Edamame & Quinoa Salad with Red Peppers, Cranberries & Beans Recipe

Looking for an extremely simple recipe to prepare as a side dish? Love quinoa and vegetables? Well, you’ve come to the right place. Today, I have a recipe to share that will keep your head on straight while in the kitchen as well as result in a side that isn’t only plentiful, but great tasting and enjoyable as well.

The Recipe

This recipe includes tons of vegetables and other goodies. Think corn, edamame, red bell pepper, celery, garbanzo beans, parsley and more. As a twist, I added some toasted pecans because they make everyone’s life better. With a bit of salt added to them as they’re toasting – ah, perfection.

The only cooking involved with this recipe has to do with the quinoa. Once that’s finished and is cooling, you can go ahead with the prep. Since there are so many additional ingredients, the prep will take a little while. It’s easy though. After that’s done, combine everything and eat up. It’s that simple.

Ingredients

Serves: 8-10

2 Cups Quinoa
Salt
Ground Black Pepper
3 Celery Stalks, Trimmed and Cut into 1/2 Inch Pieces
1 15 Ounce Can of Corn, Drained
1 15 Ounce Can of Chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans), Rinsed and Drained
1 Cup Parsley, Chopped
1 Cup Dried Cranberries
1 12 Ounce Package of Frozen Edamame
2 Red Bell Peppers, Trimmed and Diced
1 Cup Pecans, Toasted
Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
5 Tablespoons Lemon Juice

Step-by-Step Instructions

I’d like to thank The Girl Who Ate Everything for this recipe. Laura found it on her website and it’s really great. We enjoyed this side dish during dinner last night and were very pleased with it. Nice job!

Cook the Quinoa

Follow the instructions on the package of your quinoa, but I’ll tell you right now, 9 out of 10 sets of instructions are the same. Basically, the ratio for cooking quinoa is 1 cup quinoa to 2 cups water. So, for this recipe, bring 4 cups water to a boil in a large pot. Add 1 teaspoon of salt to the water and then the 2 cups of quinoa. Cover the pot and reduce the heat to low. Set your timer for 15 minutes and when it buzzes, turn off the heat. Uncover the pot and fluff the result with a fork. You can let everything cool for a bit as you go through the next steps. This is a cool side dish, so you don’t have to worry about anything getting cold.

Once the quinoa has cooled for a bit, you can transfer it to a large bowl. Add 6 tablespoons of olive oil to it and mix it in well.

Set aside for later use.

Prep Remaining Ingredients

I went ahead and prepped everything next. First, I trimmed and cut up the celery. I also rinsed and chopped the parsley.

Then, I opened both cans of the corn and the chickpeas. I rinsed and drained both of these ingredients and placed them in their own bowls.

I then measured out the dried cranberries, which came in a larger bag then usual at the grocery store. I was quite pleased with this.

And finally, I trimmed and chopped up the red bell peppers and I also thawed out the edamame and placed these beans in a bowl as well.

Toast the Pecans

Place a small skillet over medium heat on your stove top. Then, grab a handful of pecans and give them a squeeze in your fist to break them up a bit. Toss them in the skillet and be sure to add about a cup full. Then, add 1 teaspoon of olive oil to the pan and let cook for a few minutes, flipping occasionally. When you begin to smell the scent of toasting pecans, turn off the heat. They are finished.

Combine Ingredients

Add all of the ingredients you just prepped to the large bowl the quinoa is in.

Then, sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper over those ingredients and add the lemon juice to the bowl. Once that’s completed, mix everything together.

Plate & Serve

After all that’s done, you can divide the quinoa salad among either plates or bowls and serve. Enjoy!

The Final Edamame & Quinoa Salad

While prepping all the ingredients took a little time, there was absolutely nothing stressful about putting this salad together. It’s an easy one. Give it a try and if you do, please let me know your thoughts on it. Thanks for reading!