It’s about time I brought back this gorgeous quinoa salad. I first made it five (yes, 5!) years ago, and Abra and I became completely obsessed. I’m pretty sure she still makes it for lunch about once a month because it’s that good.
This Moroccan-inspired quinoa salad is filled with cozy, warming flavors from spices like cumin, turmeric, and cinnamon, and packs tons of plant-based protein thanks to the chickpeas and quinoa. I can’t EVEN describe how delicious it is.
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K wait maybe I can…
I tossed everything together with sweet dried fresh parsley, crunchy toasted almonds, and sweet dried cranberries for bursts of sweet, savory, fresh flavor in every bite. It’s perfect for meal prep and even tastes delish hot and cold, AKA the ultimate lunch goals.
Ingredients in this Moroccan-inspired chickpea quinoa salad
This incredible quinoa salad is like little pops of flavor dancing on my tongue with sweet pops of cranberry flavor and crunchy toasted nutty almonds all with the freshness of parsley in every bite. It’s also vegan & gluten free! Here’s what you’ll need to make it:
- Onion: for a little bit of crispness in every bite.
- Moroccan-inspired spices: we’re using turmeric, cumin and cinnamon to give this dish a wonderful, global flavor and beautiful golden color.
- Quinoa: this protein-packed, gluten free grain truly makes this salad one of a kind. Feel free to use tricolor quinoa if regular, white quinoa isn’t available.
- Broth: I usually use a low sodium vegetarian broth. You can also use chicken broth if you’re not vegan or vegetarian, or opt for water.
- Chickpeas: for a boost of plant-based protein. Yum!
- Dried cranberries: feel free to use dried cranberries or cherries in this recipe. The sweetness is SO delicious in every bite.
- Parsley: for the perfect boost of freshness.
- Sliced almonds: I love the crunch of sliced almonds, but pistachios or pecans would also be perfect.
You won’t believe how easy and delicious this vegan chickpea quinoa salad turns out. Feel free to change up the add-ins, too, with what you have on hand. I have plenty of suggestions below!
Customize it with easy swaps
This chickpea quinoa salad is super easy to customize with the ingredients you have on hand. Here’s what I can recommend to swap or add:
- For the cranberries: you could also use dried cherries or even golden raisins.
- For the almonds: keep the salad nut free by omitting the almonds (you’ll also want to use olive oil instead of coconut oil). As I mentioned, you could also swap the almonds for pistachios or pecans for a different flavor twist.
- Add extra veggies: I love adding peas to this salad! I recommend adding 2/3 cup of frozen peas after the quinoa is done cooking.
Looking for an extra boost of protein?
This Moroccan-inspired quinoa salad packs over 16g of plant-based protein as is, but you could also add cooked, cubed chicken if you’d like to add more protein (and aren’t vegan or vegetarian!)
Tips for making the best fluffy quinoa
Don’t forget to get all of my tips and tricks for making the BEST fluffy quinoa in this post!
Toast your own almonds
I know it can be tricky to find toasted nuts, but it’s super easy (and worth it) to toast your own!
- Add your sliced nuts to a pan on the stovetop over medium-high heat.
- Carefully toss them around until they begin to smell fragrant, which should be about 5 minutes.
That’s it! Toasting them really brings out their flavor and a wonderful crunch.
One pot Moroccan chickpea quinoa salad in 3 steps
- Cook the onion. Start by cooking down your onion in coconut oil until it’s translucent, then stir in all of those cozy spices.
- Add the quinoa. Pour in the broth or water and your quinoa, bring it to a boil, then cover and reduce the heat. Cook it for 15 minutes then remove it from the heat and fluff the quinoa with a fork.
- Add your mix-ins & serve. Fold in the chickpeas, cranberries and parsley until well-combined. Taste and adjust seasonings, then top with your toasted almonds and extra parsley and serve!
How to meal prep this quinoa salad
This easy chickpea quinoa salad recipe makes the perfect meal prep lunch. Simply divide the recipe into 4 separate mason jars or meal prep containers and enjoy it for lunch throughout the week! Garnish your servings with extra toasted almonds. It’s actually delicious served warm or cold!
