This beet and quinoa salad with maple vinaigrette from Lauren McNeill’s cookbook The Simple Vegan Kitchen is a vegan lunch with roasted beet, quinoa, arugula, walnuts, and apple. The beet adds color and a mild earthy taste. Apple and maple syrup add sweetness, while lemon juice and Dijon mustard give the dressing a sharp finish.
Roast the diced beet until tender, then cook the quinoa in vegetable stock. Add both to a bowl with arugula, walnuts, apple, salt, and pepper. Whisk the maple syrup, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper, then toss the salad with the dressing.
Read more: Preserved Lemon Bulgur Salad
This salad works year-round and stores well in the fridge for up to three days. It makes a good prep-ahead lunch for two, especially when you want grains, greens, fruit, and nuts in one bowl. The recipe is also a good source of iron and omega-3.
Reprinted with permission from The Simple Vegan Kitchen by Lauren McNeill. Page Street Publishing Co. 2023. Photo credit: Toni Zernik.
Put together your beet and quinoa salad

Ingredients
FOR THE SALAD
- 1 beet diced (see Recipe Note)
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) olive oil
- 1 cup (186 g) uncooked quinoa
- 2 cups (480 ml) no-salt-added vegetable stock
- 4 cups (80 g) arugula packed cup (67 g)
- ½ walnut halves
- 1 apple diced (I used PinkLady)
- Salt and pepper to taste
FOR THE VINAIGRETTE
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) maple syrup
- ¼ cup (60 ml) lemon juice, about 1 lemon
- 3 tbsp (45 ml) olive oil
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) Dijon mustard
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (218°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, toss the beet pieces in olive oil and spread them on the baking sheet. Roast them for 25 to 30 minutes, or until fork tender. Meanwhile, cook the quinoa in the vegetable stock as per package instructions.
- Once the beet pieces are cooked, combine them with the quinoa, arugula, walnuts, apple, salt and pepper together in a large bowl.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the maple syrup, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, Dijon mustard, salt and pepper together for the maple vinaigrette. Toss the salad with the maple vinaigrette.
- Refrigerate any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
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