A bright, flavorful fennel & pomegranate quinoa salad recipe that is so simple to throw together and is a perfect make ahead holiday side dish! Filled with crunchy fennel, radish and celery, with sweet pomegranates and fresh mint.
‘Tis the season for bright and colorful salads that call themselves things like ‘harvest’ and ‘autumn’.
And I’m jumping on that bandwagon immediately because, honestly, I’m jumping on any bandwagon that involves pomegranates and pecans!
Plus we all know: a crazy salad lady lives around these parts. And I haven’t had my fix in waaay too long!
This fennel & pomegranate quinoa salad is so simple to put together (as salads should be!). Quinoa, pomegranates, fennel, radishes, celery and some fresh mint leaves. Throw in some pecans and toss it all up in an apple cider vinaigrette and we are really talking.
This salad is great because it actually keeps (minus the mint leaves which will brown in the fridge overnight). So you could make this ahead of time for any gathering or holiday meal, and add the mint just prior to serving.
It also made for a deeelicious lunch for a few days last week.
And I know sometimes I go and make salads that have fun goodies like bacon and cheese and even steak in them sometimes, but this salad is truly filled with healthy ingredients.
So if you’ve indulged in some turkey or pumpkin pie or are still working your way through the Halloween candy left-overs, you can actually feel good about this fennel and pomegranate quinoa salad!
Have a wonderful Thursday.
How to make this fennel & pomegranate quinoa salad:
More tasty salad recipes for us!
- this Apple Bacon Spinach Salad with Spicy Maple Walnuts is packed full of goodies
- and this Winter Balsamic Kale Salad with Havarti Crisps is simple and delicious
- and this Wild Rice and Sweet Potato Salad with a Chili Lime Vinaigrette is full of color and flavor!
- Check out my post on How To Open a Pomegranate for tips and a video!
Fennel and Pomegranate Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried quinoa
- 1 fennel bulb cut into small cubes
- 2 tablespoons fennel fronds coarsely chopped
- 2 stalks celery cut into small cubes
- 1/4 cup mint leaves torn into small pieces
- seeds from 1 pomegranate
- 1 bunch radishes cut into small cubes
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
Apple Cider Vinaigrette
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon Dijon
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Cook quinoa according to package directions.
- While quinoa is cooking, prep your salad ingredients.
- Shake together the dressing.
- Toss everything together and serve!
Notes
This salad keeps well for a couple of days, however the mint will brown, so I recommend adding the mint just prior to serving.
Lorraine
This looks fantastic – but I don’t see the pecans in the ingredient list. Wondering if they’re toasted or raw?
Denise
Hi Lorraine, thanks so much for letting me know! I just updated the recipe. You can toast them if you’d like for extra flavor 🙂
traci | vanilla and bean
Oh Denise I absolutely adore this salad. So much delicious, seasonal ingredients and fennel, a veg I’m learning more about and warming up to. No doubt I could devour this whole salad all by my self! Gorgeous my dear!
Denise
Thanks so much, Traci! I am loving fennel these days. Just tried it roasted….SO good!!
Jess @ Flying on Jess Fuel
I love this salad and how seasonal it is!! Fennel is one of my favorites, and I bet it goes amazingly with the pomegranate! Yum!
Denise
Thanks, Jess! I am loving pomegranates right now, and I need to use fennel more often!
Jessica - The Novice Chef
Ohh yum! This sounds amazing. We always make a pre-Thanksgiving turkey since we never have leftovers with such a big family. I can’t wait to make this as a side one night to go with it! 🙂
Denise
That’s such a great idea! We have Christmas dinner at a friend’s house every year and find ourselves missing those left-overs. Thanks, Jessica!
Natalie @ Tastes Lovely
I am obsessed with these pictures Denise! Holy gorgeous! This salad looks amazing too. Perfect for Thanksgiving!
Denise
Thank-you so much, Natalie! It’s easy to take good photos when the food looks pretty 😉 I am tempted to celebrate the American Thanksgiving this year. But I’m too busy to cook a turkey, so maybe not…ha ha!
sue|theviewfromgreatisland
STUNNING salad 🙂
Denise
Thanks so much, Sue! Pomegranates make everything look pretty 😉
marcie
Fennel is so underused isn’t it? I really love it roasted or shaved raw in salads like this! This is just beautiful with all those pretty pomegranates and I definitely need to try this!
Medha @ Whisk & Shout
This salad looks delicious! Love the pops of color and flavor from the pomegranate 🙂
Denise
I am SO happy it’s pomegranate season again 😉 Thanks, Medha!
geraldine | Green Valley Kitchen
This is my kind of salad, Denise – and you know I love salads. Just perfect!
Denise
You make the best salads, so that means a lot to me, Geraldine!
Nora | Savory Nothings
I’m a huge fan of autumnal harvest salads, and an even bigger fan of quinoa in them! So I’m absolutely all over this gorgeous creation, definitely need to feed this to my family soon!
Denise
Thanks, Nora! My arm wasn’t twisted too much to jump on the bandwagon 😉