Found this and thought I would share since quinoa seems to be becoming so popular. This make-ahead salad (served warm or room temperature) is great for outdoor parties since it won't spoil in the sun.
Very nice gluten free salad. I made it almost as written. I boiled the quinoa in water instead of broth. The flavours are quite delicate yet the whole outcome is a pleasantly surprising method of combining flavours and textures. The sweet and sour marry very well with the roasted pepper flavour. The crunchy quinoa and onion mixed with the softer textures of the peppers and cranberries seemed to dance around in your mouth; as strange as that may sound. The proportions are well balanced. This is a great summer salad indeed. Thanks Manella for sharing! Update: I have just made this with three colour quinoa and it was nice and looked like a ticker tape parade! This would be a great salad to take to a Carnival party! :-)
Read More Very nice gluten free salad. I made it almost as written. I boiled the quinoa in water instead of broth. The flavours are quite delicate yet the whole outcome is a pleasantly surprising method of combining flavours and textures. The sweet and sour marry very well with the roasted pepper flavour. The crunchy quinoa and onion mixed with the softer textures of the peppers and cranberries seemed to dance around in your mouth; as strange as that may sound. The proportions are well balanced. This is a great summer salad indeed. Thanks Manella for sharing! Update: I have just made this with three colour quinoa and it was nice and looked like a ticker tape parade! This would be a great salad to take to a Carnival party! :-)
manella, thank you for sharing a lovely recipe and forgive me for tweaking (i had to take some liberties because I so wanted this salad but seemed to be out of ingredients). I subbed chick peas for cranberries and since I couldn't find my roasted red peppers (they're hiding in the freezer) I subbed grape tomatoes. I used sweet vidalia onion in place of red onion. I think that even with the tweaks, the spirit of the recipe survived. I really enjoyed the lemony-basil combination with the quinoa. This recipe will be part of many meals so long as fresh basil is available. :):)
What a wonderful blend of flavours. Let me just say that I've made this twice now and both times it's come out wonderfully. It's a very pretty looking dish and would be very festive looking on any table. I've never had roasted peppers before and just thoroughly enjoyed them. Thank you for the introduction to them. I'll be using them in other dishes now. Thank you Manella.
We really enjoyed this tasty, refreshing quinoa salad, Manella! Served with grilled sock-eyed salmon and corn-on-the-cob, it was a wonderful, light summertime meal. I subbed garbonzo beans for the cranberries as hubby isn't fond of fruit in salads but loves garbonzos. I'm looking forward to sharing this salad with my teachers at our next luncheon. Thank you, Manella!
This was wonderful on a hot and humid day. It made 4 generous main dish servings - would easily serve 6-8 as part of a larger meal. Loved the zing of the lemon juice and zest - my only tweak was to add garlic and a teaspoon of olive oil - because I love garlic! Luckily, I have a lot of basil in the garden - because I will be making this again.
Delizioso Manella! We all loved this. Only change I made was to use Cranraisins instead of dried cranberries. I made it in the morning and kept it in the fridge until suppertime. It was excellent cold as well but I decided I will serve it hot next time. "Some like it hot!" Thanks for sharing Manella. We will make this again and again.
oh manella! i made this as part of my dinner last night. it's so delicious and refreshing. love the lemon basil flavours together. all i had was store bought roasted peppers with not a lot of flavour. next time, and yes there will be a next time, i'll roast my own peppers for more flavour. thanks so much for sharing this recipe with us:)
A wonderful refreshing salad. I served this salad chilled at a bridal luncheon for 30 and everyone just loved it and have asked for the recipe. I didn't change a thing other than serving chilled which I think really brought out the crisp lemon flavor. Top of the list recipe for me that I will definitely make many times again.
This is a very light salad. Served it with fish and it was a perfect compliment. I will definitely make this again and I won't change a thing!
I didn't have dried cranberries so I tossed some dried cherries in-SO good! Can't wait to share this with others!