Simply put, I think you need to make it ASAP for lunch. This is one of my favorite quinoa salads of all time; it’s absolutely wonderful to bring to parties, pack for lunch, or pair with roasted chicken for dinner.
More quinoa recipes you’ll love
- Fiesta Mango Black Bean Quinoa Salad
- Kale, Edamame & Quinoa Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
- Famous Crunchy Cashew Thai Quinoa Salad
- Roasted Carrot Cauliflower Quinoa Salad with Sunshine Dressing
- BBQ Ranch Chicken Quinoa Bowls
Get all of my quinoa recipes here!
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I know you’re going to love this Moroccan-inspired chickpea quinoa salad recipe. Please let me know if you make it by leaving a comment and rating the recipe below. I’d love to hear from you and it helps encourage others to make the recipe too! Enjoy xo.
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
One Pot Moroccan-Inspired Chickpea Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
- ½ tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa
- 2 cups vegetarian broth (or water)
- 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 2/3 cup dried cranberries
- 1/3 cup finely diced flat leaf parsley
- 1/2 cup sliced toasted almonds
Instructions
- Add coconut oil to a large pot and place over medium heat. Once oil is hot add in onion and sauté until onion is translucent, about 3-5 minutes. Stir in the following spices: turmeric, cumin, cinnamon and salt and pepper; cook for 30 seconds more.
- Next add in broth (or water) and quinoa; bring mixture to a boil, then cover, reduce heat to low and cook for exactly 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, remove from heat and fluff quinoa with a fork.
- Stir in chickpeas, cranberries and parsley to the quinoa and mix until well-combined. Taste and adjust seasonings. Garnish with toasted almonds and extra parsley. Serves 4.
- To serve: Place in mason jars or meal prep containers for lunch throughout the week. Garnish with extra toasted almonds.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
235 comments
This looks amazing! I love that its one pot! Can’t wait to try it!
http://www.themilestraveled.com
The fat content seems rather high for the ingredients? But I’m eager to try this. The spice and ingredient choices are awesome. I’m finding you can’t go wrong with Turmeric! Thanks
Where do you see the nutritional info?
Hi Molly! We had a little glitch this morning, but the nutrition has been updated.
So, is this saying there is 448 calories for one serving? Or for all 4?
Yes, for one serving!
Do you know what the WW points would be for this? It looks wonderful!
Hi! I think there’s still an error in the calculations. Of course, depending on the broth you use but should be around 180-200 calories per serving.
Moroccan spices are amazing! Paired with quinoa, chickpeas, almonds, and cranberries, you can never go wrong!
Such a great combo in here! Enjoy 🙂
YUM! This looks so delicious and healthy!!! Can’t wait to try.
It is seriously SO good! Hope you love it!
Made this tonight. Delicious. I used water in place of broth and reduced sugar dried cranberries.
Leaving another review so I can rate this five stars!
Thanks so much, Kim! Glad you enjoyed this one 🙂
what would be a good vegetarian main or another side dish to go with this?
You could use this quinoa salad in these stuffed acorn squash boats! Or serve with this vegetarian curry 🙂
I made this for dinner tonight, it was delicious! I added diced celery and carrot to the onion because I had some that needed to be used up, and I sautéed two chicken breasts (chopped into bite size pieces) with the veggies before adding the spices (which I doubled to account for the extra ingredients). Needless to say, the recipe is very forgiving to changes and it was an awesome meal!
Yum! Yes – this one is perfect for adding in whatever you have on-hand 🙂 Glad you enjoyed!
Do you serve this cold or heated?
It’s actually delicious both ways!
Is this recipe good for freezing?
Delicious flavors and perfect vegetarian meal for lunch!
Ok, this might be a dumb question, but is this meant to be eaten warm or cold? I just prepped it for lunches this week!
Hi Kim! I’ve actually eaten this both warm and cold, and enjoyed both 🙂 Hope you love this one!
great combination of flavors. healthy stuff, gonna try this out.
Yes tons of deliciousness in here! Hope you enjoy this one 🙂
I love the combination! Sounds perfect for a weeknight meal.
