This kosher recipe for the Best Quinoa Salad with Cranberries is a refreshing dish to bring to the table for any Passover meal. The sweetness of the dried cranberries combined with the tart touch of apple cider vinegar work perfectly together in this Quinoa Salad with Sweet Potatoes and Cranberries recipe. This recipe is kosher, gluten free, dairy free, and pareve.
I love this vegetarian recipe for Quinoa and Dried Cranberry Salad because it only uses a few ingredients but has such crisp and distinct flavors and textures. The cranberries, sweet potatoes, and apples used in this Passover Quinoa Salad recipe create a wonderful profile of sweet and wholesome flavors. They are tied together with an apple cider vinaigrette that makes the whole vegan Passover Quinoa Salad with Cranberries and Almonds sing in your mouth. When I say that Passover is my favorite holiday for food recipes, this tasty recipe is one of the ones that I mean.
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- Ingredients used in Easy Passover Cranberry and Quinoa Salad
- How to make the Best Cranberry Apple Quinoa Salad step by step
- Pro recipe tips for the Best Quinoa Salad with Dried Cranberries for Passover
- Easy Quinoa Salad with Cranberries FAQ
- Substitutions and Serving Suggestions For Quinoa and Cranberry Apple Salad
- How to store the Best Passover Quinoa Salad with Cranberries
- More Passover recipes:
- 📖 Recipe
- Pro recipe tips for the Best Quinoa Salad with Dried Cranberries for Passover
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Ingredients used in Easy Passover Cranberry and Quinoa Salad
There is a little bit of cooking required to put this Quinoa Salad together. Still, salads like this one, and our Summertime Red Cabbage Salad, are all about the fresh salad ingredients used. All you need to make this salad is:
- Quinoa - this is an ingredient that is naturally kosher for Passover. Some authorities require that quinoa has special approval for Passover.
- Sweet potatoes - adds a sweetness to the salad as well as a rich velvety texture.
- Green apple - sweet and tart with a firm and crunchy texture.
- Dried cranberries - also sweet and tart but with a softer texture.
- Slivered almonds - toasted and nutty.
- Parsley - used for garnish.
- Apple cider vinaigrette - garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, olive oil, apple cider vinegar. Used as a dressing to tie the flavors together.
How to make the Best Cranberry Apple Quinoa Salad step by step
This is a salad recipe so it doesn't need the detailed step by step instructions we usually include in our recipe posts, but there are some steps you will need to take to get it ready:
Step 1 - Cook quinoa, sweet potato, and the almonds
- Quinoa - rinse the quinoa under cold water. Cook according to the instructions on the package.
- Sweet potato - Peel and cube the sweet potato; drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder. Roast at 400ºF for 25 minutes. Cool.
- Toasted almonds - this only takes about one minute and you are looking for a golden brown. Do not look away or they will burn.
Step 2 - Prepare the apples and parsley and combine
- Chop the apples into ½ inch cubes and then chop the parsley.
- In a large bowl, combine the chopped ingredients, dried cranberries, cooked quinoa, roasted sweet potato, and toasted almonds.
Step 3 - Make the Quinoa salad vinaigrette and dress the salad
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, olive oil, apple cider vinegar. This should take a about 1-2 minutes total time.
- Toss the salad with the vinaigrette and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Pro recipe tips for the Best Quinoa Salad with Dried Cranberries for Passover
- Do not skip the rinsing step. If you don't rinse the quinoa before cooking, it will taste bitter.
- When the quinoa is done cooking, fluff it with a fork before it cools to give it some body.
- Refrigerate overnight for best results.
Easy Quinoa Salad with Cranberries FAQ
Quinoa is a gluten free seed that has a high protein content. It comes from a non-animal source and is vegan by nature. There are a lot of uses for quinoa but our favorite is this salad.
Yes. Quinoa is a great food to have available for any guests that have a gluten allergy or are on a gluten free diet.
Absolutely. In fact, we recommend that you prepare it at least 12 hours in advance. This gives the flavors time to develop and really let that apple cider vinegar coat the other ingredients.
We are not the authorities on laws of kashrus but apple cider vinegar is generally accepted as kosher for Passover as long as it is certified.
Quinoa naturally contains no chometz (leaven) or kitniyot. This means that quinoa is kosher for Passover. Quinoa is sometimes either grown near barley or rotated with barley crops and barley is considered kitniyot. This is why some authorities like the Chicago Rabbinical Counsel require special Passover supervision for quinoa.
Substitutions and Serving Suggestions For Quinoa and Cranberry Apple Salad
This recipe is our favorite way to eat the Quinoa Salad with Sweet Potatoes and Cranberries but it is not the only way. If you don't like some of the ingredients we used try these substitutions:
- Cilantro or mint leaves for parsley
- Add some diced green onions to the top of the salad
- Dried cherries for dried cranberries
- Toasted pecans or walnuts for toasted almonds
- Sprinkle on some feta cheese and serve over a bed of spinach or romaine for a full vegetarian Passover main course
- Serve as an appetizer or alongside any chicken or meat dish as the perfect compliment
- Great for a healthy Passover Seder side dish
How to store the Best Passover Quinoa Salad with Cranberries
- Store in the refrigerator in an airtight covered container for up to 3 days. Any longer than that and it can get mushy.
- Do not freeze!
More Passover recipes:
📖 Recipe
Best Quinoa Salad With Cranberries
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa
- 2 medium sweet potatoes
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- 1 medium apple green
- ¼ cup slivered almonds
- 2 tablespoon parsley chopped
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- salt
- pepper
- onion powder
- garlic powder
Vinaigrette
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
To make sweet potatoes:
- Preheat oven to 400ºF.
- Peel and cut sweet potatoes into small cubes.
- Place on baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat.
- Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Toss to evenly distribute.
- Cook for 25 minutes.
To make quinoa:
- Rinse quinoa thoroughly.
- Place quinoa in pot with 2 cups salted water.
- Bring to boil then cover with tight fitting lid and allow to simmer for 15 minutes or until all water is absorbed. You will know it is done when a little strand appears on each grain.
- Fluff with a fork.
- Allow to cool.
To make salad:
- Over medium heat, toast slivered almonds. This does not take long at all; watch closely so they do not burn. Set aside.
- Cut up apple into medium chunks. Set aside.
- Finely chop parsley. Set aside.
- In a large bowl combine quinoa, sweet potatoes, cut up apples. toasted almonds, dried cranberries and chopped parsley. Toss thoroughly to combine.
To make vinaigrette:
- In a small bowl whisk together apple cider vinegar and olive oil.
- Add seasonings and mix together well.
- Pour over salad and toss to coat.
Notes
Pro recipe tips for the Best Quinoa Salad with Dried Cranberries for Passover
- Do not skip the rinsing step. If you don't rinse the quinoa before cooking, it will taste bitter.
- When the quinoa is done cooking, fluff it with a fork before it cools to give it some body.
- Refrigerate overnight for best results.
Inna
Made it today and snuck in a taste! Soooo good! I actually skipped the apple cider vinegar simply because I’m usually not a huge vinegar fan but it came out great with some olive oil, salt, pepper, cumin (Sephardi family) and caramelized onions! Yum!
Ben
Thanks for the feedback Inna.
Marilyn Mudrik
This is the best quinoa salad ever! My husband absolutely loved it. The cumin really adds to the miriad of flavours in this dish. I will be making it year round, not just for Pesach.
Ben
Thank you Marilyn!