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    Quinoa Salad with Currants & Pistachios

    Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

    I first tasted this delicious salad when it was prepared in a cooking class I attended. It's full of amazing textures and flavors, and is perfect for a holiday menu, or anytime! This recipe was developed by Chef AJ, and is from her book, Unprocessed, 10th Anniversary Edition: Revitalize Your Health with Whole Foods.

    QuinoaSalad_ChefAJ

    Chef AJ is a chef, culinary instructor, and professional speaker. She is well-known in the health and wellness community, and her successful daily YouTube broadcast, Chef AJ Live!, has 153,000 subscribers and 1,500 videos as of spring 2022!

    QuinoaSalad_ChefAJ_2736

    Chef AJ is the creator of the Ultimate Weight Loss Program, which has helped hundreds of people achieve optimal health through her delicious recipes and straightforward (while humorous) coaching style. She has been eating a plant-inclusive diet for over 43 years. For more information, visit her website ChefAJ.com.

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    Quinoa Salad with Currants and Pistachios


    ★ 5 Stars ☆ ★ 4 Stars ☆ ★ 3 Stars ☆ ★ 2 Stars ☆ ★ 1 Star ☆

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    • Total Time: 45 mins
    • Yield: 6 to 8 (makes 8 cups) 1x
    Print Recipe
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    Ingredients

    Scale
    • 2½ cups water
    • 1¼ cups (8 ounces) uncooked quinoa
    • ½ cup lime juice (about 3 large limes)
    • 3 tablespoons lime zest (from the 3 limes above)
    • 4 medium green onions (scallions), chopped
    • 1 cup Italian parsley leaves, packed (1 ounce), finely chopped
    • 1 cup fresh mint leaves, packed (1 ounce), finely chopped
    • 1 cup currants
    • ½ cup raw, unsalted pistachios, whole or coarsely chopped
    • ½ cup pomegranate seeds (when in season)

    Instructions

    1. To cook the quinoa, place it in a medium saucepan along with the water. Bring to a rolling boil. Reduce heat to a low simmer and cook covered for 20 minutes. After cooking, set the quinoa aside to cool. (The quinoa may also be cooked ahead of time so that it is completely cooled when you are ready to assemble the salad.)
    2. To zest the limes, use a Microplane or other small-toothed grater, and then juice the limes (it's much easier to zest any citrus before juicing it).
    3. Once the quinoa has cooled, place it into a large bowl and add all of the other ingredients, including lime juice and zest. Mix thoroughly. Serve immediately or chill to serve later.

    Notes

    If you do not have limes, orange juice and zest work well; raisins or chopped, dried cherries work well in place of currants; and chopped pecans work well in place of pistachios.

    Quinoa comes in various colors: white/yellow, red, black, or a mix of all three. Any color works in this recipe; the multi-colored quinoa gives it even more visual appeal. To learn more about quinoa and see photos of the varieties, see my Holiday Quinoa Dressing recipe.

    This is a great party or special occasion dish for 6 to 8 people. Double the recipe if you are serving a larger group.

    • Prep Time: 25 mins
    • Cook Time: 20 mins

    Nutrition

    • Serving Size: ⅛ recipe (about 1 cup)
    • Calories: 216
    • Sugar: 16.2g
    • Sodium: 10mg
    • Fat: 5.5g
    • Saturated Fat: 0.7g
    • Carbohydrates: 37.7g
    • Fiber: 5g
    • Protein: 7g
    • Cholesterol: 0

    Did you make this recipe?

    Tag @straightupfood and hashtag it #straightupfood - we can’t wait to see what you’ve made!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Andrea

      November 25, 2013 at 6:24 pm

      Any suggestion for nut allergies? Would sunflower seeds work well or should I just leave them out all together

      Reply
      • Cathy

        November 25, 2013 at 8:45 pm

        Hi Andrea, I'd just leave them out or add some seeds of your choice. 🙂

        Reply
      • loveandkale

        August 05, 2015 at 1:05 am

        I leave the nuts out when I eat it. Just make sure you use the pom seeds.

        Reply
    2. The Wooden Spoon

      December 12, 2013 at 9:46 pm

      I'm always looking for new quinoa recipes. Thanks!

      Reply
    3. Kerry Foley

      December 17, 2013 at 7:13 am

      This is delicious! Next time, I'll double it!

      Reply
      • loveandkale

        August 05, 2015 at 1:06 am

        YAY!

        Reply
    4. Patty

      January 06, 2014 at 8:05 pm

      I was a little skeptical, but the combination of textures and flavors is amazing!

      Reply
      • loveandkale

        August 05, 2015 at 1:05 am

        So glad you liked it.

        Reply
    5. Janet Horton

      July 25, 2014 at 7:00 pm

      Are there any nutritional facts? I am a diabetic and would like carb count. First time on this great site but no nutritional info is provided.

      Reply
      • Cathy

        July 25, 2014 at 8:04 pm

        Hi Janet, no, unfortunately I don't calculate nutrients.