Yes – so delicious! It makes great leftovers, too 🙂
This is so good! I made it yesterday and can’t stop grazing on the leftovers. I added chicken, zucchini, and a little lemon juice and it was delicious. This will definitely become a weeknight staple!
So happy to hear that! Those additions sound great, too. Enjoy!
This looks amazing! I love how much protein it has for a vegan dish.
Yes! Everything in here is super flavorful and will keep you satisfied 🙂
Looks lovely -can’t wait to try. Have a silly question are the ‘cups’ American cups. I’m from the U.K. unexperienced cook and am used to grams. Also how long will it keep for in the fridge? Thanks
Hi Tracy! Yes, they are traditional American cups. This should keep in the fridge for about 4-5 days!
I am not a ‘salad’ fan – so i love finding something a little different.
I just had this for dinner with some garlic lemon chicken breast. It was beautiful!
Can’t wait to eat the leftovers for lunch this week!
I’m so happy to hear that! No “boring” salads here – promise 🙂 Chicken sounds like the perfect addition, too. Enjoy!
I made this tonight, and it is delicious! I made the whole recipe, to have some for lunches. I did not change a thing.
Our a.c. is broken, Florida living, and it’s been 80° all day. So the oven did not go on for this. Perfect! Thank you.
I’m so happy to hear that! It’s perfect to prep for weekday lunches. I’m jealous of your 80 degree weather, but yes this is perfect for avoiding that oven!
Made this one a couple weeks ago and it was really great. It was even better the second day! Thanks!
Amazing! I’m so glad you enjoyed 🙂
Made this last night for my lunch today and now tucking in and REALLY enjoying it. I used giant couscous instead of quinoa as I had some in the cupboard. Same dried qty used and turned out great. This is now going to be one of my “go to” lunches 💕
Couscous sounds delicious in here! So glad you found a new go-to 🙂
I’m not really a huge fan of parsley, but I have a bunch of cilantro leftover from making your Crunchy Cashew Thai Quinoa Salad the other night (it was fantastic btw!)… Would cilantro work with these flavors? Or does it really need to be parsley? Also, do you think cashews would work in this instead of the almonds? (Those are also leftover from the other night of the delicious crunchy salad!)
Haha, so I just made this and didn’t have parsley or almonds so replaced them with cilantro and cashews (followed the recipe apart from that) and it turned out great!!! Even better if you add a bit of fresh lemon juice at the end.
Perfect! And a squeeze of lemon sounds delicious.
Could you make and freeze to eat on a later date? Thanks!
I’m sorry, I don’t usually rate your recipes and they are all very good – BUT THIS ONE – OMG!!! Its delicious just as you detailed, I didn’t make a single change and I had two helpings right off the stovetop. Really, SO GOOD!!
Amazing!! So happy to hear that Terri 🙂
I just made this and LOVE it!!! I’m just now transitioning to a vegetarian/vegan diet, and this WILL become a regular in my rotation! Thank you! Now I’m heading over to make the vegan curried broccoli chickpea salad!
This will be perfect for your weekly menu! Hope you love that broccoli chickpea salad too 🙂 Two amazing ones!
Just made this for meal prep for this week and WOW so delicious and filling! The flavors are amazing and I used half veggie broth half water- still so flavorful! I wanted something different to eat during the week than the usual salad for lunch and this is such a great recipe!
So glad you found this one! Such a great weekday lunch 🙂
Crazy good! The flavors absolutely pop. I had to take a generous tasting of the quinoa when it finished cooking because the aromas were amazing. It was a challenge to keep the rest for the salad…..but was worth it. Another keeper!
I’m so glad you loved this one! In love with the flavors in here too. Perfect lunch 🙂
Sounds delicious! Can’t wait to try it!
Hope you love this one!
Made this and it is great! Easy and delicious. Wonderful work lunch!!
Absolutely! So happy you liked it!
Ate it warm yesterday and cold today. I made it with brown rice because I didn’t have quinoa. Delish!
Perfect! I love this one warm and cold too!
Really good! I used my canned chickpeas and quinoa, added half of a halfpint of canned carrots, using carrot broth for liquid. I followed recipe for all else, including spices. Easy recipe to adjust to what uou have on hand. Will make this again!
