Quinoa Salad Recipe – Love and Lemons
This Mediterranean quinoa salad recipe is hearty, healthful, and filled with current style! Serve it as a aspect dish, or get pleasure from it as a meal by itself.
This Mediterranean quinoa salad recipe is current and flavorful. It’s a delicious addition to the menu of any potluck, cookout, or picnic. It might presumably merely transfer as a aspect dish, however it absolutely’s so hearty and satisfying that it might be the first event, too.
And once you happen to have leftovers, you’re in luck! This quinoa salad retains properly once you make it ahead of time, so it’s an incredible recipe to meal prep for healthful lunches all by means of the week.
Over time, I’ve shared quite a few quinoa salad recipes on the weblog, nonetheless I’m notably smitten with this one. Roasted tomatoes, olives, and feta pack it with savory, briny style, and a simple olive oil and lemon dressing makes it good and vibrant. I hope you love it too!
Mediterranean Quinoa Salad Parts
Proper right here’s what you’ll must make this Mediterranean quinoa salad recipe:
- Quinoa, in actual fact! Quinoa cooks like a grain, however it absolutely’s really a grain-like seed that hails from South America. It’s naturally gluten-free and filled with fiber and plant-based protein. Uncover my methodology for cooking it inside the callout beneath.
- Roasted tomatoes – Roasted cherry or grape tomatoes add rich, savory style and chewy texture to this salad. They take some time to make, so be certain you intend ahead.
- Persian cucumbers – For crunch.
- Purple onion – For sharp depth of style.
- Feta cheese – I like its creamy texture and tangy style on this quinoa salad recipe, nonetheless be glad to skip it once you’re vegan.
- Kalamata olives – I’m an olive convert! For years, I averted olives, nonetheless their briny, salty style takes this salad to a whole new diploma.
- Toasted pine nuts and roasted chickpeas – They add protein, nutty style, and plenty of crunch. Tip: Use store-bought roasted chickpeas to keep away from losing your self a prep step.
- Arugula and mixed herbs – They make this salad good and up to date! I prefer to make use of a variety of leafy herbs proper right here, resembling mint, parsley, oregano, thyme, and/or basil.
- Italian dressing – Shiny, tangy, and flecked with (further) herbs, it ties the whole salad collectively!
Uncover the entire recipe with measurements beneath.
The way in which to Put together dinner Quinoa
Cooking quinoa is hundreds like cooking rice:
- Rinse the quinoa in a top quality mesh strainer to remove its bitter pure coating.
- Place in a medium saucepan with a tightly changing into lid. Add 1 3/4 cups water for every 1 cup of quinoa.
- Ship the water to a boil, then in the reduction of the heat to low. Cowl and simmer for 12 to fifteen minutes, or until the water is absorbed.
- Flip off the heat 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 further quinoa-cooking concepts, check out my data to one of the simplest ways to prepare dinner dinner quinoa.
For this recipe, I prefer to advocate cooking the quinoa ahead. It should be cool or at room temperature whilst you toss the salad collectively. If it’s nonetheless warmth, it’ll wilt the arugula and up to date herbs. Put together dinner it in any case an hour and as a lot as 2 days sooner than you assemble the salad.
The way in which to Make Quinoa Salad
The first steps on this quinoa salad recipe are cooking the quinoa and roasting the tomatoes. You presumably can prep every as a lot as 3 days prematurely. Retailer them in an airtight container inside the fridge until you’re capable of make the salad.
Subsequent, make the dressing. A simple mixture of extra-virgin olive oil, white wine vinegar, lemon juice, honey, Dijon mustard, and herbs, it’s quick to whisk collectively in a bowl or jar.
Then, toss the salad collectively. In an enormous bowl, combine the quinoa, veggies, herbs, feta, olives, pine nuts, and half the dressing. Toss to coat sooner than together with the salt, pepper, and pink pepper flakes and tossing as soon as extra.
Season to type, together with further dressing as desired. Prime with the roasted chickpeas and serve!
Recipe Variations
This healthful quinoa salad recipe is delicious as written, nonetheless that doesn’t suggest you presumably can’t play with it! Have pleasant customizing it primarily based totally on what you’re craving or what you may need accessible. Listed below are a variety of ideas to get you started:
- Make it vegan. Skip the cheese! Add a variety of extra olives or roasted tomatoes to amp up the savory style.
- Swap the grain. Instead of quinoa, use farro or Israeli couscous. Discover that the salad will no longer be gluten-free.
- Swap the dressing. Trade the Italian dressing with Greek salad dressing or lemon vinaigrette.
- Mix up the veggies. Substitute chopped spinach or massaged kale for the arugula, or skip the greens solely. Instead, stir in a cup of roasted broccoli, 1/2 cup roasted pink bell peppers, or a diced avocado.
- Take a shortcut. Trade the roasted tomatoes with current 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 season dinner. It pairs properly with conventional cookout fare like veggie burgers, black bean burgers, portobello mushroom burgers, or BBQ jackfruit sandwiches.
It’s moreover a gorgeous vegetarian vital dish. Spherical out the meal with grilled greens or sautéed yellow squash.
When you might have leftovers, this Mediterranean quinoa salad packs up utterly for lunch. For the right style, retailer a number of of the current herbs individually and scatter them on correct sooner than you eat. I moreover advocate seasoning to type with salt, pepper, a drizzle of olive oil, and/or a further squeeze of lemon juice after this salad has spent a variety of days inside the fridge.
Further Favorite Hearty Salads
Must you love this easy, healthful quinoa salad recipe, attempt one among these hearty salads subsequent:
Quinoa Salad
Serves 6
This Mediterranean quinoa salad recipe is healthful and delicious! Filled with roasted tomatoes, cucumbers, and up to date herbs, it is a perfect meal prep lunch or dinner aspect dish. For fast assembly, roast the tomatoes prematurely.
- 3 cups cooked quinoa
- 1 recipe Roasted Tomatoes
- 2 cups arugula
- 1 cup sliced Persian cucumbers
- 1 cup mixed current 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 additional garlic cloves, grated
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- Freshly flooring black pepper
- Purple pepper flakes
- 1 cup roasted chickpeas
Forestall your show display screen from going darkish
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In an enormous bowl, combine the quinoa, roasted tomatoes, arugula, cucumbers, basil and mint, feta, olives, onion, and pine nuts.
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Toss to combine, then drizzle with half the dressing and toss as soon as extra. Sprinkle with the salt, pepper, and a few pinches of pink pepper flakes and toss as soon as extra. Season to type, tossing with further dressing as desired. Prime with the roasted chickpeas and serve.
Discover: The quinoa and roasted tomatoes could also be made as a lot as 3 days prematurely and saved inside the fridge until ready to utilize.
Make this recipe vegan by omitting the cheese.
