I’ve featured your post at the party this week. Hope to ‘see’ you there!
Thanks April! That’s so kind of you to feature this recipe. Berry Nutty Quinoa Salad is perfect for lunchtime. Hope you enjoy it!
Looks yummy and very healthy Thank you for linking to #Thatfridaylinky please come back next week
Thanks! Berry Nutty Quinoa Salad is definitely healthy and yummy. Hope you enjoy it!
This fruity quinoa looks like a nice changeup. Thanks for bringing your dish to Fiesta Friday!
Mollie
Thanks! Hope you enjoy Berry Nutty Quinoa Salad.
I’m not really a quinoa fan, but mixing it with fruit might change my mind. The dressing sounds so tasty!
Quinoa is so versatile. Hope Berry Nutty Quinoa Salad is your kind of quinoa recipe.
Looks yummy, and so good for you! Thanks for sharing with SYC.
hugs,
Jann
Thanks Jann! It really is yummy. Hope you enjoy Berry Nutty Quinoa Salad.
That looks great, I’ve only ever made savoury quinoa, must give this one a try! #BloggerClubUK
Thanks! Quinoa is delicious with fruit. Hope you enjoy Berry Nutty Quinoa Salad.
This is definitely my kind of salad! Looks delicious and I will try it soon! 🙂
Thanks Marcelle! Hope you enjoy Berry Nutty Quinoa Salad.
I’ve never thought of using quinoa with fruit, but I’m definitely going to try this. #BloggerClubUK
Thanks! Quinoa is delicious with fruit. Hope you enjoy Berry Nutty Quinoa Salad.
I’ve never tried quinoa but your salad looks so healthy and yummy! I will have to make this recipe.
#BloggerClubUK
Thanks Veronica! Berry Nutty Quinoa Salad is a great way to try quinoa for the first time. Hope you enjoy it!
I love quinoa I will have to make this recipe.
Agreed! Quinoa is delicious. Hope you enjoy Berry Nutty Quinoa Salad.
This sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing : ) I’m putting it in my “to try soon” collection!
Thanks Anna! Hope you enjoy Berry Nutty Quinoa Salad.
I love your creative use of Quinoa and how inviting your photographs are
Thanks Kevin! 🙂
Using veggie broth to cook the quinoa is a great tip. Thanks as well for liking my mini-pizzas recipe!
Thanks!! Hope you enjoy the quinoa. ?
The salad looks fantastic, but where are some pics of the birthday girl?
Thanks!! She was busy eating the quinoa. ?
Good girl! Into healthy food, like her mommy!
You’re so sweet! ?
These recipes look great. I love that you feel a need to serve healthy food to the little people in our lives. It terrifies me when I find nothing but unhealthy choices on kids’ menus at restaurants.
Thanks!! I totally agree!! I sometimes order an adult meal for my little one, so she has something healthier to eat. ?
Good recipe.Quinoa is definitely healthy on the list.Will try it.
Thanks!! Hope you like it! ?
This looks good, and no sugar except the little bit of honey. My kind of dish.
Thanks Sheila!! It’s really yummy! ?
Sounds wonderful 🙂
Thank you! ?
It’s like you were reading my mind- I have some leftover quinoa that I was looking to use up in a salad. I’m definitely feeling inspired now! Looking forward to reading more!
That’s so great!! Hope you like it! ?
Great idea! will try it 🙂
Thanks!! Hope you enjoy it. ?
Looks and sounds delicious.
Thanks Rose! ?