Perfect! And yes this one’s perfect for using up things in your fridge/pantry. Glad you liked it!
Hi Monique! This is a very off-topic random question but I love the light grey backdrop you do a lot of your photography on! I’m doing Sara’s foodtography school right now and want to order a backdrop from woodville workshop. Did you get yours there? If so which one was it? Any advice would be super helpful!
Thank you!! and P.S. this looks delicious AS ALWAYS! <3
Hello. Love all your recipes. I was just wondering if I could use chicken broth instead of vegetable broth or water or would that clothe flavor profile? Thanks.
Hi Robin! You can definitely use chicken broth 🙂
That should say change and not clothe. Lol!
Hi💛 love this page, made so much of ur recipes already and theyre all wonderful.
quick question, can couscous be subbed for the quinoa 🙂
Hi, What is the size of the portion? 1 cup? Thanks!
Hi! Yes – about 1 cup (maybe a bit more). Enjoy!
DELICIOUSSSSSS!!!!! easy and fasts to prepare…I substitute the cranberries with currants (as I find cranberries a bit too sweet to my liking). Can’t stop eating, doubt I will have leftover for tomorrow’s lunch. Thank you Monique!!!
Perfect! So glad you loved this one!
Is that carb count accurate? It seems high.
I can’t wait to try this recipe but It’s difficult to find canned chickpeas in Malaysia. What would be a good substitute ?
Frozen peas would be yummy or any cooked bean of choice!
I haven’t made this yet but just looking at the recipe, I’m thinking it needs a dressing? Did anyone find it dry? Thank you!
It’s super flavorful – no need for extra dressing!
Just made it and it’s amazing! Thank you for something so delicious, quick and healthy.
So glad you liked it! Perfect for lunch.
Delicious and easy! I tripled the recipe for a party and everything came out perfectly. People loved it and asked for the recipe. This is a keeper.
Amazing! So happy to hear that.
Recently went plant-based and made this to bring in my holiday travels to share -and have something I can eat 🙂 This is SO delicious! Made it oil free (used a little vegetable broth to sauté the onions) and couldn’t find unsweetened cranberries so used sun-dried tomatoes (no oil). Thank you for the recipe and Merry Christmas!
So glad you found this one! Hope you had a wonderful Christmas (and try this salad out next 🙂 )
DELICIOUS!! Flavors are wonderful. Will definitely make it again.
I’m so glad!!
This sounds great but I am allergic to cranberries. Can you suggest something else (raisins maybe) to round out the flavor?
Raisins would be perfect!
I added arugula for some green & crunch and substituted couscous for quinoa since I didn’t have any. So. Good!!
Perfect! Glad you enjoyed.
I made this with chopped dates instead of cranberries. It was amazing!!!
Delicious!!
This recipe is awesome! Wonderful flavors and so easy!
So glad you loved it!
I never leave comments but I am currently eating this and oh my God it is so good! Im not vegetarian so I switched chicken broth for the vegetable broth because it’s what I had and it is so tasty! Thank you for this recipe it’s gonna be a new meal prep go to 🙂
Amazing! I’m so glad you like it 🙂 one of my fav lunches.
Try this
My quinoa took a major wrong turn while making this. I followed the recipe exactly but it ended up taking my quinoa almost an hour to cook, and then I was left with a pot of mush. Any idea what went wrong? I used measurements exactly as directed.
Oh no, so sorry to hear that. You just put in quinoa and broth right? Sounds like there may have been too much liquid or not enough quinoa. I’ve never had this issue and I’ve never had quinoa take more than 15 minutes to make — sorry I wish I knew what went wrong!
Monique, you’ve done it again!! This is fantastic!!! I sauteed the onion in my Instant Pot, added the spices, then the quinoa. I cooked the quinoa mixture the normal amount of time I do if I am making it plain. The toasted sliced almonds are perfect as well!! Thank you!
Perfect! So glad you loved this one Connie 🙂
Made it without cranberries and added shrimp. Spectacular!!
Perfect! Sounds delicious.
Made this for lunches and it is amazing! It has the best combination of flavors: sweet from the cranberries, and savory from the cumin and turmeric spices! I swear the flavors get better over time as leftovers! This will be a staple for me!