Thank you for the recipe. I had some ideas in my head, but had never made quinoa salad, so searched for something that came close to what I was thinking. Yours was perfect. Since I'm vegetarian, I swapped out the chicken broth for organic vegetable broth. For my husband, who does not prefer red onions, I swapped for spring onions. Omitted cranberries since I'm allergic. Then added chopped cilantro in addition to the chopped basil. I also added a can of rinsed and drained chick peas for texture (mind you I doubled everything else for a Memorial Day cookout, just to give the ratio on the can to the rest). I made it early to be safe, in case I didn't like it and needed to make something else for the party. I really, really enjoyed it warm/hot immediately upon mixing. But stored in refrigerator a few hours before serving. It was good cold, but ok, good. I had some more later after it was sitting out at party and it was better at room temperature. But I will try to serve warm/hot next time, as that's how I liked it best. Thanks again!
I love this dish!! I left out the cranberries, bell peppers, red onions, and basil. Instead, I used mint, green onion, tomatoes, cucumbers, orange zest, orange juice, lemon zest, lemon juice, and olive oil. It’s tefr and filling!
I have been cooking with quinoa for some time now, ever since my daughter brought home some leftovers from a restaurant. This dish has such a refreshing flavour with the addition of cranberries and zest of lemon. I wouldn't have thought to add the basil on my own and I was so pleased that it all came together so nicely. I served it with baked lemon chicken and unlike almost every other time I've made quinoa ..there are NO leftovers… Manella..this is delightful.
I gave this recipe a because it is a good base recipe. I like a little more flavor. The first time I made it I followed the recipe. The 2nd time I amped it up just a bit. I roasted my own red peppers, increased lemon juice, added roasted garlic, increased fresh basil to 1/3 cup, and added black olives. This recipe is one I'll use over and over again as you can be as creative as you like.
AMAZING! I am a beginner vegan and I am always looking for something besides just veggies. I made this with vegetable stock and everything else I kept the same. I garnished with chopped avacados. LOVED IT! I did use my electric mini chopper for the onions, cranberries and peppers all at once. Quick and easy. I did use the chopper again for the basil.
Made this recipe this weekend and loved it. I used a little more fresh lemon juice and served it chilled. Repeater!
Loved the nutty flavor of the quinoa cooked in chicken broth. The mix of vegetables with dried cranberries was perfect. I added a diced avacado for extra goodness. Also eased the prep time by mixing everything but the quinoa and broth together the night before. It gave the flavors time to blend and the cranberries time to plump a little. Cooking the quinoa and stirring everything else in was a snap on the day of the party.
I will start out by saying I was skeptical that this would be tasty. I’m not into healthy food, but I’m trying to change. This will change me. It was easy to make and delicious. The fact that it can be left out for hours will allow me to use it for flyball tournaments. loved
Was really good. Didn't have red peppers so used green. Little more basil than I would have liked and will reduce it a little next time.
Especially better when made a day ahead of time and the ingredients have the chance to meld.
This is a very nice summer or anytime salad.. This should also say to rinse the quinoa before cooking.
This quinoa salad was okay... it needs more stuff in it...pretty bland as is.... not seasoning wise (that part is pretty good), but it is just too mushy. I think I will try adding cucumbers to add crunch and possibly a firm avocado to add texture...
I cooked my quinoa in the rice cooker with vegetable broth to make it vegan. I added chopped tomato and avocado for more flavor and nutrition and served it on a bed of baby spinach. Really nice salad with the tweaks.
This was not as flavorful as expected. This could better with addition of some seasoning
I didn't have any lemon or basil but I did have pesto, it was so flavorful and absolutely scrumptious!
After seeing all of the 5 star reviews, I gave this a try & was disappointed with the result. I was not as crazy about it as the other reviewers. My husband & I thought that it was an odd combination of flavors. I did not put in as much onion as the recipe calls for because my husband does not like raw onions, but I doubt that omitting a little bit of onion would make that much of a difference. Will not make this again.
Was my first time making a quinoa salad and it turned out fantastic. I got rave reviews from it at my dinner party. I didn't have any cranberries on hand so for some extra flavour I added some feta cheese as that's what was in my fridge. Othe than that I made as specified. Will be making it again and I think this will be my new go to recipe. Thank you. I now look forward to trying other quinoa recipes.........
