Quinoa Beet & Orange Salad

Quinoa Beet Salad

With the weather cooling off, quinoa salads are one of my go-to recipes for a healthy lunch. From this favorite Harvest Chicken Quinoa Salad to this delicious Pomegranate Squash Quinoa Salad, the possibilities are endless with fall fruits and vegetables!

This Beet & Orange Quinoa Salad is yet another amazing version of the healthy mix of wholegrains, fresh fruit and nutrient packed ingredients.

• Harvest Chicken Quinoa Salad
• Pomegranate Squash Quinoa Salad

Nutrient Rich Beet Salad

We are using beets as the centerpiece of this delicious dish. Not only are they loaded with vitamins and nutrients, but they are a hearty vegetable that will help fill you up.

Beets are rich in folate and manganese, which are both important nutrients for our bodies. Paired up with oranges that are rich in vitamin C and quinoa that is loaded with fiber, you will have a power packed lunch that tastes amazing!

Vegetarian Lunch Recipe

Enjoy this quinoa salad all on it’s own as a vegetarian lunch or use it as a side dish to pair with a grilled steak, chicken breast, shrimp or just about any meat for a hearty dinner.

If you want to make this recipe vegan, just swap out the honey in the vinaigrette for some sugar or grab your favorite bottle of vinaigrette.

How to Make Quinoa Salad

To get started with this beet salad, you will need some cooked and cooled quinoa. My go-to recipe for cooking quinoa is this Pressure Cooker Quinoa. It is by far the fastest and easiest way to make the whole grain and it comes up so light and fluffy every single time.

If you are looking to make a really quick salad and don’t have any cooked quinoa on hand, you can always take the convenient route and buy a pre-cooked package of quinoa or mixed grains. This Quinoa & Brown Rice mix is a favorite of mine in a pinch.

• Pressure Cooker Quinoa

Roasted Beets

When you have some room temperature or cooled quinoa, now its time to add in the fruits and vegetables. Next up you will need to roast some beets. Grab a single beet, red or yellow and peel it. Chop it into 1/2 size pieces, ensuring the beets are similar in size so they cook evenly.

Toss the beets with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast them for 25 minutes at 450F.

While you are getting your hand messy with beets (which I always recommend wearing kitchen gloves to handle if you don’t want red hands), consider roasting some additional beets for other dishes throughout the week. These Honey Roasted Beets and Carrots are incredibly popular.

• Honey Roasted Beets and Carrots

Beet and Fruit Salad Ingredients

Add the following ingredients to the quinoa and roasted beets in a large bowl

3 oranges, peeled and chopped

2 tablespoons dried cranberries

2 tablespoons roasted pumpkin seeds

¼ cup fresh chopped parsley

Homemade Salad Dressing

Once everything is in a large bowl, it is time to dress the beet and orange salad with a quick and easy honey vinaigrette. It takes just minutes to whip this dressing together, but if you aren’t a fan of making your own vinaigrette, you could use some store bough vinaigrette, with honey balsamic being a great substitute.

Honey Vinaigrette Ingredients

In a small bowl, whisk the following ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

½ teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon white balsamic vinegar or white wine vinegar

½ teaspoon garlic, minced

Sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste

There is no need to emulsify or blend the vinaigrette as it will be getting mixed in with the quinoa, beets and fruit. Toss everything until it is well combined and serve immediately!

Beet and Quinoa Pomegranate Salad

The juicy oranges and pomegranates combined with the roasted beets and quinoa make this such a great winter salad. Usually its hard to come by good fruit in the winter, so oranges and pomegranates are always my top picks in colder months for a fresh salad. They also pair beautifully with beets which is an added bonus.

More delicious ingredients to add

While this beet and orange salad is already loaded with so much goodness, it doesn’t have to stop there. Here are some more great options to add into your quinoa salad

Soft Cheese (while this recipe is dairy-free, the addition of feta or goat cheese would be great)

Nuts (pistachios, almonds, etc.)

Apple

Shredded Chicken

Crispy Tofu

Arugula or Spinach

Notes

*If cooking quinoa, ½ cup dry quinoa will make 1 ½ cup cooked quinoa. -If making ahead of time, wait to mix in pumpkin seeds until serving. -Can store leftovers refrigerated for up to 2 days.

Serving: 1 g | Calories: 208 kcal | Carbohydrates: 33 g | Protein: 3 g | Fat: 9 g | Saturated Fat: 1 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7 g | Sodium: 308 mg | Fiber: 6 g | Sugar: 19 g