- March 8, 2017
- Modified On: August 30, 2022
- by Amy Gorin, MS, RDN
- 2 Comments
Quinoa Orange Salad with Prunes
If you want a tasty quinoa orange salad recipe, you’ve come to the right place. Whip up this citrus salad with prunes recipe today!
Whether it’s as a side for dinner tonight or a potluck with friends, this refreshing prune citrus salad is sure to satisfy! The prunes add bone-helping nutrition.
Eating right is important to me not only because I’m a registered dietitian nutritionist, but also because I feel good when I eat right.
Nutritious food powers me, and that allows me to have so much more energy to exercise and enjoy the time I spend with loved ones and friends.
The weather is starting to warm up, which has me thinking about refreshing salads. I’ve always been a big salad fan (back in college, I used to munch on a bowl of greens as a midnight snack!).
Disclosure: This blog post is sponsored by Sunsweet as part of the brand’s “I Eat Right Because” social media campaign. All opinions are my own, as always!
A salad can be a vehicle for providing a lot of nutrition, so I set out to make the perfect combo of ingredients.
Ingredients
I created an orange salad that’s both hearty and filled with nutrition.
I combined protein-offering quinoa with almonds, scallions, and arugula—and flavored the dish with a orange-honey dressing made with olive oil, freshly squeezed orange juice, and garlic.
To make this delicious quinoa orange salad with prunes, you need just a few ingredients:
Cara Cara oranges: I added peeled and sliced Cava Cava orange wedges for a dose of immunity-helping vitamin C.
Of course, if you can’t get your hands on Cava Cava oranges, you can sub in mandarin oranges, navel oranges, or blood oranges.
Quinoa: This grain boasts a good amount of satiating protein!
Almonds: These nuts add a trio of healthy fats, protein, and fiber to the quinoa orange salad with prunes.
Scallions, garlic, and arugula: The salad contains scallions, garlic, and arugula. If you’d like even more of a tang, you can also add chopped red onions. Feel free to sprinkle with salt and pepper to finish everything off.
Prunes: For the perfect finishing touch, I mixed in Sunsweet Amaz!n Diced Prunes.
These prunes are the perfect size for adding to dishes. And per ¼-cup serving, you get 12 percent of the daily value for filling fiber, as well as 8 percent of the daily value for blood-pressure-helping potassium.
Potassium may help support bone health by helping increase bone mineral density and lowering the risk of bone breakdown. The prunes also offer magnesium and vitamin K, which help bone structure and bone mineralization.
Step-by-step instructions
Thankfully, you can make this quinoa orange salad with prunes in about half an hour!
First, prepare the quinoa according to package directions; set aside to cool.
In a large bowl, mix together quinoa, remaining orange wedges, prunes, almonds, and scallions.
Combine with honey-garlic dressing.
Fold in arugula, and serve.
Recipe FAQ
Quinoa is an incredibly versatile grain! It pairs well with beans and veggies in a power bowl, and it also tastes terrific in this quinoa orange salad.
To make eating quinoa even more healthy, pair it with vegetables such as sauteed onions and mushrooms, or leafy greens such as arugula or spinach.
Nothing will happen if you don’t rinse your quinoa! We are supposed to rinse quinoa because the grain is coated with a soapy-tasting substance called saponins.
Some people are sensitive to the taste of saponins, which is a relief as most quinoa is sold pre-rinsed.
Now, I’d love to share my citrus salad recipe with citrus salad dressing. Serve the prune salad as a side dish at dinner tonight, and enjoy leftovers for lunch tomorrow! This is one of my favorite prunes recipes, and I hope you love it, too!
Ready to eat a delicious spring salad?
More Tasty Prune Recipes
And if you love cooking with prunes, also try:
- Mediterranean vegetable salad with fruit dressing
- avocado chocolate brownies with prunes
- cheese appetizer with prune jam
- healthy energy bars
- pineapple sangria with rosemary syrup
Quinoa Orange Salad with Prunes
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp honey
- 4 Cara Cara oranges, peeled and divided
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups white quinoa
- 1½ cups Sunsweet Amaz!n Diced Prunes
- ½ cup dry-roasted almonds, chopped
- ½ bunch scallions, thinly sliced
- 2 cups arugula
Instructions
Dressing
- Combine olive oil, honey, juice of one orange, and garlic in a small bowl.
- Set aside.
Salad
- Prepare the quinoa according to package directions; set aside to cool.
- In a large bowl, mix together quinoa, remaining orange wedges, prunes, almonds, and scallions.
- Combine with honey-garlic dressing.
- Fold in arugula, and serve.
Nutrition
I’d love to hear from you! Let me know if you make this quinoa orange salad with prunes!
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I love the sound of this recipe and I love prunes and arugula.BUT I have to watch my consumption of dark green vegetables and vitamin K.
Any suggestions?
You could definitely swap out the arugula with iceberg lettuce. When it comes to vitamin K, so long as you eat a consistent amount from day to day, it shouldn’t interfere with medications. In order to maintain stable PT/INR levels you should not eat more than 1 serving of a high vitamin K food, and no more than 3 servings of a food with moderate amounts of vitamin K. What is important is that your intake of vitamin K stays consistent. Hope this helps!