Main navigation

Food Faith Fitness

Nourishing your body, mind and soul

By 71 Comments

Quinoa Salad with Pistachios, Cherries, and Honey Balsamic Kefir Dressing

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #KefirCreations #CollectiveBias Pistachio Cherry And Feta Quinoa Salad - Crunchy, sweet and tangy this is SO easy and delicious! |www.foodfaithfitness.com| #Recipe #Quinoa #Salad This quinoa salad is sweet, crunchy and has a little Kefir tang! It’s super healthy, gluten free and makes a quick and easy weeknight dinner!

‘Tis is the season. The season for Kefir.

At least that’s what the word on the street is. And by “word on the street” I mean the word in my house. Pistachio Cherry And Feta Quinoa Salad - Crunchy, sweet and tangy this is SO easy and delicious! |www.foodfaithfitness.com| #Recipe #Quinoa #Salad And by that I mean, Mr. FFF already drinks Kefir all the time…so it’s ALWAYS the season for Kefir.

I don’t know where this is going. As usual. You understand.

Moving on.

Kefir, do you know it? It’s the smooth, cousin of yogurt and it has ALL the probiotic cultures. You know what that means?

Drink it and you will have one :), balanced digestive system. Pistachio Cherry And Feta Quinoa Salad - Crunchy, sweet and tangy this is SO easy and delicious! |www.foodfaithfitness.com| #Recipe #Quinoa #Salad Like I mentioned above, the huberskerdoo has a very 🙁 digestive system about 89.97% of the time, so he drinks this stuff on the reg’.

How-ev-er, he always buys fruity flavored ones so that he can add them into his daily orange smoothie making escapades. And, yes, they are escapades.

Every time the hub-o-rama is in the kitchen making something, it’s a BIG DEAL.

The other day, while we were perusing the refrigerated aisle at Winn Dixie, I noticed that among the strawberry banana and raspberry flavors, there was a bottle of plain Lifeway Kefir.

AHA! I had a moment. Pistachio Cherry And Feta Quinoa Salad - Crunchy, sweet and tangy this is SO easy and delicious! |www.foodfaithfitness.com| #Recipe #Quinoa #Salad A “kefir-it’s-not-just-for-smoothies-anymore” kind of moment.

So, I made it into the easiest, 3 ingredient dressing that you will ever make in your life.

And then I threw it (read: poured. Do not THROW your dressing unless you enjoy cleaning the ceiling) onto the EASIEST of the eas quinoa salad.

You guys. I am in <3 with this for the rest of time. As in, I would marry it if I could.

And, yes, I told Mr. FFF that.

He understood. Pistachio Cherry And Feta Quinoa Salad - Crunchy, sweet and tangy this is SO easy and delicious! |www.foodfaithfitness.com| #Recipe #Quinoa #Salad Actually he didn’t. But that is neither here nor there.

Do they make wedding rings the size of grains of quinoa anyway? Things to ponder.

Just like in the Moroccan chicken skillet, You’ve got a little crunch action with some pistachios. And then there’s the mega creamy feta cheese to make sure it isn’t TOO crunchy. Crunchy like whoa.

Gotta keep those ‘stachios in line. Pistachio Cherry And Feta Quinoa Salad - Crunchy, sweet and tangy this is SO easy and delicious! |www.foodfaithfitness.com| #Recipe #Quinoa #Salad Sidenote: My bag of pistachios has a mustache on the front, and it says “mustachio.” I die.

Back to quinoa salad.

The dried cherries and the Kefir pair up, do a little quinoa mambo and a little bit of sweet and tangy magic happens.

The CRUNCHY. The CREAMY. The SWEET. The TANGY. Pistachio Cherry And Feta Quinoa Salad - Crunchy, sweet and tangy this is SO easy and delicious! |www.foodfaithfitness.com| #Recipe #Quinoa #Salad   Oh delicious quinoa salad, you make my belly and my taste buds smile.

