A goodie-filled salad inspired by a meal in Sedona. This Sedona Quinoa Salad is full of veggies, quinoa, dried fruit, and more. This gluten free, dairy free salad recipe can easily be made vegan by substituting chickpeas for the chicken.
And there, at this little restaurant, I found the Sedona Quinoa Salad: grilled chicken, quinoa, super greens, cabbage, chicory, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, dried craisins, black figs, cinnamon almonds, poppy seed dressing.
It was literally exactly what I wanted at that moment, and it lived up to my expectations. I skipped the almonds because my niece is allergic to nuts. But the salad was still just as delicious. The view was even better (see photo above)!
So here we are at this salad. The Sedona Quinoa Salad, filled with all the goodies you can imagine. A salad filled with goodies is the only way I want to eat salad. I am not a rabbit and have no interest in eating diet food.
Per usual, I used the salad I enjoyed in Sedona as a guide. I was not about to buy all those ingredients individually for one salad.
Ok, I actually was going to because all those ingredients are what made the salad so tasty, but luckily I didn't have to. I mean I don't really need broccoli, red cabbage, green cabbage, Brussels sprouts, and tons of lettuce hanging around my apartment all at one time. Not even I can eat all those veggies before they go bad.
I found a salad mix at Trader Joe's that had brussels, green & red cabbage, kale, and broccoli. Score! Just look for a mix of cruciferous veggies like those. Don't drive yourself crazy trying to find that exact mix.
Next, you'll want to make your quinoa. This salad is a great way to use up any leftover cooked quinoa you have hanging around as well. We also have the chicken which I seasoned with some paprika, garlic powder, and salt and pan-fried. If you're not into chicken you can skip this step and substitute the chicken with cooked chickpeas (about ½ cup per serving).
If you are making your quinoa for the salad, make sure you give yourself enough time to let it cool down before adding super hot quinoa to your cruciferous veggie mix (that would be the kale, cabbage, etc.)
Then you make a little dressing and toss it all together. Remember how I said I was just getting my kitchen together? Well, I forgot poppy seeds, so no poppy seed dressing. While this was sad, it wasn't too terrible (i.e. it was still really delicious).
Once you've tossed all the goodies together you're ready to enjoy. I serve this over a bed of extra lettuce because more veggies is always a good idea.
This salad makes 2 to 4 servings depending on how hungry you are.
If you're serving two Starvin' Marvins then you'll probably only get two servings out of it. But for a regular meal hungry kind of day, you can probably get three to four.
I've been eating this for a few days and feel pretty full after a more modest portion. Hey, cruciferous veggies plus that extra fiber from the dried fruit & quinoa fill you up!
If you're still reading, God bless you. To reward you, I give you the tasty, goodie-filled Sedona Quinoa Salad
Sedona Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
- ½ cup dry quinoa rinsed
- 1 cup water
- ¾ pound chicken
- ½ teaspoon salt divided
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 3 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon mustard
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 6 cups cruciferous veggie mix 5 ounces
- ½ cup dried black mission figs chopped
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- 4 cups salad greens 5 ounces
Instructions
- Add the quinoa and water to a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and cover. Cook for 15 minutes until all liquid has absorbed. Transfer to a large glass or plastic bowl to cool.
- Meanwhile, heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the chicken with ¼ teaspoon salt, paprika, and garlic powder. Add chicken to the hot skillet and cook for 5-7 minutes per side, until chicken is done. Set aside and slice.
- Stir together the vinegar, mustard, honey, and remaining salt in a small bowl. Whisk in olive oil. Pour dressing over cooled quinoa. Stir well.
- Add the cruciferous vegetable mix to the quinoa and stir well to combine. Add in dried figs and cranberries. Toss well to combine.
- Add a cup or two of lettuce to a plate or bowl. Top with quinoa salad mixture (1 ½ cups for a four serving meal or 3 cups to serve two) and a few slices of chicken. Enjoy!
Notes
*If you're not using a non-stick skillet, use an extra 2 teaspoons of oil to cook the chicken. Add when heating the skillet.
*You can transfer the cooked quinoa to a bowl and put in the freezer to help it cool faster. The quinoa doesn't need to be cold, but it shouldn't be hot. You want it to be around room temperature.
*You can use leftover cooked quinoa. You need 2 cups cooked quinoa for this recipe.
*The cruciferous veggie mix can have a combination of red cabbage, green cabbage, broccoli, kale, brussels sprouts, etc. Any mix will work.
*For the salad greens, any lettuce will work. I usually use just a basic spring mix or other lettuce mix.
*Make this vegan by skipping the chicken and substituting cooked chickpeas using ½ cup per serving
Nutrition Facts
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