Lemony Quinoa Salad with Almonds & Dried Cherries
Lemony quinoa salad with almonds and dried cherries is a wonderful make-ahead summer salad, perfect for backyard and picnic dinners alike. It’s full of wholesome ingredients like quinoa, almonds & dried cherries and delicious as can be!
This quinoa salad is best served at room temperature and packs well, which always makes things easy, plus, it’s gluten-free and vegan. The leftovers taste wonderful over a bed of lightly dressed mixed greens or spinach, and I’ll bet you will have no trouble finding plenty of convenient times to snack on this throughout the week if you want to be bold and make a double batch!
With the parks in our city reopening in the past week, it feels like a piece of summer has been restored! Consistently warm (hot even!) weather, coupled with a need to be outside, has changed things up in a good way around here. We’ve been taking picnic breakfasts, lunches and dinners to all sorts of parks around town, and even up into the foothills. As much as I love the usual peanut butter and jelly sandwich, there are times when that standard just doesn’t cut it. That’s where this lemony quinoa salad with almonds and dried cherries comes in. It’s filling and full of protein with almonds and quinoa, plus it gives off a summery vibe with the dried cherries and bright, lemony dressing. If quinoa isn’t your favorite, it’s also delicious with orzo or couscous.
Ingredients for Lemony Quinoa Salad
- Lemons – For this recipe, you’ll use the juice and zest of two lemons! Don’t worry though – the tartness is perfectly balanced by the other spices and the dried cherries.
- Olive oil
- Yellow onion – Will be sautéed and then cooked with the quinoa
- Garlic – Also sautéed – adds delicious sweetness and nuttiness to the salad
- Cumin – Lovely balance of spice
- Cinnamon – Goes well with the citrus in this salad
- Dried cherries – You’ll want to chop these before adding so they disperse throughout the salad
- Water – You can also use chicken broth for more protein, but reduce the salt.
- Salt
- Quinoa – Rinsed in a fine mesh strainer
- Fresh cilantro – Adds beautiful color and so much flavor
- Almonds – Slivered or sliced almonds both work.
How to make Lemony Quinoa Salad with Almonds & Dried Cherries
- Toast the almonds in a stainless steel frying pan over medium-low heat for 3-5 minutes until golden brown and fragrant.
- Grate the zest from the two lemons and squeeze the juice from both as well (should be about ¼ cup of juice).
- Warm 3 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat and sauté the chopped onion until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the minced garlic, cumin and cinnamon and sauté for another 1-2 minutes. Stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, dried cherries and water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the quinoa (don’t forget to rinse it first), and reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes until quinoa is cooked through.
- Pour cooked quinoa into large bowl and fluff with a fork, while gently stirring in the cilantro and toasted almonds. Drizzle with remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.
Lemony Quinoa Salad Variations
As written, this salad makes a wonderful side dish — it’s delicious, wholesome, vegan and gluten-free! Serve it at room temperature as a side salad or at a BBQ or potluck. The allergy-friendly ingredient list works so well for those who are avoiding gluten or dairy.
There are also lots of fun ways to mix things up and play with the ingredients! These are some ideas:
- Make it the main dish star and serve it in a larger portion. I love this quinoa salad on top of some lightly dressed mixed greens.
- Give it a Mediterranean spin with the addition of feta cheese.
- Add additional protein with shredded chicken or canned (rinsed) chickpeas.
- Use a different grain. If quinoa is not for you, you can try this recipe with orzo or couscous.
How to Store
The leftover quinoa salad will keep in the refrigerator, tightly covered, for 3-5 days. This recipe is definitely a candidate for make-ahead meal prep!
Please let me know how this recipe turns out for you in the comments! I love hearing from you and hope this quinoa salad becomes a regular in your rotation.
Lemony Quinoa Salad with Almonds & Dried Cherries
Ingredients
- 2 lemons
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- small yellow onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 cup dried cherries chopped
- 3 cups water (or sub. chicken broth but reduce salt)
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 cups quinoa rinsed in a fine mesh strainer
- 1/4 cup cilantro minced
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
Instructions
- Toast the almonds in a stainless steel frying pan over medium-low heat for 3-5 minutes until golden brown and fragrant.
- Grate the zest from the two lemons and squeeze the juice from both as well (should be about ¼ cup of juice).
- Warm 3 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat and sauté the chopped onion until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the minced garlic, cumin and cinnamon and sauté for another 1-2 minutes. Stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, dried cherries and water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the quinoa and reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes until quinoa is cooked through.
- Pour cooked quinoa into large bowl and fluff with a fork, while gently stirring in the cilantro and toasted almonds. Drizzle with remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve warm or refrigerate until 1 hour before you plan to eat.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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This is most delicious. The pairing of sweet and savory is perfect. I could eat this three times a day.