{This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, see my full Disclosure Policy.}
This Mediterranean Quinoa Salad features lots of fresh vegetables and shines with fresh herbs and an olive oil vinaigrette.
Do you ever get stuck making the same old recipes over and over again? I know I do!
Just this week, I realized how many new recipes our family has tried in the past two months, and it seems to be more than I can count! Probably more than we’ve tried in the past year. Maybe. Anyway, it’s a lot!
Since committing to eating real food, our family (surprisingly) is really enjoying trading some of our usual (high-carb and processed) recipes for new, healthy made-from-scratch ones… and we’re finding we LOVE the change! And best of all, most of them are super simple and come together quickly. What more could you want, right?
Here is a delicious quinoa salad we pulled together this week with fresh vegetables we had in the fridge. I know the list of ingredients looks long — but honestly, it comes together quickly. It just takes a lot of small amounts of different ingredients. But… that also means that it’s a great way to clean out your fridge!
If you have small amounts of fresh, raw veggies like bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, or any others you particularly like, throw ’em in! The vinaigrette dressing is what really makes this salad delicious. Oh, and the feta, of course!
We ate the salad with these easy oven roasted chicken thighs. YUM! Easily turn the quinoa salad into your main entree by adding your favorite cooked meat, or top with beans or chickpeas for a vegetarian protein punch.
Besides taking only minutes to assemble using ingredients you already have, I also love that this salad is colorful. It’s so beautiful to look at! And even though it’s winter now, this salad was still so, so good! It will be even better during the summer, of course!
Serves: 6
Quinoa is high in protein and a naturally gluten-free grain. This salad features lots of fresh vegetables and shines with fresh herbs and an olive oil vinaigrette.
25 minPrep Time
25 minTotal Time
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa
- 2 cups water
- 1 cucumber, diced
- ½ small red onion, finely chopped
- 1 yellow or red bell pepper, finely chopped
- 18 grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
- ¼ cup fresh mint leaves, minced
- 2 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves, minced
- 1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
- 3-4 ounces crumbled feta cheese
- For the Vinaigrette:
- 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1-2 garlic cloves, minced
- sea salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Rinse quinoa under cold running water for a few minutes. Place quinoa in a small (2-quart) pan, and add 2 cups water. Bring to a boil. Cover and turn heat to low. Cook quinoa for 18 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside for about 7 minutes. Fluff the quinoa with a fork and allow to cool. (To speed up this process, transfer quinoa onto a large rimmed baking sheet.)
- While quinoa is cooking or cooling, prep vegetables. Dice cucumber, chop onion and bell pepper, and halve the tomatoes. Mince fresh herbs.
- When quinoa is cool, place in a large bowl. Add the vegetables, herbs and cheese; mix gently. Serve dressing on the side. (Extra dressing will keep a few days in the refrigerator for use over salads or for drizzling over vegetables.)
This recipe was adapted from one in this cookbook.
Leave a Reply