Quinoa Salad with Roasted Butternut Squash & Pumpkin Honey Mustard Vinaigrette is a healthy recipe great as a side dish for your lunch or dinner. I love rice in any possible combination, but it’s difficult to indulge as much as I want and still be healthy and in shape. In comes my love for quinoa.
My Love for Quinoa…..
Hello my friends. I’m a BIG rice lover, and being from Dominican Republic, I can eat rice for breakfast, lunch, dinner and as a late night snack. Also, I love rice in any possible combination. But it’s very difficult to indulge that much if I want to be healthy and stay in shape. When I decided to look for a grain alternative that will fill my craving for white rice, I changed to brown rice but I never was able to cook a good tender brown rice.
Quinoa is a healthy alternative for white rice
One day watching the Food Network, they mentioned that quinoa is a healthy alternative for white rice and with a higher protein content. Since that moment quinoa has been in my weekly menu but to be honest with you, I was already getting tired of eating the same recipe over and over.
Lately, I found so many recipe ideas which inspired me to be more creative and not be afraid to cook quinoa with anything that comes to my mind. I wanted to cook quinoa with products from our food suppliers but I also wanted to incorporate it with different seasonal produce. Then, when I was looking online for ideas I found a recipe from a blogger named Little Broken and I adapted her recipe with only a few changes including using Pumpkin Honey Mustard instead of Dijon Mustard.
Easy Recipe for Quinoa Salad
This quinoa salad recipe is very tasty with a nutty flavor from the toasted quinoa, sweet from the Pumpkin Honey Mustard and a little bit tart from the dried cranberry. Also, the roasted butternut squash was a hit in this dish because when you roast this vegetable, it helps to concentrate the flavors with a crispy texture outside but is still soft in the inside. The roasting process helps to caramelize and bring out the sweetness of the butternut squash. This recipe is in my “Easy 1-2-3” Collection.
My proud moment was when my official taster, Geoffrey, told me that he loved this quinoa recipe. He really is not a big salad or quinoa fan, so it's a big compliment. Come on! Be adventurous like me and try this recipe and share your experience with me and your friends tagging your photos with the hashtags #QuinoaSalad #PumpkinHoneyMustard and #Spoonabilities.
If you like this recipe and share my love for quinoa, check out this Quinoa Pomegranate Bowl with Greek Vinaigrette and Santa Fe Salad Dressing on a Rainbow Salad that uses bulgur instead of quinoa.
Carlos Leo
Your Recipe Concierge
Quinoa Salad with Roasted Butternut Squash and Pumpkin Honey Mustard Vinaigrette
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
Quinoa Salad recipe with Roasted Butternut Squash and Pumpkin Honey Mustard Vinaigrette. Perfect recipe as an Autumn side dish or main salad.
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Ingredients
For the Quinoa:
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa
- 2 cups of chicken broth
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon of salt
For the Vinaigrette:
- 2 Tablespoons of Pumpkin Honey Mustard
- ½ cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- ½ teaspoon of salt & pepper
Other ingredients for your salad:
- ⅓ cup dried cranberry
- 2 Tablespoons red onion, finely chopped
- 3 Tablespoons toasted pumpkin seeds
- ½ cup shredded carrots
- 1 Tablespoon parsley
- 2 or 3 cups butternut squash chopped in cubes.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 F. I use my convection oven in the roasting setting.
- In a baking sheet, toss the chopped butternut squash with some salt, pepper and olive oil. Arrange the squash in a single layer with space between, this will help to roast evenly. Roast for 25 minutes.
- Heat a sauce pan with some olive oil. Pour the quinoa and toast until is lightly brown, this will give a delicious nutty flavor. Add the 2 cups of chicken broth, the stick of cinnamon and the bay leaf. Simmer for 30 minutes.
- In a large mixing bowl add the ingredients for the vinaigrette. When the quinoa and the butternut squash are ready, add in the quinoa, red onion, toasted pumpkin seeds, roasted butternut squash, shredded carrots, parsley and dried cranberry.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: roasting
- Cuisine: International
Hey there, I'm Carlos, a food and drink enthusiast, recipe blogger and 
Laura
Great idea this quinoa with roasted butternut squash, I would use roasted butternut squash everywhere. I should also cut down on carbs and quinoa is such a great alternative.
Carlos Leo
I love carbs Laura, but I need to be careful because some of the carbs convert into sugar. So, I'm trying to find alternative grains to add to my diet.
Luci's Morsels
This looks delicious and easy enough to make to reheat quickly throughout the week!
Carlos Leo
Hi Lucy, This is a great dish to add it to a meal plan for an easy and quick lunch during the week.
Traci
I love quinoa and butternut squash together. Perfect healthy combination of flavors! Thanks for sharing :)
Carlos Leo
Thank you, Tracey! Yes, they are the perfect combination of flavors and texture.
Katherine Hackworthy
I am saving this amazing recipe! Quinoa is one of the best carbs, it's easy to cook and soooo delicious! Oh, and it's perfect for Fall or Thanksgiving!
Carlos Leo
Thank you, Katherine! Quinoa is on the top of the list of my favorite ingredients.
Molly Kumar
That looks so delicious and I love the fact that it's so light too. The mustard vinaigrette sounds delicious n adds a kick to the sweet combination of pumpkin+squash.
Geoffrey Swetz
Thanks Molly. Yes, that vinaigrette is something special. Hope you give it a try. The pumpkin mustards is great too in so many dishes. Enjoy!
Mimi
I’ve got to find some of this mustard! Love the salad, but the dressing really intrigues me!
Geoffrey Swetz
We're so glad that the dressing intrigues you Mimi. That means our job is done;) We have some of that mustard in stock. You can find it at https://www.spoonabilities.com/product/pumpkin-honey-mustard/ ENJOY!
Platter Talk
We have recently discovered the greatness of quinoa and this salad looks incredibly delicious. The pumpkin honey mustard really sets this beauty apart from the pack. Thanks for sharing this wonderful idea!
Geoffrey Swetz
Thanks for stopping by, and for your comments. Quinoa is a great "secret." Carlos loves cooking all types of salads with it, and I'm finally giving it a chance LOL!