January 17, 2023

Winter Quinoa Salad

Name: Winter Quinoa Salad
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Ingredients: Kale- about 3 large leaves- destemmed and cut into medium size pieces; Butternut Squash- Diced-I used half of the butternut squash; Brussels Sprouts- 1 pack-Brussels Sprouts cut in half; Pomegranate seeds- 1/2 cup or more if desired; Honey Goat Cheese -about 2 oz-break off little peices; Quinoa- 1 cup of dried quinoa-You'll be cooking it; 2 tsp Dijon Mustard-I used an old-world mustard; 1 clove of garlic-Minced; 1 tsp Sherry Vinegar; 1 tsp honey- more if you want it sweeter.; Salt u0026 Pepper-dash of salt and pepper-season to taste; 1/4 cup Olive Oil

This Winter Quinoa Salad is power packed with healthy ingredients. Don’t let “healthy” fool you. This quinoa salad will amaze you with its flavor!

With each bite of this Winter Quinoa Salad, you’ll get a delightful taste of some roasted vegetables, goat cheese, exciting pops of pomegranate seeds, and quinoa; all dressed with a homemade vinaigrette.

With this Winter Quinoa Salad, you can enjoy it hot or cold. It would make a wonderful lunch or dinner. Leftovers? No problem, this salad will taste delicious for days! It would make a great side to any meal. If you are big on meal prepping, this salad would be great to make ahead of time to have for a quick, healthy lunch.

This salad is quite colorful and Let me tell you, we need some color right now. We are currently experiencing Winter, hence the name 😁. We all know how long winter can feel at times. It’s cold and snowy but just like any season, there is still some beauty. My favorite part of winter is when it snows and sticks to the trees, I love those mornings you wake up in a winter wonderland. Those are probably my favorite moments of winter. Yes, snow can be pretty at times but I don’t enjoy shoveling or driving in it! Thankfully we know spring is on its way guys!

Advertisements

I truly am looking forward to spring. This past fall we did a total overhaul of our growing area. I can’t wait to plant in it! Hopefully, spring doesn’t come too quickly. Winter is a great time to slow down and it gives us time to enjoy the inside. I still have plenty of projects to complete hahaha. Well, I better get going!!

Subscribe by Email 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻

Now, Let’s get back to this delicious Winter Quinoa Salad!

Ingredients you’ll need for this recipe:

Jump to Recipe

–1 cup Dried Quinoa ( you’ll be cooking this )

–Butternut Squash -Diced, I used half

–1 pack of Brussels Sprouts -washed, peeled, and sliced in half

–4 oz container of honey goat cheese -Use half -bought at target

–Fresh pomegranate seeds -I used approx 1/2 cup.

–Olive Oil-used to saute the veggies and make your homemade vinegarette

–Kale– Wash and destem your kale-You’ll need about 3 leaves

–Honey-Start with 1 tsp add more if it needs more sweetness-this will be used in making the vinegarette-

–2 tsp Mustard– You can use a dijon-I used an old world mustard-used to make the vinegarette

–Sherry Vinegar-1 tsp

–1 clove of garlic minced

–Salt & pepper-season to taste

Directions to make this Winter Quinoa Salad

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

–First, you’ll want to gather all your ingredients. Start by prepping your Butternut squash. Cut your butternut squash in half. For this recipe, we are going to be using the top half, the section without the seeds. Peel the skin off and dice your butternut squash.

Wash your brussels sprouts and cut off the stem part and peel off the first layer of leaves and cut them in half. You’ll want to add the butternut squash and brussels sprouts to a sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil, toss and arrange them evenly on the sheet pan. Season with salt and pepper. You’ll be cooking your veggies for a total of 35 mins then adding the kale and putting the veggies back in the oven for an additional 10 mins. Cooking it for a total of 45 mins.

–While they cook you’ll want to make your quinoa. Grab a pot (the one you usually use to make rice) you’ll want to measure 1 cup of quinoa. Rinse it through a fine mesh strainer and add the quinoa to the pot. Then simply add 1 1/2 cups of water, and 1/4 tsp salt, and stir.

Advertisements

You’ll want to cook your quinoa on med-to-high heat just until it starts to boil. Then reduce the heat to low and cover it with a lid. Let your quinoa cook for about 15-20 mins. Sometimes I leave it longer and it’s totally fine. The quinoa should be light and fluffy with no water.

–Next prep your pomegranate seeds. I usually cut off a chunk and pop the seeds out. You’ll also need to get your kale ready to cook. Remember you need to add it to the sheet pan at 35 mins. Kale takes about 10 mins to cook. You’ll need to destem your kale. That means removing the stem. Then you’ll want to tear the kale into medium size pieces and place them in a bowl. Drizzle the kale with olive oil, add them to the sheet pan, and season with salt and pepper. Note: Push the other veggies to one side that way you have room for the kale.

Advertisements

–Now let’s make the Vinegarette. Grab a bowl and add 2 tsp of mustard-dijon works great, 1 clove of minced garlic, 1 tsp of sherry vinegar, 1 tsp of honey-more if you desire more sweetness, then season with salt and pepper. Start whisking the ingredients and drizzle in 1/4 cup of olive oil. You’ll want to continue to whisk these ingredients until you get the right consistency.

–Add the cooked quinoa to a large bowl. To cool it down a bit by spreading it out along the bottom of the bowl. Next, you’ll be adding your roasted vegetables, pomegranate seeds, and dollops of goat cheese, lastly drizzle in the vinaigrette and toss. Enjoy!!

Find the recipe card below to pin or print 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻

Advertisements