Carrot Quinoa Salad

Carrot Quinoa Salad

Move over pumpkin spice, here’s a new fall favorite you’ll love. With carrots, dates, dill, arugula, pumpkin seeds, and feta, this not too fussy salad is quick to whip together and delicious. This flavorful bowl of yum is a perfect blend of sweet and savory, dates and feta are always a perfect combination. But it’s the fresh dill that really makes this recipe pop, it’s not to be left out! Did I mention this carrot quinoa salad is uber-healthy?

Quinoalicious

I love the texture of quinoa and enjoy the flavor, but equally exciting are the healthy benefits of eating quinoa. Quinoa packs a lot of protein (about 8 grams of protein per cup) which makes this tasty salad not only a great side dish but a wholly nutritious meal on its own. Added bonus, the pepitas in this carrot quinoa salad recipe are high in protein as well. Quinoa is also loaded with fiber, manganese, magnesium, iron, antioxidants, and it’s gluten free-a true superfood. Yum!

Carrot Ribbons

Sounds complicated, but I promise it is not! If you can peel a potato, you’ve got this. First, clean the carrots, and then to make the carrot ribbons I just use a peeler. Yup that’s it, no magic tools just a good ole manual peeler. Once the carrot gets too small to peel I chop the remaining amount into matchsticks and toss them in the salad too. Ribbons work great in this salad, they are not too dense, but still deliciously crunchy, adding to all the other wonderful textures of this salad.

Now, let’s get cooking!

Carrot Quinoa Salad

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Delicious fall flavors in this tasty bowl. Great as a side salad or hearty enough as a stand-alone lunch. This salad packs a whole lot of flavor.

• Author: Erica
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: 8 servings 1x
• Category: Salad
• Cuisine: Healthy
• Diet: Vegetarian

Ingredients

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• 1 cup of red quinoa, cooked
• 4 carrots
• 4 cups of arugula
• 8 dates, pitted and chopped
• 1/2 cup of pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
• 1/2 cup of crumbled feta
• Large handful of fresh dill, chopped

Dressing

• 4 lemons, juiced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt, generous amount of freshly ground pepper

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Instructions

1. Cook the quinoa per the manufacturer’s instructions. Set aside to cool.
2. Cut the carrots into ribbons using a peeler. When the carrot is too thin to peel, chop the remaining amount into matchsticks.
3. Make the dressing. In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Be generous with the pepper, it really makes the dressing.
4. Combine the quinoa, carrot ribbons/matchsticks, arugula, chopped dates, pepitas, feta, and dill in a large bowl. Make sure the quinoa has cooled before adding it to the bowl so it does not melt the feta. Lastly, add the lemony dressing and stir to combine. Yum!

Notes

Keeps in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.