Get ready for a flavour explosion in your mouth! This Greek Quinoa Salad is loaded with delicious Mediterranean-inspired flavours and is perfect for meal prep as it tastes better the longer that it sits! Easy to make and great for those barbecues, picnics and weeknight meals! {gluten-free & vegetarian}
My husband and I have always loved Greek inspired meals. There’s just something about those Greek flavours that I absolutely adore.
The other night, we got the barbecue out for the first time after a very long winter and decided to do some of our favourite Lemon Garlic Chicken Kabobs.
Normally, we would pair these kabobs with this Spiralized Greek Cucumber Salad (which is AMAZING by the way), but we didn’t have quite enough cucumber to make it happen.
So instead, out came the quinoa to make this Greek quinoa salad!
Now if you’ve tried quinoa on its own, you’ll know that it’s generally pretty bland. But when you add a bunch of delicious Greek flavours in there, it suddenly comes to life.
BAM.
Just. like. that.
How to Cook the Quinoa
The first step to making this quinoa salad is making sure that you cook the quinoa right.
So how exactly do we make this happen?
Well, first you’ll want to give the quinoa a good rinse to help get rid of the bitterness. I usually place the dry quinoa in a mesh strainer and rinse it for a few seconds under water.
Next, dump the rinsed quinoa in a saucepan with about one and a third cup of water (or broth if you’d like to add more flavour) and bring to a boil.
Once boiling, turn the stove down to low and cover, allowing it to simmer for about 12-15 minutes.
Turn the stove off, fluff the quinoa with a fork and allow to cool while preparing the other ingredients.
How to Make this Mediterranean Quinoa Salad Come to Life
So now that we’ve got the quinoa all cooked, we need to prepare the other ingredients to really infuse some flavour into the salad.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Cucumber
- Cherry tomatoes
- Red onion
- Kalamata olives
- Feta cheese
- Homemade Greek dressing
Once all of the ingredients are chopped or sliced, and the dressing is prepared, simply toss in with the quinoa.
Optimizing the Flavour of this Greek Quinoa Salad
So you have a couple of choices.
Decisions, decisions. I know, right?!
But I’ll make it REALLY easy for you!
You can either eat the salad right away…
OR better yet, prepare this salad in advance and allow it to sit in the dressing for at least a half an hour.
I’d highly recommend option B, as giving it a chance to sit is the KEY to a flavour-infused quinoa salad.
Quinoa has this amazing way of absorbing all of those flavours…you just have to give it a chance.
The problem is, most people don’t give it a chance and then complain that quinoa is bland and boring.
No boring quinoa in this house!
How Long Does this Quinoa Salad Keep?
The good news about this salad is that it keeps for about 3-4 days in the fridge, so it’s perfect for meal prep.
You can make up a batch at the beginning of the week and eat it for lunch or dinner all throughout the week!
What to Serve along with this Quinoa Salad Recipe
Although it’s great on its own, you may wish to pair the salad with some extra protein to make it even more of a complete meal!
Here are some protein-rich add-ins or ideas to serve on the side to make this salad even more filling and satisfying:
- Grilled chicken
- Salmon
- White fish
- Chickpeas
- Lentils
So I think we’ve pretty much covered all of the key points to make the most amazing Greek Quinoa Salad EVER.
Time to go whip some up! ;)
MORE DELICIOUS SALAD RECIPES:
- Greek Cucumber Noodle Salad
- Pearl Couscous Salad with Roasted Asparagus and Chickpeas
- Chickpea Avocado Feta Salad
- Steak and Avocado Salad
- Mexican Quinoa Salad
- Mediterranean Lentil Salad
- Healthy Pasta Salad
Did you make this recipe? Scroll down to leave a rating and review!
Greek Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup dry quinoa or 2 cups cooked
- 1 1/3 cup of water or broth
- 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
- 1 English cucumber sliced and quartered
- A quarter of a red onion thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup sliced kalamata olives
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
Dressing:
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 3 tbsp. red wine vinegar
- 2 tsp. lemon juice
- 1 garlic clove minced
- Pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Cook quinoa according to package directions. You can use broth instead of water for more flavour. Allow to cool.
- Once cool, toss quinoa together with the cherry tomatoes, cucumber, onion, olives and feta cheese.
- In a small bowl, mix together the ingredients for the dressing.
- Pour desired amount of dressing onto the quinoa mixture and toss to combine. Allow to sit for at least half an hour for optimal flavour.
Nutrition
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