LOVE the flavors in this one, too! Makes the perfect leftovers.
So unique, simple, and tasty!
Absolutely!
Great reviews! Will be making this today for lunch. Thank you for sharing the recipe.🌺
Absolutely! Hope you loved it 🙂
This is fantastic and so easy to make. The spices are perfectly balanced. I can’t wait to eat this all week!
So happy you enjoyed! Perfect for meal prep.
This is really good, and easy. Followed exactly except used only 1/4 of the cinnamon and it was strong enough.
Perfect! Glad you enjoyed.
Tried Aug 5, 2019 I omitted the diced flat leaf parsley and the sliced toasted almonds, add 1 cup shredded carrots, soaked cranberries of night. Beautiful colour and GREAT tasted. Served it on top of shredded leaf lettuce. 10/10.
Perfect! So happy you enjoyed.
Can you substitute farro for the quinoa?
Yes that should work!
Hi CAP13, did you make this with farro? How did it turn out if so. Was searching the comments to see if anyone used farro when I spotted your question. Did you use the same proportions as recommended for the quinoa? Like Monique, I love farro and often use it to replace the grain in my recipes. Thanks all! I’m definitely making it this weekend regardless. 👍
Farro would be great in here – same amount! 🙂
Loved loved LOVED!
So easy to put together and super delicious!
So happy to hear that! One of my favorite lunches 🙂
This recipe sounds so good! Can you offer a suggested substitute for the onion? I cannot have onion, in any form. Can you imagine not using onions? The flavor is not there if I leave it out and I have tried using celery in some cases, but that doesn’t work with everything. Please, if anyone can offer some suggestions I would be very grateful.
This one should still be delicious & flavorful without the onion – let me know if you give it a try!
Glad the farro worked out in here! Sounds delicious. We’re working on a fix for the stars, too – thanks for your note!
Delicious! Used raisins instead of cranberries because that’s what I had. Whole family liked it!
Perfect! I love this one with raisins too. Glad everyone liked it!
This was delicious! Perfect for a quick weeknight meal. Just discovered your website and have loved everything I’ve made so far. Thank you!!
Such a great weeknight meal! Glad you loved it and are loving the recipes here 🙂
Monique, would this work with already cooked quinoa/rice? I have a huge stash in the freezer that I need to use up.
I was thinking just tossing everything together.
My other option was using uncooked Banza rice. The concern I had with that is that the rice foams up, and that would probably not be the best.
Let me know your thoughts!
Yes, you can feel free to throw everything together with the cooked quinoa. Just saute it over medium heat until warm! 🙂
Super easy and tasty! Used couscous instead of quinoa and came out amazing.
Perfect! LOVE couscous.
Can I replace quinoa for couscous or farro? Thanks.
That should work just fine!
Just made this… OMG, so good. I made it for meal prep but after tasting my first bite, I dished up myself a bowl to also eat then and there!! It’s so good!! I am a vegetarian and I love quick, easy, healthy flavorful meals for meal prep. This was a home run!
Love it!! One of my fav vegetarian lunches 🙂
This is devine! We make it every week now <3
So happy to hear that! One of my fav lunches.
Unfortunately, I found the instructions for cooking the quinoa to be way off! After 15 minutes, there was still much of the water left in the pot and I had to uncover and crank up the heat for another 15+ to get it to absorb/evaporate. The quinoa was a bit overcooked and not very fluffy – next time, I would probably cook it separately (in excess water, then draining) then add to spice and onion mixture.
Sorry you had that issue, perhaps your heat was too low? I would try again as many have made this recipe with success.
I made two substitutions out of necessity – because I couldn’t run to the store to get what I needed – I used pepitas instead of almonds and cilantro instead of parsley. I served the salad on top of mixed greens that were dressed with a simple balsamic viniagrette. Delicious!
Perfect! Glad you enjoyed!
This recipe for One Pot Moroccan Chickpea Quinoa Salad is ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING! I just use untoasted sliced almonds and it is delicious!
Amazing! Glad you loved it!
This was a terrific recipe- I loved it! I made it exactly as provided. Thanks for sharing.
So happy to hear that!
