MEDITERRANEAN QUINOA SALAD
This Mediterranean Quinoa Salad will be your new favorite salad recipe! It’s fresh and light and perfect to enjoy as a meal or side!
This Mediterranean Quinoa Salad is it’s so simple to put together and is definitely a crowd-pleaser. This quinoa is my new go-to for potlucks, BBQs, brunches and dinner parties. It even holds up great in the fridge after being dressed!
WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
- Quinoa: we can’t make quinoa salad without quinoa! I like to use white quinoa in this recipe which is light and fluffy. Red and black quinoa tend to have a bit more of a firm texture.
- Red bell pepper: you can substitute with any colour bell pepper you love.
- Cucumber: English cucumber is best for this recipe. It has less water content than some other varieties of cucumber and tends to be on the sweeter side.
- Chickpeas: canned or dried chickpeas will both work. If using dried chickpeas, cook them according to package directions before adding them to the salad.
- Red onion: red onion gives the salad a beautiful colour and a nice slightly spicy and sharp taste. If you’re not a big fan of onions in your salad you can leave this out or use shallots, which will have a milder taste.
- Kalamata olives: make sure to use pitted olives! You don’t want to end up biting into a pit when eating the quinoa salad.
- Sundried tomatoes: you’ll find two varieties of sundried tomatoes at the grocery store. The first is sundried tomatoes in oil and the second is dried sundried tomatoes in a package. I recommend using the sundried tomatoes in oil. They are tastier and have a better texture.
- Basil: fresh basil! Don’t substitute dried.
- Feta: I recommend using double creamed feta. You can find this at most cheese stores. If you can only get regular feta that will work fine too.
- Lemon oregano dressing: this homemade dressing is made with olive oil, fresh lemon juice and dried oregano and lightly coats the quinoa salad.
Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
This recipe for Mediterranean Quinoa Salad will quickly become a staple in your kitchen. It’s perfect to enjoy on its own, bring to a potluck, or as a side! It gets even more delicious as it sits and is made with simple ingredients.
Ingredients
Quinoa Salad
- 2 cups Quinoa cooked
- 1 Red Bell Pepper chopped
- 1/2 Cucumber chopped
- 1 cup Chickpeas
- 1/2 Red Onion finely chopped
- 1/2 cup Kalamata Olives cut in half
- 1/4 cup Sun-dried Tomatoes finely chopped
- 1/3 cup Fresh Basil finely chopped
- 1/4 cup Crumbled Feta Cheese use vegan if needed
Lemon Oregano Dressing
- 2 tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1 tbsp White Wine Vinegar or red wine vinegar
- 1 cup Olive Oil
- 1 tsp Maple Syrup
- 1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
- 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1/4 tsp Ground Cumin
- Salt & Pepper to taste
Instructions
- To prepare the salad mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl. If there is any ingredient you like more of feel free to add more!
- Mix all the salad dressing ingredients together in a small jar. Cover with the lid and shake until incorporated.
- Pour half the salad dressing onto the quinoa salad and give it a taste. If you like more dressing, add more. Otherwise reserve leftover dressing for other salads.
Notes
I usually use about half of the salad lemon oregano dressing on this salad. The rest I keep stored in my fridge. This salad is great to bring to parties & potlucks! If there are any ingredients in this salad you are not a fan of, you can leave them out. You can swap out sundried tomatoes for fresh tomatoes if you prefer! Prepare your quinoa in advance and store it in the fridge to make this recipe even faster.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!