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APPLE QUINOA SALAD + TAHINI MAPLE DRESSING

top down view of healthy vegan apple quinoa salad recipe with grapes, mint and sweet tahini dressing in a serving bowl.

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Apple Quinoa Salad features apples, grapes, celery, raisins and almonds tossed with heart healthy quinoa and a sweet tahini dressing. It’s a flavor sensation to enjoy often!

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 cup quinoa (I used tri-color)
  • 1 3/4 cup water
  • 1 lemon, juice of
  • 2 large apples, cored and diced (1 green + 1 red, or 2 same color)
  • 1 1/2 cups grapes, sliced in half
  • 1 celery rib, thinly sliced
  • 1/4 cup raisins (or cranberries)
  • 1/4 cup almonds (slivered or chopped)
  • a few large mint leaves, julienned
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, or to taste
  • salt & pepper, to taste

Sweet Tahini Dressing

  • 1/4 cup tahini
  • 3 tablespoons water
  • 12 tablespoons pure maple syrup
  • 1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar, or to taste (optional)

Instructions

Quinoa: Rinse your quinoa in a fine mesh sieve. In a medium size pot, add water and quinoa, bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove cover and let set 15 minutes, fluff with a fork.

Dressing: While quinoa is cooking, prepare your dressing by combining ingredients in a small bowl. Mix well and set aside to let the flavors relax into each other. Add more water, 1 teaspoon at a time, to thin as needed. To thicken add more tahini. It should be thin enough to drizzle. Dressing serves four.

Salad: Core and dice apples, top with lemon juice and toss gently (I did this right on the cutting board to not dirty up another bowl). Prepare the remaining ingredients. Add the apples, grapes, celery, raisins, almonds, mint leaves and cinnamon to the quinoa, mix well. Taste for flavor adding more cinnamon if you like.

Spoon into serving dishes and serve with a good drizzle of the sweet tahini dressing.

Serves 4 – 6

Notes

I used 1 granny smith and 1 fuji apple. Feel free to use your favorite apples.

This recipe is just a template, feel free to try these ideas:

  • Sub in unsweetened cranberries for the raisins (I use raisins because they contain no added sugars and I can find organic ones easily).
  • Opt to leave the celery or grapes out using just apples (or use any combo you like).
  • Add in a grated carrot for more color.
  • Add more cinnamon if you like.
  • Use pecans, pistachios or walnuts instead of almonds.
  • Try adding a handful of leafy greens such as baby arugula, spinach or kale.

Have fun playing around with this making it your own.

Store at room temperature if eating within a few hours or store in the refrigerator until ready.