        BTW, you may find this article as well as this article educational about diabetes and its causes and treatment. And this video by diabetes expert and doctor, Wes Youngberg. 🙂

        Reply
    6. Judy DeJaegher

      August 03, 2014 at 8:58 pm

      This was SOOOOO good. I can't wait to make it for my vegan (and non-vegan) friends and family. I really enjoy trying at least one new recipe of yours every week or two. And I've shared your blog with several of my friends.

      Reply
      • Cathy

        August 03, 2014 at 11:14 pm

        Thanks Judy! 🙂 I love that recipe too, so unique!

        Reply
    7. Cathie Lypowy

      August 27, 2014 at 4:20 pm

      I love this recipe!! I used crasins instead of currants and it was delicious. I just cook for myself so how long will the salad last in the fridge? I take some everyday for lunch.

      Reply
      • loveandkale

        August 05, 2015 at 1:06 am

        It lasts at least 3 days but the nuts get soggy so I would add them right before eating.

        Reply
    8. Karen

      October 05, 2014 at 8:41 pm

      This looks great. Can't wait to try it out for my vegan daughter. She has MS and is trying a vegan, oil free diet to reduce symptoms. Your recipes look ideal. Thank you for sharing.

      Reply
      • Cathy

        October 05, 2014 at 11:23 pm

        Hi Karen, Dr. McDougall has some good info about diet and MS on his site, if your daughter hasn't seen it.

        Reply
    9. Hillary

      January 04, 2015 at 7:44 pm

      This is the most delicious quinoa salad I have ever tried; a veritable flavor explosion in the mouth. So good! Thank you for posting this.

      Reply
      • loveandkale

        August 05, 2015 at 1:04 am

        so glad you loved it!

        Reply
    10. Deb Christy

      July 16, 2015 at 2:03 pm

      Love love love all your recipes and can't wait to try this one of Chef AJ's! For first time around I believe I will half it as I am making this for ME! Thanks again!

      Reply
      • Cathy

        July 16, 2015 at 2:38 pm

        That's a good idea Deb; it's big! Thanks! 😉

        Reply
      • loveandkale

        August 05, 2015 at 1:04 am

        So did you like it?

        Reply
    11. Jill Princehouse

      November 23, 2015 at 1:59 am

      How far in advance of serving can I make this salad?

      Reply
      • Cathy

        November 23, 2015 at 2:06 am

        I'd say the day you're going too serve it or night before. 🙂

        Reply
        • Jill

          November 24, 2015 at 11:38 pm

          Would it compromise the salad to add some lettuce to it?

          Reply
          • Cathy

            November 24, 2015 at 11:52 pm

            I think it would be fine. But if you haven't tried it as is, I highly recommend it. It's one of my favorite salads and all types of eaters fall in love with it. It's just one of those magical combinations. 🙂

            Reply
            • Jill Princehouse

              November 25, 2015 at 6:06 pm

              I was asked to bring a green salad for Thanksgiving, but I really want to make this one-never tried it, but all of your recipes are good. I was just thinking I could accomplish both the request and my desire to make something different by adding lettuce. I'll make the salad without and see how I feel about adding lettuce. Thanks so much. And Happy holiday.

              Reply
              • Cathy

                November 25, 2015 at 6:40 pm

                Ah. I think it will be better w/o lettuce. But you might want to let the host know; or bring both. 😉

                Reply
    12. Stephen

      December 26, 2016 at 1:34 pm

      This was a big hit with a Christmas dinner crowd who are not even close to nutritarian, i.e huge prime rib was the center piece. I was put in charge of veggies to bring. Took a chance on this dish since I had not made it before yesterday/
      Even so, the guests really liked this dish. I used multi-colored quinoa to give it some nice color. I read on the web that zante currants are not true currants, but they were a well received. I had to use frozen pomegranate seeds so they were not as full and color full as the picture.
      A nice addition to my go to items.

      Reply
      • Cathy

        December 26, 2016 at 2:10 pm

        Yay! 🙂 I love this dish! Such interesting flavors.

        Reply
    13. Carol

      May 08, 2018 at 9:06 pm

      This seems like a lot of fresh herbs. When you say "1 cup fresh mint leaves, packed (1 ounce)", is 1 ounce by weight? One cup is 8 ounces.

      Reply
      • Cathy

        May 30, 2018 at 4:43 pm

        Hi Carol, this confusion arises out of the fact that there are "weight" ounces as well as "fluid" ounces. The 1 cup here is volume of leaves and the 1 ounce is the weight of the same amount of leaves. Both are right. You can learn more about this here if you like. 🙂

        Reply
    14. Dawna King

      August 22, 2018 at 1:15 pm

      Delicious! I love Chef AJ's salad recipe! Although, I have made this numerous times, I'm curious how it would taste with black beans as I am considering the recipe for a mexican feast. Have you tried it?

      Reply

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