Pistachio Cherry And Feta Quinoa Salad - Crunchy, sweet and tangy this is SO easy and delicious! |www.foodfaithfitness.com| #Recipe #Quinoa #Salad
Print

Quinoa Salad with Pistachios, Cherries, and Honey Balsamic Kefir Dressing

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 4 -8
Author Taylor

Ingredients

  • For the salad:
  • 2 Cups Water
  • 1 Cup Quinoa uncooked
  • 1/3 Pistachios shelled
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 3/4 Cup Reduced-sugar dried cherries roughly chopped
  • 1 Cup Reduced-fat feta cheese crumbled
  • 1/4 Cup + 2 Tbsp Fresh basil minced
  • For the dressing:
  • 1/2 Cup Plain Lifeway Kefir
  • 4 tsp Honey
  • 4 tsp Balsamic vinegar

Instructions

  2. In a large pot[/url], bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Once boiling, stir in the quinoa. Cover, reduce the heat to low and cook until the moisture is absorbed (about 15 mins.) Once cooked, transfer the quinoa to a[url href=http://amzn.to/1iXgTcf target=_blank]large bowland place it into the refrigerator until cooled.
  3. While the quinoa cooks, preheat your oven to 400 degrees and line a small baking sheet with parchment paper. Toast the pistachios in the oven until lightly golden brown, about 10-12 mins. Set aside.
  4. Once the quinoa has cooled, stir in the salt, chopped cherries, crumbled feta cheese and minced basil.
  5. Roughly chop the toasted pistachios and add them into the salad. Stir until everything is well mixed.
  6. To make the dressing:
  7. Stir the kefir and honey together in a medium, microwave- safe bowl. Microwave the mixture until the honey is melted and easily mixes into the kefir, about 30 seconds.
  8. Stir in the balsamic vinegar.
  9. Pour the dressing over the salad, mix will and DEVOUR

FOR THIS RECIPE, I RECOMMEND:

Pistachio Cherry And Feta Quinoa Salad - Crunchy, sweet and tangy this is SO easy and delicious! |www.foodfaithfitness.com| #Recipe #Quinoa #Salad

Pistachio Cherry And Feta Quinoa Salad - Crunchy, sweet and tangy this is SO easy and delicious! |www.foodfaithfitness.com| #Recipe #Quinoa #Salad

Want more Quinoa?

Grilled Mojito Chicken Quinoa Bowls

Grilled Mojito Chicken Quinoa Bowls

Date and Banana Quinoa Breakfast Bake

Date and Banana Quinoa Breakfast Bake

Raspberry Cheesecake Stuffed Quinoa Bites

Raspberry Cheesecake Stuffed Quinoa Bites

Pin
Yum
Share
Stumble
Email

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Taylor, the photos are beautiful and this salad looks amazing! I’ve never had kefir! I was kind of intimidated by it 🙁 I’ll have to try it now though because half the time my stomach is 🙁 too…such is life.

    Reply

    • Thanks Bri! These are actually my most current and most favorite pics (although I am still scheduled till Sept 😉 ) So that means a lot!
      Oh no! You must try it then! the hubs says it helps a lot!

      Reply

  2. The CRUNCHY+The CREAMY+ The SWEET+The TANGY=THE BIGGEST FOODGASM in a bowl!
    I love me some kefir – lile your “huberskerdoo” I love it in smoothies or just straight up in a shot glass! But I haven’t ever thought of trying the plain version in a quinoa salad – or cooking with it in any way – This is plain BRILLIANT!

    Reply

    • HAHA @ Foodgasm…that made my day!
      Thanks Shashi! You must try it then if you already drink the stuff. The hubs got me hooked on it, so tangy and healthy and YUM! 😀

      Reply

  5. What a creative quinoa recipe, Taylor! I’ve never actually tried Kefir before, but I’ve seen it. So now I’m intrigued! 🙂 And I’m always looking for new ways to use quinoa…love that stuff! Gorgeous pictures, too!

    Reply

  14. Taylor, how genius are you!? I love the idea of using kefir in dressing. Also, this salad has exactly every single thing I am craving right now. This is going on the stove for dinner tonight, pronto 🙂

    Reply

    • Woo hoo! Thanks Amy! I am glad you like the idea and I hope your taste buds like the salad even more! Please let me know if you try it girlfriend! 😀

      Reply

  15. Mind. Blown. I spend months making homemade kefir recipes for DPD and not once did I think about using it as a dressing. What. The. Haystack? I’ve been missing out for so long! I love this fresh and funky quinoa salad with all that probiotical dressing. Bravo, sister!

    Reply

    • Haha! I TOTALLY thought of you and Kefir ways when I was making this salad girl! You will be all over this like white on riiiiiice!
      Thank ya! 😀

      Reply

  17. AHH combo is a match made in heaven 🙂 I need some healthy summer lunches (I’ve been eating way too many cakes recently! – It’s been one after another!), so I could really use something so light yet wholesome 🙂 Fab recipe and theme! x

    Reply

    • Is there really such thing as too much cake Tash? Haha!
      Thanks for the love, I think you would love this!

