Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

So excited for you to try this simple, gluten-free Mediterranean Quinoa Salad!

It’s fresh tasting, savory, salty, satisfying and so delicious!

And it’s naturally gluten-free!

It’s also easy to make and is so versatile!

It can be served warm or cold, and it’s one of those salads that pairs with everything and works equally well for lunch, as a side dish, for a weekday meal or for entertaining.

The funny thing is, it’s a salad I’ve been making for years but adding feta, warm chickpeas and kalamata olives to our Quinoa Tabbouleh to make it more of a meal… so I decided it needed it’s own place on the website!

So let’s make it!

It is simple in both ingredients and ease of making it.

It’s made with 12 real, whole food ingredients:

quinoa

cherry tomatoes

cucumber

parsley

scallions

chickpeas

feta

kalamata olives

lemon juice

olive oil

salt and pepper.

And it comes together quickly. 

There’s very little cooking involved for this salad, just a little chopping, and cooking the quinoa, so it’s quite quick to assemble!

You can prep all the veggies while the quinoa cooks and the entire dish can be ready in 20 minutes.

Lets start with the quinoa. I get lots of messages about how to cook quinoa.

I follow the directions on the package and make the quinoa by combining 1 cup quinoa with 2 cups water and bringing to a boil.

Then reduce to simmer and cover for 15 minutes. Let sit 5 minutes and fluff with a fork.

Works every time.

Pro tip: you could cook your quinoa a day ahead or any time earlier in the day before assembling the salad.

Now let’s saute the chickpeas.

You could just used chickpeas straight from the can, drained and rinsed but I love the flavor of the sauteed chickpeas and if you’re serving it with warm chickpeas, it’s really delicious!

All you do is saute the chickpeas with some olive oil and kosher salt.

This is my favorite way to enjoy chickpeas and I probably do it a few times a week and add it to lunch salads! Super quick and easy!

Then all you do is place all the ingredients in a large bowl, add the dressing and toss together!

It’s fresh, light and flavorful!

And it’s adaptable to tastes and availability of ingredients.

• For instance, you could add more or less of any vegetable or ingredient.
• And you can chop the cucumber and tomatoes as small or big as you like!

The one thing I never switch up is the simple dressing!

It’s just lemon juice, olive oil and kosher salt.

It’s fresh and works so well with this salad.

One of the reasons we love this salad is that it pairs well with so many other salads and a protein of choice.

We’ve served it with grilled chicken, steak and salmon. For a vegetarian option, I’ve served it with everything from a green salad to grilled portobello mushrooms to hummus and avocado!

Finally, this salad also makes a large quantity so perfect for a crowd or meal prep.

Hope you love it as much as we do!

For more simple salads, click here.

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Scroll down for the recipe and leave a comment if you make it.