Sorry; this combination of flavors was a little bland despite the fresh basil and did not work well on my taste buds.
Was very good, nice combination of flavors. I'm not a fan of quinoa, so tried with millet instead, and paired with garlic, herb, oven-baked Cod!
Good summer salad alternative! I had limes on hand, no lemons, and I didn't have dried cranberries but I did have some very ripe pineapple that worked really well.
I doubled the sauce and poured about half on my baked salmon. Leftovers the next day tasted even better!
I loved this fresh tasting dish! I treated it as a cold salad, like a pasta salad. I added chopped celery and toasted almonds, as well as a touch of olive oil to keep it from becoming clumpy. I left out the onion for personal preference, but the addition of celery covered the crunchiness that would have been missing. Fantastic!
Light, easy and tasty. I subbed roasted cherry tomatoes for roasted red peppers.
Love this recipe. Have made it twice, first time without the chicken broth as was taking it to dinner with vegan friends. Second time, with chicken broth. Think I prefer without the broth. The flavors are so wonderful.
I used lime zest and juice, since I already juiced all my lemons, but it turned out very well.
Was very skeptical, but loved it! Had to substitute bottled lemon juice and green onions, but it was still delicious. Thanks for the healthy recipe!
I’ve never made quinoa before, and I’m glad this recipe was my first! The thing i did differently was i used vegetable stock because that’s what i had. I also took the advice of another comment and made sure to wash the quinoa before cooking. Will make again!
Odd combination of ingredients, but we liked it. The flavor didn't really "pop," but it was good.
I used fresh bell peppers instead of roasted and red quinoa and it turned out really yummy.
Yummy! Substituted with Red Quinoa and with a small Red Onion in place of green onion and ate with whole wheat pita's.
Easy and very flavorful! I omitted the cranberries and served with avocado. You know they love it when they ask you to make it again!
Served it as part of a summer salad selection; it was well-received! Made it the evening prior to the event, added just a tiny bit of oil prior to serving and added a bit more shredded Asiago cheese to the top. Added slivered almonds prior to serving. Enjoyed the onion and the cranraisins.
I added a bit more cranberries. This was pretty lemony, but i think i used a larger lemon.
This is so refreshing! I have made this several times and have been asked for the recipe each time I serve it. I like it that there is no fat and no salt in the recipe. I don't care for raw onions except for the green ones so I used small slices of green onion. Today I also decided to add some finely chopped celery. I love the crunch it gave it. Thank you for the great recipe. It is also great warmed up and eaten as a side dish instead of a salad.
This was really good and the kids loved it, too. I made a couple of minor changes: (1) subbed quartered cherry tomatoes for the cranberries because DH doesn't really like fruit in savory dishes, and (2) added feta cheese as garnish to individual plates (and not to the entire dish in case someone didn't like it - everyone liked it with feta). Will make this again.
I made only one change and that was to substitute green onions for the red. The whole thing tasted bitter to me, I think because of the roasted red peppers.
Made this for lunches this week. Ate a portion warm for dinner. I used vegetarian vegetable broth. Instead of chicken and also used lime zest and lime juice. I added a dash of Meyers lemon in it. It is fabulous . Will be making this often.
I added some diced breaded chicken breast and made it a main course. Nice flavors!
My husband is not a quinoa fan, but he really liked this. I agree with some of the other reviews that this is a nice combination of flavors.
This was a very nice, light side dish. I made it per the recipe. If you don't serve it immediately, definitely let it come to at least room temp before eating. I tried the leftovers right out of the fridge and it really lost something in both taste and texture, but letting it sit out for a while, it was as good as the first day.
I liked it but found that it was rather tart for me. I think it needs some savory ingredients to balance it out. I will make it again but will probably try adding some other ingredients, maybe some almonds or more roasted peppers and maybe a little cumin.
Fried 1/2 small onion before adding quinoa and stock, and added peppers and lemon for last 5 minutes of cooking. Really nice pop of lemon flavor.
It's nice, but much too sour, lemon dominates the taste. next time I'll add 1/4 of lemon juice.