Excited to try this! For recipes that call for chickpeas…do you shell them? Thanks!
Nope! They can be used straight from the can 🙂
This recipe was delicious! I added some goat cheese on top and a small drizzle of honey which helped add a layer to the flavors and tie them in together nicely.
Perfect! Glad you enjoyed!
This is definitely one of my most favorite dinner meals to make. It makes a lot so I love it as leftover, or even to freeze and eat later. I also will occasionally add ground turkey to this when making it for dinner with my husband as we always feels the need to have meat!
Perfect! Sounds delicious withe the extra protein, too 🙂
Loved it! Perfect for lunches!
Used dried cherries instead of cranberries and reduced amount & walnuts in place of almonds
Preferred cold to warm
Delicious! Glad you enjoyed!
Are there any subs for the quinoa…..such as spinach or Kale?
I’d suggest sticking with a grain otherwise it will just be chickpeas + the toppings. If you’re looking for a grain free option check out this category for some more inspo!
Easy and tasty protein-packed lunch. We are a mixed Indian/American couple so the flavors were familiar to us, in fact, I replaced the fresh parsley with fresh cilantro because that’s what I had, and I think it gave it a bit of an Indian twist. Other modifications: pepper is best to add last because cooking it loses the flavor/heat. I served it with diced cucumber mixed in, and topped with a hard boiled egg. Used both almonds and pistachios! My husband loved it, and I love that the leftovers are enough for tomorrow’s lunch.
Amazing! Great tips, too. Love the idea of adding an egg. Glad you both loved it!
Lovely recipe. I used chicken broth, added raisins, chopped celery, curly parsley and followed the reciepe otherwise. I added some olive oil to finish before putting it in the fridge. It’s delicious hot or cold!! Will make again.
After a summer of eating poorly, we’ve been trying new and healthier meals. This one was bang on. I didn’t have any turmeric so substituted with curry powder. My partner loved it as well. Definitely will make again! Thanks
Amazing! Glad you both loved it!
Great quick and nutritious recipe! I had to cook mine a little longer to allow all the liquid to cook off (perhaps because I kept peeking during the cooking and letting out the steam!) and in the end opted to keep it ‘sticky’ rather than letting it cook dry. I felt like it would have been great with something else – perhaps just a pile of leaves such as spinach or rocket (neither of which I had) or else as a side. Thanks 🙂
Glad you enjoyed! And yes feel free to stir in some greens if you’d like 🙂
Really delicious! Wonderful, healthy family meal. So flavorful you definitely don’t miss meat here. On monthly rotation in our house.
Absolutely! Glad you love this one!
This dish is one of my favorites! It is packed with protein and flavor. Everyone I make it for is instantly addicted too! This is a must try!
So happy to hear that!
This recipe is delicious, but I do find it to be much more of a side dish than a whole meal. It makes for a wonderful meal prep recipe.
I love making this when I want a break from eating meat. Perfect for meal prepping work lunches. Very tasty recipe!
Such a great plant-based option! Glad you loved it 🙂
One of my favorite meal preps for lunches.
I’m so glad!
This recipe is fantastic — love the flavors! It also makes a big batch that keeps well in the fridge and can be eaten throughout the week and paired with different meats. Love it!!
Such an easy but delicious salad to make for meal prep!
Absolutely! Glad you enjoyed 🙂
This salad is delicious! The first time I made it I had no cranberries so I substituted golden raisins.
I added about a 1/4 cup of shredded coconut as well and it was outstanding!
Making it again right now with cranberries this time!
Definitely try the cranberries. It gives it a really nice tangy burst of flavour.
Love that! Such a great lunch or dinner 🙂
Made this tonight with my own adjustments. It was incredible.
I didn’t use almonds, but I used some baby leaf spinach along with the rest of the ingredients stirred in at the end. I was going to use toasted pine nuts but forgot about them, I’ll have to do it next time.
I also made roasted veggies as a side (potato, beetroot, carrot and mushrooms) and it went so well together.
Highly recommend this recipe. Very adaptable.
