Name: Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Ingredients: 1 cup uncooked quinoa; 2 cups water; 2 ½ cups cherry tomatoes; 1 can chickpeas, drained; 1 ½ cups cucumber; ¾ cups diced red onion; ¾ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley; ½ cup crumbled feta; ½ cup black olives, sliced; Salt and pepper, to taste; ½ cup olive oil; 1 lemon, juiced; 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar; ½ teaspoon garlic powder

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Not only is this Mediterranean quinoa salad beautiful — it's tasty and good for you too! This salad is satisfying, nutritious, and easy to make with a simple olive oil dressing.

Mediterranean quinoa salad in white bowl.

About This Recipe

This recipe is an instant-favorite because it's delicious and versatile. You can make it as a main dish, side dish, or meal prep for your week! The flavors of the salad actually get better after it's been in the fridge for a couple of days.

Full of Mediterranean-inspired flavors, this salad is fresh, light, and flavorful. The quinoa also makes a tasty base for this salad as it soaks up so much of the flavor from the other ingredients and the dressing.

Ingredient Notes

Here are some popular substitutions and additions to this recipe:

Quinoa: this recipe calls for white quinoa, but you could also use red quinoa or any similar grain.
Olives: use black olives (like Kalamata olives) or green olives.
Lettuce: add a leafy base like spinach or arugula to turn this into a green salad.

Similar Recipes

For similar Mediterranean-inspired with nearly identical ingredients, check out our Orzo Pasta Salad and Mediterranean Chickpea Salad.

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

Author: Megan
Total Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 6 servings 1x
Diet: Gluten Free

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Description

Not only is this Mediterranean quinoa salad beautiful — it's tasty and good for you too! This salad is satisfying, nutritious, and easy to make with a simple olive oil dressing.

Ingredients

Scale

1 cup uncooked quinoa
2 cups water
2 ½ cups cherry tomatoes
1 can chickpeas, drained
1 ½ cups cucumber
¾ cups diced red onion
¾ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
½ cup crumbled feta
½ cup black olives, sliced
Salt and pepper, to taste

For the dressing:

½ cup olive oil
1 lemon, juiced
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
½ teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions

Cook the quinoa: rinse your quinoa in a fine mesh strainer. Add it to 2 cups of water in a medium saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil, cover, and turn the heat to low. Let the quinoa simmer for 15 minutes, until cooked.
Make the dressing: in a small bowl, mix together the ingredients for the dressing.
Mix: Let the quinoa cool slightly and then add it to a large bowl with the remaining salad ingredients. Drizzle the dressing on top and toss to mix. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
Serve: for best flavor, chill your salad for 10 minutes or more (covered, in the fridge) before serving.