If you are in the Orient, you can get dates of all kinds almost everywhere. I’m a big fan of Medjool Dates, these are the dates that are fresh and not dried, pitted like the ones that are more common in Germany. It’s like biting into soft caramel. They’re also a kind of superfood in their own right – packed with vitamins and high in fiber. Of course, they’re high in calories, so they’re more of a treat than a fruit. But in moderation, I decided to use more dates in my recipes. Vegan Quinoa Power Salad was one of those salad recipes.
Color, texture and crunch! This Arabic-inspired quinoa power salad has plenty of it. We use crunchy carrots, parsley, sweet dates and golden raisins to make this salad extra special. You can use any dates you can find for this recipe. But I’m such a fan of Medjool data that I had to use this one.
This salad is really healthy and is served with quinoa, chickpeas, carrots and pistachios. The dressing is a nice blend of agave syrup, cumin and lemon juice. Delicious!
I originally made this as an accompaniment to a Moroccan main course. You can also serve this vegan powerhouse quinoa salad as a salad dish on its own or bottle it for a healthy office lunch – it’s a truly versatile salad.
Make several batches at once and serve them over a few days – maybe once as a side dish and then a few days later as dinner with some protein for variety. The salad can be kept in the fridge for about 3 days.
If you like our vegan power salad made from quinoa, you may also be enthusiastic about these recipes:
- Udon Noodle Soup
- Teriyaki Baked Japanese Eggplant
- Japanese soup with vegan dashi
- Potato salad with coriander pesto
- vegan tomato and bean salad with fresh peach
- more salad recipes…
Vegan power salad made from quinoa
Equipment
Ingredients Â
for the quinoa salad:
- 100 G white quinoa*
- 250 G Chickpeas* can
- 2 carrots
- 4 spring onions
- 50 G pistachios*
- 60 G Medjool Dates*
- 50 G raisins
- 20 G small bunch parsley
- 1 tbsp. native olive oil*
- ¼ Turmeric*
for the dressing:
- 60 ml native olive oil*
- 3 tbsp. juice of a lemon
- 1 tbsp. agave syrup*
- ½ tsp cumin* cumin
- ½ tsp kosher salt*
- ¼ tsp chili flakes*
InstructionsÂ
- Rinse quinoa and cook in lightly salted water according to package directions. Set aside and let cool.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C.
- Drain the chickpeas in a colander, rinse under running water and drain well.
- Mix chickpeas with olive oil and turmeric. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for about 15 minutes.
- Peel and small dice the carrots.
- Cut the scallions into fine rings.
- Rinse the parsley, shake dry and chop finely.
- Also cut the dates into small pieces.
- Mix quinoa with chickpeas, raisins, spring onions, diced carrots, parsley and dates.
- Whisk together all of the ingredients for the dressing in a food processor or whisk.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and mix.
- Let the salad sit for about 1 hour or overnight.
- To serve, top with chopped pistachios and enjoy.
Nutrition
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