Perfect! So glad you enjoyed. This one’s great for customizing 🙂
Yummy! But next time I might double up the spices or add ras el hanout to really get the “I’m on vacation” feeling 😁
Perfect! Absolutely feel free to jazz it up 🙂
This is super easy, hearty and delicious. As a vegetarian I’m always in the lookout for easy protein rich meals and this ticks all the boxes. I used crushed walnuts instead of almonds and threw in some roast vegetables and plenty of roasted caramelised GARLIC for extra flavour. This was the missing ingredient and it absolutely makes it!
Pefect! So glad you enjoyed!
This quinoa salad (and all the others) are great! So so good for meal prep because they stay good and taste great throughout the week.
This was delicious! We doubled the recipe and it was great!
But it’s laughable that the prep time is listed as 5 minutes. How does someone cut up an onion, finely dice parsley, and measure out all the ingredients in 5 minutes?
It took me an hour although I was having to fight through a lot of onion tears.
Happy you enjoyed it! And thanks for the feedback. I usually measure as I go for this recipe, but this is good to know!
Just a little curious about something nutrition wise. You post the percentages of everything. However, I am a bit confused because your recipes I’ve been looking up are all plant base with a healthy oil and ingredients. So why is your fat listed as “saturated” fats instead of unsaturated fats??? I ask this because I have to be very mindful of my fat intake and the kind of fat I eat.
Appreciate your time and absolutely look forward to trying out your recipes this week Preparing them today for my lunch this week.
Thanks for some great recipes to try out
Sincerely,
Regina
Hi, Regina! We list both total fat and saturated fat. There’s a small amount of saturated fat in this recipe but it’s mostly unsaturated 🙂
The best morrocan quinoa ever! I added shredded carrot, chopped dates, chopped mint, pistachios, spring onion, a little chopped ref pepper and an orange vinagrette. Amazing!!!
That all sounds INCREDIBLE! Happy you loved it 🙂
Simple, delicious recipe! Loved the Moroccan flavors to change things up a bit. I added Beyond beef with similar seasonings (cumin, cinnamon, turmeric, paprika, ginger and clove), cooked the quinoa closer to 20 min, just until there was no liquid remaining in the pot, and did 1/3 cup each of dried cranberries and dried cherries… otherwise stuck exactly to the recipe. Will definitely make this again!
This isn’t Moroccan at all lol they have the habit of naming everything on this planet ” Moroccan ” make your research people this salad is not Moroccan
Absolutely delicious and quick to make! I splashed some lemon on top and it was perfect.
This was really easy and good. I made minor alterations: 2 tb of olive oil instead of coconut oil, 1 t cumin and 1/2 t tumeric instead, and used raisins instead of cranberried to make it more economical. I’ll definitely make again.
I loved this recipe for work lunches! I used leftover quinoa that I already had cooked, and just added it to the sautéed onion and spices and stirred it all together. It turned out great!
I made this salad for my meal prep dinner. It was so quick and easy to make. I did customize this to what I had in my pantry and thought it turned out great. The flavors were excellent. I will for sure make it again!
YAY! So glad you are loving this salad and it turned out great for you ❤️
Woah, this came out so good! I am a relative beginner to home cooking and had no trouble at all, it was delicious for dinner and has been even better as leftovers– this is definitely going into the rotation, thank you!
Hi,
I was wondering if there is a dressing for this salad as well. Mine came out a little dry and was wondering what would compliment the flavors in a dressing. This salad was a great hit the first time I made it for a friend’s house! Thank you for this great tasting recipe.
Hi MJ – There is no specific dressing for this salad, but if it came out dry, I wonder if the quinoa might have been overcooked?
Great recipe! Made it for a second time yesterday, and it was a big hit. Only changes I made were swapping the cranberries for a 50:50 mix of raisins and dried apricots (cut up and briefly soaked in boiling water to soften them) because that’s what I had on hand, and I used chicken broth instead of vegetable because we’re not trying to be strictly vegetarian. But I also enjoyed it when I made it as written.
Great idea to use a mix! Glad you love this one!
This was excellent. Had it as a warm salad and put some zucchini in . It became a complete meal for dinner . sooooo delicious.. Wasn’t sure how the cranberries would taste but added them anyway. It definitely adds to the flavour. And the toasted almonds add the extra Crunch !!!!! Too good.
