Rainbow Quinoa Salad Recipe (2024)

This is a keeper. Really delicious whether the quinoa is warm or room temp. Nice dish to prepare ahead of time and bring to a picnic, too. Like Kate I used maple syrup in the dressing in lieu of the pomegranate molasses, and added a splash of balsamic. There's really so little of it that you can hardly, if at all, tell the difference.

Excellent. Loved the lemon/pomegranate molasses/garlic dressing. And for those of you wondering if you should get pomegranate molasses - do so! It is one of my favorite things. Quite sour but with a great depth of flavor. I like marinating chicken breasts in it with a little soy sauce and pepper. I can find it in the "import" section of my supermarket.

This recipe made a quinoa lover of my husband. I had to make a few substitutions to avoid a trip to the store: extra mint and parsley instead of cilantro; cashews instead of pistachios, maple syrup instead of pomegranate molasses, and red palm oil instead of olive oil (for added nutrition). Absolutely delicious!

It's easy to make pomegranate molasses:
Ingredients
•4 cups pomegranate juice
•1/2 cup sugar
•1/4 cup lemon juice
Method
In a large, uncovered saucepan, heat pomegranate juice, sugar, and lemon juice on medium high until the sugar has dissolved and the juice simmers. Reduce heat just enough to maintain a simmer. Simmer for about an hour, or until the juice has a syrupy consistency, and has reduced to 1 to 1 1/4 cups. Pour out into a jar. Let cool. Store chilled in the refrigerator.

Quinoa is quinoa. Using a different color is an aesthetic choice. Use what you have. This recipe is based on one which uses couscous. Any grain would do, although obviously would change the recipe a bit in terms of taste and texture.

I kept looking at the recipe and something seemed off, to me. Then "the light bulb" moment, the ratio of liquid to quinoa. I use a ratio of 2:1, liquid to quinoa, not 4:1. So 2 cups of liquid to 1 cup quinoa. My liquid of preference is vegetable stock. I did not try using the 4:1 ratio. We love this recipe! So quick and easy to prepare and have ready to take to the office for lunch!

Keeps great overnight (or over two nights). I usually serve topped with some crumbled goat cheese over a bed of arugula. Terrific.

Delicious. Preparation time is deceiving--washing, chopping herbs was time consuming. I took advice of others and reduced water to 2 cups. This eliminated straining as quinoa absorbed it all. I added bits of roasted chicken. For the nuts I used almonds, walnuts and pine nuts. Next time will try cashews. It's obvious why there are so many positive reviews for this recipe. It's a winner.

I made this the night before a school potluck dinner. I tripled the recipe, which made a large amount. The flavor improved overnight. I left out the nuts and added roasted rapini. It was very well received. This will be my new favorite potluck recipe.

Delicious, and I cast another vote for pomegranate molasses (one of my current obsessions). This is quite similar to other salads I make frequently make, so I incorporated elements that appeal to me, namely diced red pepper, radishes, and quartered sungold (or cherry) tomatoes. Was SO good I could eat it three times a day. Very nice accompaniment to grilled chicken breasts that were marinated in balsamic vinegar, lots of garlic and a few herbs.

Used cranberries, prunes and dried cherries. Added apple and grapes. Could add more as one cup of quinoa overpowered the additions. Good. Kok.

I agree. Pomegranate molasses is a MUST! The flavor is amazing.

Martha, love your recipes but I wish you would pick ingredients that can be found in mainstream stores. I live in S. CA and I shop at two high-end, high quality stores and I've NEVER seen pomegranate molasses. Thanks to the suggestions from others, I can get around this. But, please try to put ingredients that can be easily found or at least provide a suitable substitute.

This was so delicious and filling for a week's worth of lunches. I used dried apricots and garnished with pomegranate seeds, as well as mixed in some arugula. I also subbed in maple syrup when I couldn't get my hands on pomegranate molasses.

To avoid the extra sugar of all dried fruit, I added a tablespoon of fig spread to the dressing. I then coarsely chopped nuts (pistachio, cashew, and walnuts) before adding to quinoa. Took the idea of the fig spread and added it to my balsamic dressing and it turned out great also.

This was delicious. Substituted celery leaves instead of cilantro, and added some baked delicata squash, cut small. Do find the pomegranate molasses, you'll be making this again on rotation. :)

Easy to make your own pomegranate molasses. Just get some Pom, add a tiny bit of sugar and a bit of lemon juice to taste (or not!) and simmer on a stove, stirring periodically until it becomes syrupy.

I really liked the combination of flavours in this recipe. I made it for a lunch spread alongside some soup and bread for a group of 8. When I tossed everything together I felt like I needed to bulk it up a little to be able to feed 8 persons. So what I did: I added some oven roasted carrots, a can of chickpeas and stirred the final salad through some raw spinach for extra volume. This worked wonderfully and even resulted in some leftovers for tonight.

Made this with cranberries. Huge hit for the dinner party. I do not stock pomegranate molasses so I just used maple syrup, as others suggested. I don’t know what I’m missing, but it obviously worked out!

I really wanted to like this but it just did not deliver for us. I did follow the recipe and I do love all the ingredients that go into this dish. Everyone at dinner did not hate it but stated it was not something they would ask for again.

This was delicious. I made my own pomegranate molasses by reducing pomegranate juice without adding a thing! I served with some sliced avocado and roasted sweet potato. Used dates with the 3 suggested nuts. It was a winner. Perfect for potlucks or picnics.

Definitely use the absorption method with 2 cups of water or broth. Turned out terribly mushy with 4 cups of liquid.

Calling for pomegranate molasses is such a reach, I used honey instead and it was fine. Overall this dish was very dense - would definitely recommend having it over arugula or something else. A little bland - would also add more salt

note/serve over argula with goat cheese crumbles

Love this, but this time i really loved it!Forgot the fruit, no cinnamon, and used maple syrup. Used 3 types of nuts and all the herbs. Yowza. Less sweet, more fresh.Next day heated it with some cooked chicken and served on pasta.

Excellent. Definitely into a rotation. Even better on day two when flavors meld. Did cut cinnamon to ¼ tsp. And that was just right, even for a cinnamon lover like me. Used Mulberry Molasses. Didn’t have any cilantro, and not much parsley, but had plenty of baby arugula. It worked perfectly. I think a healthy amount of dark greens adds to this salad. This was a great way to deal with some extra cooked quinoa from Martha Rose Shulman’s Whole-Wheat Quinoa Bread, which was also amazing!

For something more hearty and less sweet, I substituted 2-3 cups of roasted butternut squash for the dried fruit. So good!

Add arugula and goat/feta cheese!

I've made this several times and it's always delicious. I add the fruit and nuts to taste because I like more quinoa and veggies vs the fruits and nuts. The last time I made it I just used a fruit and nut mix from Trader Joe's that I chopped up. Worked perfectly and no measuring haha.