Harvest Quinoa Salad with Pumpkin Vinaigrette

Harvest Quinoa Salad is a delightful mix of texture and flavors. It is made with roasted butternut squash, dried cranberries, quinoa, and a pumpkin vinaigrette for a delicious gluten-free and vegan side dish. 

This dish comes together easily when made with leftover Roasted Butternut Squash and Instant Pot Quinoa.

Years ago I attended a HUGE Thanksgiving Pot-Luck that featured dozens of dishes.

I happened to bring my homemade applesauce and mashed potatoes.

But the one that stuck out to me was a wild rice salad that had a pumpkin dressing and slightly sweet and savory at the same time.

I fell in love with it. Pumpkin vinaigrette--genius!!

Over the years, I have modified the butternut squash rice salad and turned it into this Harvest Quinoa Salad.

Harvest Quinoa Salad

This simple quinoa Salad is full of fall flavors and makes a perfect side dish or a hearty meatless entree. This salad is a little bit sweet, a little bit savory, and full of various textures.

But the star of the show is the pumpkin vinaigrette. It is savory, yet a bit sweet from the maple syrup. It is a unique dressing that makes this simple  Quinoa Salad something spectacular.

Ingredients

• Quinoa
• Butternut Squash
• Dried Cranberries
• Pecans
• Pumpkin Dressing

How to Make Harvest Quinoa Salad

Prepare Quinoa

I like to cook my quinoa in the Instant Pot, however, you can easily cook on the stove-top While you can use any variety of quinoa, a tip is to cook the quinoa in  vegetable or chicken stock. 

Roast Butternut Squash

If you can, plan ahead and make a large batch of roasted butternut squash earlier in the week. Serve the squash as a side dish and then use the leftovers to whip up this salad with ease.

Pumpkin Vinaigrette

This may sound odd--pumpkin in a vinaigrette? But it works! The pumpkin adds an earthy savory note to this salad and it is the thing that makes this dish stand out to people!

Toss the Fall Quinoa Salad

Once the ingredients are assembled, toss the quinoa, dressing, squash, and cranberries together. At this point it is best to refrigerate for at least 4 hours to let the flavors marry. Add the pecans RIGHT before serving, so that nuts stay crispy and add texture and contrast to the salad.

While this salad will last in the fridge for up to 4 days, I recommend prepping no more than two days in advance. That way leftovers can be kept for a couple days after enjoying. Just remember, just leave the nuts off until ready to serve.

More Quinoa Recipes

• Instant Pot Quinoa
• Mexican Quinoa Salad
• Veggie Packed Quinoa Burgers
• Banana Nut Quinoa Porridge
• Quinoa Spinach Salad

Harvest Quinoa Salad with Pumpkin Vinaigrette

A simple fall quinoa salad made with roasted squash and tangy pumpkin dressing. 

5 from 5 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Servings: 8

Calories: 185kcal

Author: Kristen Chidsey

Ingredients

Harvest Quinoa Salad

• ▢ 2 cups vegetable broth
• ▢ 1 cup quinoa
• ▢ 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
• ▢ 2 cups roasted butternut squash ½ inch chunks
• ▢ ½ dried cranberries
• ▢ ⅓ cup chopped pecans

Pumpkin Vinaigrette

• ▢ ¼ cup pumpkin puree
• ▢ ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
• ▢ 1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
• ▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ½ teaspoon pepper
• ▢ ½ teaspoon dried thyme

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Instructions

Roast Butternut Squash

• Toss squash chunks with 1-2 teaspoons oil and roast at 425 for 25 minutes, or fork tender and starting to crisp up around edges. Cool before tossing in salad.

Cook Quinoa

• Bring the vegetable stock, seasoned salt and quinoa to a boil and reduce to a simmer for about 20 minutes, or until quinoa is tender and liquid is absorbed. Or cook quinoa in instant pot. 
• Cool quinoa completely.

Pumpkin Dressing

• Prepare the dressing by mixing the pumpkin puree, vinegar, syrup, oil, salt, pepper, and thyme together.

Harvest Quinoa Salad

• Toss the quinoa with the dressing and then add the squash, and cranberries and fold into the quinoa gently.
• Refrigerate for at least 4 hours until flavors have had time to marry together. Right before serving, add in the nuts.

Notes

• Feel free to use cooked wild rice in place of quinoa if desired.
• This quinoa salad needs a crunch factor, but if pecans are not your thing, feel free to use walnut, almonds, or pumpkin seeds for texture.
• This Harvest Quinoa Salad is fine served warm but best after being refrigerated for a couple hours.
• Fall Quinoa Salad will last in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Nutrition

Calories: 185kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 674mg | Potassium: 309mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 5035IU | Vitamin C: 7.7mg | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 1.7mg

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