This Mediterranean quinoa salad recipe is hearty, wholesome, and filled with contemporary taste! Serve it as a aspect dish, or get pleasure from it as a meal by itself.
This Mediterranean quinoa salad recipe is contemporary and flavorful. It’s a scrumptious addition to the menu of any potluck, cookout, or picnic. It may possibly simply cross as a aspect dish, nevertheless it’s so hearty and satisfying that it may be the primary occasion, too.
And in case you occur to have leftovers, you’re in luck! This quinoa salad retains effectively in case you make it forward of time, so it’s an incredible recipe to meal prep for wholesome lunches all through the week.
Through the years, I’ve shared plenty of quinoa salad recipes on the weblog, however I’m particularly smitten with this one. Roasted tomatoes, olives, and feta pack it with savory, briny taste, and a easy olive oil and lemon dressing makes it good and vibrant. I hope you find it irresistible too!
Mediterranean Quinoa Salad Elements
Right here’s what you’ll must make this Mediterranean quinoa salad recipe:
- Quinoa, in fact! Quinoa cooks like a grain, nevertheless it’s truly a grain-like seed that hails from South America. It’s naturally gluten-free and filled with fiber and plant-based protein. Discover my technique for cooking it within the callout under.
- Roasted tomatoes – Roasted cherry or grape tomatoes add wealthy, savory taste and chewy texture to this salad. They take a while to make, so make sure you plan forward.
- Persian cucumbers – For crunch.
- Pink onion – For sharp depth of taste.
- Feta cheese – I really like its creamy texture and tangy taste on this quinoa salad recipe, however be happy to skip it in case you’re vegan.
- Kalamata olives – I’m an olive convert! For years, I prevented olives, however their briny, salty taste takes this salad to a complete new degree.
- Toasted pine nuts and roasted chickpeas – They add protein, nutty taste, and plenty of crunch. Tip: Use store-bought roasted chickpeas to avoid wasting your self a prep step.
- Arugula and combined herbs – They make this salad good and contemporary! I like to make use of quite a lot of leafy herbs right here, akin to mint, parsley, oregano, thyme, and/or basil.
- Italian dressing – Vibrant, tangy, and flecked with (extra) herbs, it ties the entire salad collectively!
Discover the entire recipe with measurements under.
Tips on how to Cook dinner Quinoa
Cooking quinoa is rather a lot like cooking rice:
- Rinse the quinoa in a high-quality mesh strainer to take away its bitter pure coating.
- Place in a medium saucepan with a tightly becoming lid. Add 1 3/4 cups water for each 1 cup of quinoa.
- Convey the water to a boil, then scale back the warmth to low. Cowl and simmer for 12 to fifteen minutes, or till the water is absorbed.
- Flip off the warmth and let the quinoa sit, coated, for 10 minutes to proceed to steam.
Then, fluff with a fork! 1 cup dry quinoa yields 3 cups cooked. For extra quinoa-cooking suggestions, take a look at my information to learn how to cook dinner quinoa.
For this recipe, I like to recommend cooking the quinoa forward. It ought to be cool or at room temperature once you toss the salad collectively. If it’s nonetheless heat, it’ll wilt the arugula and contemporary herbs. Cook dinner it no less than an hour and as much as 2 days earlier than you assemble the salad.
Tips on how to Make Quinoa Salad
The primary steps on this quinoa salad recipe are cooking the quinoa and roasting the tomatoes. You may prep each as much as 3 days prematurely. Retailer them in an hermetic container within the fridge till you’re able to make the salad.
Subsequent, make the dressing. A easy mix of extra-virgin olive oil, white wine vinegar, lemon juice, honey, Dijon mustard, and herbs, it’s fast to whisk collectively in a bowl or jar.
Then, toss the salad collectively. In a big bowl, mix the quinoa, veggies, herbs, feta, olives, pine nuts, and half the dressing. Toss to coat earlier than including the salt, pepper, and pink pepper flakes and tossing once more.
Season to style, including extra dressing as desired. High with the roasted chickpeas and serve!
Recipe Variations
This wholesome quinoa salad recipe is scrumptious as written, however that doesn’t imply you possibly can’t play with it! Have enjoyable customizing it primarily based on what you’re craving or what you may have available. Listed here are a number of concepts to get you began:
- Make it vegan. Skip the cheese! Add a number of additional olives or roasted tomatoes to amp up the savory taste.
- Swap the grain. As a substitute of quinoa, use farro or Israeli couscous. Notice that the salad will now not be gluten-free.
- Swap the dressing. Substitute the Italian dressing with Greek salad dressing or lemon French dressing.
- Combine up the veggies. Substitute chopped spinach or massaged kale for the arugula, or skip the greens solely. As a substitute, stir in a cup of roasted broccoli, 1/2 cup roasted pink bell peppers, or a diced avocado.
- Take a shortcut. Substitute the roasted tomatoes with contemporary cherry tomatoes, halved, or oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes.
Let me know what variations you attempt!
What to Serve with Quinoa Salad
Serve this quinoa salad recipe as a aspect dish with a summer season dinner. It pairs effectively with basic cookout fare like veggie burgers, black bean burgers, portobello mushroom burgers, or BBQ jackfruit sandwiches.
It’s additionally a beautiful vegetarian most important dish. Spherical out the meal with grilled greens or sautéed yellow squash.
You probably have leftovers, this Mediterranean quinoa salad packs up completely for lunch. For the perfect taste, retailer among the contemporary herbs individually and scatter them on proper earlier than you eat. I additionally advocate seasoning to style with salt, pepper, a drizzle of olive oil, and/or an additional squeeze of lemon juice after this salad has spent a number of days within the fridge.
Extra Favourite Hearty Salads
In case you love this straightforward, wholesome quinoa salad recipe, attempt certainly one of these hearty salads subsequent:
Quinoa Salad
Serves 6
This Mediterranean quinoa salad recipe is wholesome and scrumptious! Full of roasted tomatoes, cucumbers, and contemporary herbs, it is an ideal meal prep lunch or dinner aspect dish. For fast meeting, roast the tomatoes prematurely.
- 3 cups cooked quinoa
- 1 recipe Roasted Tomatoes
- 2 cups arugula
- 1 cup sliced Persian cucumbers
- 1 cup combined contemporary basil and mint leaves
- ¾ cup crumbled feta cheese
- ¾ cup kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
- ½ cup diced pink onion
- ⅓ cup toasted pine nuts
- 1 recipe Italian Dressing, plus 2 extra garlic cloves, grated
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- Freshly floor black pepper
- Pink pepper flakes
- 1 cup roasted chickpeas
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In a big bowl, mix the quinoa, roasted tomatoes, arugula, cucumbers, basil and mint, feta, olives, onion, and pine nuts.
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Toss to mix, then drizzle with half the dressing and toss once more. Sprinkle with the salt, pepper, and some pinches of pink pepper flakes and toss once more. Season to style, tossing with extra dressing as desired. High with the roasted chickpeas and serve.
Make this recipe vegan by omitting the cheese.
