Quinoa Salad Recipe

Brightly colored and overflowing with wholesome vegetables, this Quinoa Salad Recipe will liven up your day. Take this quinoa salad to work for a light but filling lunch, or make this recipe as a weeknight dinner when you're crunched for time.

Crumbly feta pairs well with the overabundance of raw veggies, including red cabbage and cucumber. It's simple to double (or triple!) this quinoa salad recipe to serve a large crowd, such as a family gathering or holiday celebration.

A refreshing lemon oil dressing tops off this salad that you're sure to reach for on repeat.

Maybe it doesn't come across on this blog, but I love food. Mexican cuisine as a category is probably my favorite, but that's really only if I must choose.

So when I had a craving for a light, refreshing Mediterranean-inspired salad recently, and my research for a recipe that sounded good came up empty, I decided to develop my own recipe. 

In the end, this deliciously nutritious quinoa recipe came out of my experimentation.

Use these stunning handthrown pottery mixing bowls for a beautiful presentation of this salad. They are sold individually large, medium and small.

Quinoa Salad Ingredients

Mediterranean salads typically feature an assortment of fresh vegetables, so this quinoa salad recipe falls right in line. 

The star of this salad, aside from the fresh lemon oil dressing, has to be the feta cheese. Satiating fat from the cheese combines perfectly with a rainbow of vegetables and hearty quinoa to make this a full meal on its own or as a side salad.

Splitting the salad from the dressing, here are the ingredients you will need for this recipe.

Salad:

• Quinoa, cooked according to package directions - A hearty grain, quinoa makes up the base of this salad. It's rich in vitamins and minerals and, being a whole grain, keeps you full longer. There are different varieties of quinoa you can use. For this recipe, I used pre-washed and rinsed Ancient Grains organic tri-color quinoa.
• Red cabbage, chopped - Cruciferous vegetables, such as cabbage, are packed full of vitamins. This quinoa salad recipe calls for 4 cups of red cabbage, which may be a lot for some people. If that is the case for you, try 2 or 3 cups and see how you like it. You can always add more.
• Cucumber, diced - Fresh and crunchy cucumber lends the much needed moisture to this salad. I leave the peel on, but you can peel the cucumber if you prefer.
• Red bell pepper, chopped - Not only are red bell peppers high in vitamin C, but they provide a punchy flavor (and color) to this salad. Either chopping or dicing will work for this salad.
• Red onion, diced - Onion rounds out the vegetables in this salad and, while I appreciate the spicy flavor red onion adds to this salad, not everyone likes onion. Use half to a whole red onion for this salad.
• Chickpeas/garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained - What salad would be complete without protein. As Harvard's School of Public Health discusses, garbanzo beans and chickpeas are the same thing. Canned garbanzo beans ensure this quinoa salad recipe comes together quickly, since you just rinse, drain and you're done! I like Eden Organic/Foods organic garbanzo beans and Omena Organics organic garbanzo beans.
• Feta cheese, crumbled - In all its satiating glory, feta cheese completes this recipe. Feta is crumbly and contains a high amount of moisture, which this salad needs. Two brands of feta that I love are Valbreso French feta and Kourellas feta barrel organic.

Dressing:

• 100% lemon juice - Fresh squeezed or 100% lemon juice (not from concentrate) is what you want in this salad. Tart, tangy and oozing freshness, lemon juice complements other flavor profiles present in this salad.
• Olive oil - The richness of extra virgin olive oil is not lost on this salad. A slightly nutty taste comes through, tempered by emulsifying the oil and lemon juice together. One of my favorite olive oils is La Tourangelle Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, single-sourced from Andalucía, Spain.

Variations:

• After mixing the salad together, add a couple sprigs of roughly chopped parsley.
• Toss in a handful of kalamata olives to take the saltiness up a notch.

How to Make Quinoa Salad

1. Cook the quinoa according to the directions on the package. Put the quinoa in a large mixing bowl and chill in the refrigerator for around 10-15 minutes.

2. Roughly chop the red cabbage. Add it to the mixing bowl.

3. Dice the cucumbers. Add it to the mixing bowl.

4. Chop the red bell pepper. Add it to the mixing bowl.

5. Dice the red onion. Add it to the mixing bowl.

6. Drain and rinse the garbanzo beans. Add it to the mixing bowl.

7. Crumble the feta cheese. Add it to the mixing bowl.

8. Stir (or shake) well to fully combine. Drizzle the dressing on the mixed salad. Stir well again to fully combine.

11. Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator until ready to consume.

Serving Suggestions

Quinoa salad can be served as a side dish, as a wholesome lunch and as a game day appetizer, next to my perfectly creamy deviled eggs and home fries, or as an afternoon or snack. Whatever the occasion, this is the best quinoa salad recipe to have on hand.

• Appetizer - Quinoa salad appetizer is great served in small, individual bowls. I use ramekins, because, you know, they're adorable. This salad can easily be paired with other thematically similar appetizers, such as pita bread and hummus.
• Side dish - Quinoa salad is right at home next to a chicken gyro.

• Snack - Grab a small bowl of this for a crisp, vegetable filled snack that will provide you with a dose of energy to finish the day. 
• Entree - Given the combination of whole grains, protein and fats, this quinoa salad is balanced to make it as an easy weeknight entree.

How to Store Quinoa Salad

You may consume the same day. Otherwise, quinoa salad should be stored in the refrigerator for up to a few days.