Harvest quinoa salad is full of roasted sweet potatoes, diced apple, pecans, goat cheese and dried cranberries and finished off with balsamic vinegar and olive oil for a delicious side salad that’s perfect for fall.

We had a late summer weekend with pool time and lots of playing with friends. And I had some good visit time with my parents.

But now that the mornings are getting a little cooler here in N.C., I'm getting really ready for fall. I'm talking boots and sweaters, fall decor and all the fun flavors. We're not quite there yet, weather wise though. But even if the highs are still in the upper 80s and low 90s this week, I'm going to be moving our menu decidedly into autumn.

So let’s move along to the food.

This harvest quinoa salad has some of my favorite flavors of fall all together in one place.

We’ve got roasted sweet potatoes, crunchy apple pieces, nutty pecans, creamy crumbled goat cheese, chewy dried cranberries and a balsamic vinaigrette to bring it all together.

Seriously good and I can’t stop eating it!

And if it sounds familiar, well, it’s a different taken on my harvest farro salad. (If you are a farro lover like me, definitely try that version too!)

We also adore this one pot harvest chicken skillet every year around this time.

There’s something about the bounty of fall, the colors and warmth of the ingredients, and just the coziness of a dish like this that feels so good to me. (Which must be why I keep making more and more recipes along these lines.)

Bonus: This recipe is super healthful, so you will feel really good about yourself as you dive in for forkful after forkful. After forkful…

OK, let’s get to it.

Now, I’ve got some notes and substitutions coming up below on how to make harvest quinoa salad. Just tryin’ to be helpful.

If you want to jump on down to the recipe, simply scroll right on through the rest of the text. The recipe card is near the bottom of the page, above the comments section.

Notes on making harvest quinoa salad:

• Quinoa: This is a quinoa salad, so yup, it uses quinoa. However, you could substitute another grain if you prefer. Farro, barley or brown rice would be good options.
• Sweet potatoes: I roast the sweet potatoes with just olive oil, salt and pepper. However, you could add some cinnamon or a tiny bit of nutmeg to give the salad a bit more warmth if you’d like.
• Apples: I recommend a sweet, crisp apple for this. Fuji or Gala are my go-to choices, but Honey Crisp or Cripps Pink would be great as well.
• Nuts: I like chopped pecans but walnuts will work too. (Tip: Buy the chopped kind at the grocery store. They are much cheaper than the whole, intact nuts.)
• Goat cheese: I love the creaminess it brings to the salad. You could also try this with feta cheese or another soft cheese. Or leave it out if you need this to be dairy-free or vegan.

Oh, and if you are a veggie lover like me, you could definitely add some chopped fresh spinach to this salad for a bit of greens.

So, this is plenty flavorful as is. We’ve got so many good ingredients all mixed in.

But if you would like to add some toppings, well, you know I’m all about it! Here’s a few ideas to get you thinking.

Toppings for harvest quinoa salad:

• Sliced green onions
• Chopped fresh herbs (such as parsley or basil)
• Grated or shredded Parmesan
• Cooked, crumbled bacon

Can you think of any others that would work well here?

OK, let’s round out this meal so we can eat!

Here’s a few ideas of what else to serve at dinner.

What to serve with harvest quinoa salad:

– Grilled or roasted chicken (or pick up a rotisserie chicken at the store to keep things easy)

– A quick skillet chicken, like 15-minute paprika chicken or turmeric chicken

– Roasted pork tenderloin or pork chops (like spice-rubbed pork chops)

– Roasted salmon or your favorite fish

Your protein can be kept pretty basic, flavor wise, since this salad has so much flavor going on itself.

Oh, and if you have leftovers of the salad, it makes a great lunch the next day or later in the week.

I prefer it slightly warmed in the microwave. And I’ll add some extra balsamic vinegar if I feel like it needs a little freshening up.

I hope you give this a try to welcome autumn in your kitchen.

Enjoy!

XO,

Kathryn