Delicious! Glad to hear you are loving this salad and it turned out great for you – LOVE the addition of Zucchini!
Chef’s kiss!!! This recipe is a winner. I will be adding this into my rotation. It was so incredibly tasty. I subbed out the cranberries for golden raisins and it was a good substitution.
I served it with a roasted beet and arugula salad with Balsamic dressing.
AH YAY! I am so happy to hear this recipe is a winner, Lisa. Thanks so much for your comment, I so appreciate it!
Nutritional info should be included.
I love this dish. I followed the recipe and it was fantastic. I had also premade a pan-full of sweet potato hash with onions and added that to the quinoa dish for some added nutritional value.
Wow!!! The carmelized potatoes and onions was a really nice compliment to an already delicious dish.
Amazing! I am so glad this recipe turned out amazing for you and you’re loving it!
Made this with a little different spice than what you used. We had a Moroccan spice blend with red chili flakes, cumin, coriander, caraway seeds, and spearmint leaves. The heat from the spice paired well with the cranberries, and you can’t go wrong with the nuts in there. My husband and I often crave different things, but this recipe his the spot for both of us! Inspired to use other spices and see how it comes it.
That sounds amazing, I’m so glad it worked out and that you both enjoyed it!!
Loved the quinoa, my wife is gluten free and we really struggle to find her recipes. Last week we ate spinach and kale curry… so ya get where we’re coming from.
But really- mason jars! No thank-you. I’ll stick to my plate thanks. 🙂
This is packed full of flavor and it’s super easy to make!
One of my favs salads! Glad you enjoyed 🙂
This was unfortunately unsuccessful for me. Not sure how it got so many good reviews. This was way too much water and turned out more like a porridge than fluffy quinoa. Not very nice honestly.
Very strange! I wish I could help troubleshoot – quinoa cooks at a 1:2 liquid ratio just like rice, which is what we have in this recipe. Make sure your quinoa has a nice simmer going and be sure to not lift the lid until it’s completely done!
My husband and I both loved this! I left out the salt because the veggie broth had plenty of sodium. I also added a 1/2 teaspoon curry powder, substituted cashews for the almonds, and used a combo of cranberries and raisins. The final alteration was to add the chickpeas with the quinoa since we prefer cooked chickpeas. And I had no parsley, but I don’t think we missed it. Thank you so much for giving us another recipe for our plant-based (mostly) lifestyle.
Love it! Glad you both enjoyed!
Easy but not as much flavor as I expected, will try increasing spices/salt and adding red pepper flakes next time
I always recommend adding salt to taste (as everyone’s preferences really vary), so that will definitely help pull out the flavors more!
Very easy and full of flavour! This will definitely be in my regular meal rotation!
So happy to hear that!
Delicious and so easy! I added a few tablespoons of dried coconut and used toasted cashews instead. I will definitely add this recipe to my go-to dinner options!
So good!!
What a fabulous recipe! The textures and all the spices were divine. I made this for my Mum for dinner for us this evening (served hot- can’t wait to try it tomorrow cold). I used our family homemade chicken stock and opted for toasted pistachios and added a touch of curry powder. Delish! 5 STARS! Will definitely be exploring more of your recipes soon!
– L & Mama G from Toronto, Canada
Amazing! So happy you both enjoyed 🙂
This recipe is amazing! It’s almost too good to be so healthy. The combination of seasonings, the sweetness of dried cranberries, and the crunch of the sliced almonds (I toasted mine) are all a delicious and flavorful combination! I have made this several times and will never get tired of it!
One of my favs, too! So glad you love it!
Delicious recipe. Easy to adapt. I did a fridge clean out and put in some spinach to wilt. Then put out little cups of different ingrdients to customize the salad. Blueberries, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and cut-up clementine oranges. A great base salad and a super way to add a side with pizzaz.
Love that! This one’s great for customizing 🙂
So delicious! Added some shrimp and feta cheese think I might make this every week! So flavorful!
That sounds perfect!!
This was superb, thank you!
I just love this power filled salad, will make it every weekend 😀. From Toni Smith
One of my all-time favs, too!!