      Reply

  18. I love kefir!! I don’t have digestive problems I just like it lol I think because I know probiotics are so good for you! Creative way of eating it Taylor! And seasonal with the cherries 🙂 ouh la laaaa! Tots have to try this! Thanks a million!

    Ps love all the hubby terms you have! Makes me laugh 😉 I want a husband so I can do that too!

    Reply

    • Oh yay! I am glad you are familiar with kefir- and love it! This is totally up your alley then girlfriend!!
      I am glad you enjoy them…him? not so much! Haha!
      Go online..that’s where I snagged him 😉

      Reply

    • HAHAH! Oh my, it took make so long to figure out how to pronounce it! Thanks Janie Lynn! I hope you like it if you try it!

      Reply

    • Oh, if he has tummy problems Kefir would be awesome for him lady! And thanks, I like the way you think…defs no sharesies! 😀

      Reply

  22. Love quinoa (would totally marry it too), love pistachios (mustachios – super cute), and love feta too! So, basically you just made a salad for me 🙂
    I’ve never tried kefir before, in fact I’m not entirely sure I’ve ever seen it in Aussie stores. Might have to make a trip to the health food store this weekend….Chris had better hide the credit card 🙂

    Reply

    • Haha I am so glad that I am not the only one that loves mustachio!
      Wait, you live in Australia! I AM SO JEALOUS! You want company? 😉
      Thanks Amy! If you can find Kefir, you will lurve it! And….just do what I did…get your own credit card 😉 THE DANGER!

      Reply

    • Our husbands would be besties I swear…and so would we!
      Haha yes, most defs will! Thanks for the pin girl!

      Reply

    • You are too sweet! Thanks for the love and pin girlfriend!! Definitely get up on the quinoa salads, lurve them!

      Reply

  26. What a gorgeous recipe, and if it tastes anything like the photos look, I bet it’s out-of-this-world!

    I’ve never tried kefir before, though I’ve seen it in the grocery store and always thought, “Hmm. What could I do with that? Other than add it to a smoothie.” And you, lady, have answered that question. So next time I’m grocery shopping, I’ll just have to pick up a bottle and see how well loved this recipe is in our home!

    Reply

    • Thank you so much Erin! I really appreciate that!

      I am glad that I solved the Kefir Conundrum! If you try it please let me know how it goes over!! 😀

      Reply

  27. This is absolutely brilliant!! My mom has always loved Kefir so we had in the house growing up, but I completely forgot about and walk by it all the time in the grocery store! This flavor combo sounds fantastic and is making me want to go get some Kefir to try this recipe with asap! Also, these photos…SO PRETTY!

    Reply

    • Thanks girl, these are my fav photos yet so that means a lot! And if you are familiar with Kefir already, then this is TOTALLY your jam! Healthy too! 🙂 Happy Friday!

      Reply

  28. I have a quick question. Would dried cranberries also work in this salad? Cherries are difficult to find once summer is over. Thanks.

    Reply

    • Oh totally! I think dried cranberries would be totally good! Although “Craisins” brand makes dried cherries in little bags, that are available year-around! Please let me know if you try it Mark! 🙂

      Reply

  29. Hi! I love quinoa & this looks so fantastic, EXCEPT I am vegan so kefire is out for me…do you have any ideas on making it without kefir? I’ve seen a yogurt substitute for vegans of silken tofu & lemon juice…?

    Reply

    • Hi! Thanks!
      I obviously can’t say for sure, because I did not develop the recipe as such. BUT, I do LOVE making vegan cashew cream! If you haven’t made here’s a how-to. http://www.beardandbonnet.com/how-to-make-cashew-cream-gluten-free-vegan/
      It MAY work if you just make it a little thinner, as Kefir is not that thick and creamy! It will lack the tanginess though, so you may want to try your way tofu idea!
      I hope that helps! Please let me know if you try something!

      Reply

  33. Hi, this looks delicious. Does it last in the fridge for a few days or is it an eat immediately kind of salad?

    Reply

    • Hi Cece! You could probably mix most of it ahead of time, but I would add the vinaigrette and the pistachios just before serving! I hope that helps! Let me know if you try it 🙂

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Pin
Yum
Tweet
Share
Stumble
Email
MENU