Enjoy this simple and fresh orange, persimmon, quinoa salad with candied walnuts! Easily switch out the grain and the types of fruit to suit what you have on hand. This salad is:
Tart & Sweet
With Added Protein From The Quinoa
Crunch From The Candied Walnuts
And Freshness From Baby Greens!
Ingredients
For this orange, persimmon, quinoa salad with candied walnuts I use:
- One navel orange or two smaller mandarin oranges
- A persimmon
- ⅓ cup cooked quinoa
- ¼ cup candied walnuts
- And about 1 ½ cups (packed) baby greens.
If persimmons are not in season I often make this salad with another fruit or vegetable. Some of my favourites are:
- Fresh Figs
- Pears
- And Roasted Beets!
The Dressing For Orange, Persimmon, Quinoa Salad
Since the orange and persimmon have so much natural sweetness and wonderful flavour, I keep the dressing for this salad quite simple.
In a small dish I mix:
- The zest of the orange,
- With ½ tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- ½ tablespoon maple syrup
- And a pinch of salt and pepper
Don’t let that orange zest go to waste! It adds such a great bright flavour to this simple dressing. I often zest citrus fruits even if I’m not using the zest for a recipe. I put the zest in a small jar and store it in my freezer. This way, whenever I need a tiny bit of zest for a recipe, I have it! Check out my Pantry & Freezer Tips for some other helpful tidbits like this one (and subscribe in the sidebar for an easy to read pantry pdf!).
Recipe Cost
This orange, persimmon, quinoa salad costs us approximately: CAD $3.66 for two sizeable portions. It’s so simple but small additions like the bit of quinoa and the quick candied walnuts really make it feel like we could have ordered it from a restaurant.
The idea of eating a salad doesn’t tend to get me that excited to be honest! BUT using different textures and the beautiful natural sweetness of these fruits, makes this a salad that I will gladly eat.
Let me know in the comments below if you love persimmons and want more persimmon recipes!
For another one of my favourite salads that includes a grain, jump to this delicious Pear Barley Salad! And for another fruity and fresh salad; make this Thai Inspired Mango Salad!
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Simple Orange Persimmon Salad With Quinoa
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 2 – 3 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Enjoy this simple orange, persimmon, quinoa salad! Easy to prepare and wonderfully fresh with an extra bit of sweetness from candied walnuts!
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups baby salad greens, packed*
- 1 orange*
- ⅓ cup cooked quinoa
- 1 large persimmon, sliced*
- ¼ cup candied walnuts
Dressing:
- Zest from one orange*
- ½ tbsp balsamic vinegar
- ½ tbsp maple syrup
- Sprinkle of salt and pepper
*Ingredients you need that are not part of our pantry and freezer tips.
Instructions
- If cooking the quinoa (or another grain) from scratch; cook according to the package directions and refrigerate to cool.
- To candy the walnuts, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Drizzle the ¼ cup of walnuts with ½ tablespoon maple syrup, toss to coat, and toast for 6-8 minutes until lightly browned and fragrant. Allow to cool.
- To make the dressing, zest the orange. Mix the orange zest with the remaining dressing ingredients and set aside.
- To slice the orange for the salad; slice off the ends, stand the orange on one end and slice downwards to slice off the peel and white pith. Then slice the segments apart and chop into smaller pieces if desired.
- To slice the persimmon; cut out the leafy top with a shallow “v” cut, then slice the persimmon in half from where the stem use to be down to the bottom. Slice into wedges and then into thin slices.
- Toss the washed greens of your choice with cooked quinoa. Add the sliced orange and persimmon. Drizzle with the dressing and top with the candied walnuts.
Notes
Approximate Cost: CAD $3.66
When persimmons are not in season, I love making this salad with fresh figs, pears, or even roasted beets!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Salad
- Method: Various
- Cuisine: American, Canadian
Jon
Was looking for a way to use my persimmons and this was great. Simple, aesthetically pleasing, and everyone enjoyed it. I appreciated making the dressing from scratch too. I don’t do that enough but will incorporate that more going forward.
Kathryn Alexandre
I’m glad you found this recipe! Thank you for trying it and for leaving a lovely star rating! I’m glad you liked the vinaigrette and found it simple to make. It’s so easy to buy them but with a few simple ingredients in your fridge and pantry they are quick to stir up so I’m glad it’s given you some inspiration. Thank you Jon!