A 15-minute, One Pan, Gluten-Free and Vegetarian dish that works for equally well for 1 or a crowd! Enjoy as is or serve alongside any protein of choice.
If you’re looking for the Mediterranean Quinoa Stir Fry, read on!
New! I added a cooking video to this page so you could see how easy it is to make this gluten-free Mediterranean Quinoa Stir Fry!
If you’re new to this website, at the bottom of every recipe page is a printable recipe with exact measurements and directions.
Enjoy!
Summer 2020: I first made this last summer when I was playing around with quick meals for myself while my husband was traveling and my youngest at sleep away camp.
It has since become a regular in the rotation, especially in the Summer.
This simple stir fry is versatile, customizable and DELISH!
It has all our favorite flavors, comes together in 15 minutes start to finish, and requires only 1 pan.
It’s perfect whether it’s leftover night & you’re re-purposing random items in the fridge or you need a quick side dish or simple meal.
And it can be made for one or scaled up for more.
Also, it’s customizable— Make it as is or adapt to what you have in the house. The other night I added in random roasted veggies in place of spinach and used goat cheese in place feta, and it was amazing!
Anyway you make it, it is EASY, delicious and satisfying!
Original post…
Finally sharing the One Pan Wonder I’ve been loving the last few weeks!
This Mediterranean Quinoa Stir Fry has literally become a mainstay in my kitchen the past 5 weeks.
It is my personal go to dish when I need a quick dinner and I am flying solo (ie husband at work, kids at camp or out with friends, or they are all grilling meat and I want something hearty for myself).
And I’ve doubled and tripled the quantity when others are home and want to share it alongside grilled chicken or some other protein of choice.
Personally, I just like a big bowl of it as is!
Let’s get to the details.
It is super simple. Just 6 main ingredients:
cooked quinoa
canned chickpeas
cherry or grape tomatoes
fresh baby spinach
kalamata or black olives
and feta.
And it’s seasoned with nothing more than
olive oil
kosher salt
and fresh lemon juice.
If you’ve followed me a while, you know these are some of my favorite flavors and this stir fry does not disappoint!
And it comes together really quickly– as in 15 minutes beginning to end!
And all you need is one pan!
Of note, one of the reasons this dish works so for our family is that we almost always have cooked quinoa in the refrigerator so all the ingredients are pantry staples for us.
If you don’t have quinoa at the ready, you will have to make some but that takes 20 mins total.
Back to the gluten-free Mediterranean Stir Fry …
First, you saute the tomatoes with just a little olive oil and salt until they start to blister.
The you add the chickpeas and saute a few minutes.
Then you add the spinach for a few minutes while it wilts. Then you add in the cooked quinoa and olives. Remove from heat, stir in the feta and drizzle with fresh lemon juice.
That’s it!
Super quick and it is such a flavorful and cozy dish!
This is a perfect dish whether you need dinner for one or want to scale it up for more.
And it’s perfect as a simple main dish or as a side dish.
And lately, as it’s been so cold outside, it’s been my go to lunch as you might have seen on Instagram Stories…
Plus, in this time when we are home and cooking so often, we’ve used the basic recipe and adapted it to what we have in the house.
Here I didn’t have spinach but had lots of random roasted vegetables, so I added them in! Roasted zucchini, eggplant and peppers.
Plus I used goat cheese in place of feta. And it was amazing!
However you make it, hope you love it as much as we do!
PIN it!
Scroll down for recipe and leave a comment if you try.
A quick and easy, one pan, Gluten-Free and Vegetarian dish that works for equally well for 1 or a crowd! Quantities below are for 1 but doubles and scales up well. Enjoy as is or serve alongside any protein of choice. Scales up well so feel free to double or triple quantities.
1/4cupfetacrumbled (option to substitute goat cheese)
2tablespoonsfresh lemon juicesometimes I'll add up to 3 tablespoons
Instructions
Cook quinoa if not already done so
In a medium saucepan, place ½ cup quinoa and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn heat to simmer, cover and let simmer for 15 minutes or until water is absorbed. Once water is absorbed, turn off heat and let cool briefly. Fluff with fork before using.
Note: ½ cup uncooked quinoa will yield about 2 cups cooked quinoa.
Pro Tip: make 1 cup quinoa with 2 cups water and make quinoa as above. Use some for this stir fry and store the rest in the refrigerator for another day.
Mediterranean Stir Fry
In a medium to large saute pan, heat olive oil until hot and shimmering but not burning. Add tomatoes and saute for a 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently, until tomatoes start to blister.
Add chickpeas and stir to combine. Sprinkle with salt and continue sauteing for about another minute or two until chickpeas warm and sauteed to desired amount (just warm or golden, both work!)
Add cooked quinoa and stir to combine. Saute 1-2 minutes to warm, stirring frequently.
Add spinach and olives. Stir to combine and saute 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently until spinach starts to wilt.
Remove from heat. Stir in feta. Drizzle with lemon juice, stir to combine.
This is sooo yummy and quick to throw together! A great fall meal that isn’t heavy but uses up the fresh tomatoes that are still hanging in there. Fresh tasting and a total winner. A fresh idea for my kids who like chickpeas.
Great question! While I freeze just about everything, this isn’t a dish I think would freeze well… I would taste good cold or reheated the next day though. And thank you!
Made this for dinner the other night & paired it with a rotisserie chicken. Love the combination of flavors & textures! Enjoyed it for lunch today with sliced avocado. Delicious!
Hi! My name is Karen, and I’m the mom in our Healthy Gluten-Free Family. My posts and pictures here and on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter are labors of love that allow me to share a very personal journey with you, one our family has taken together — learning, experimenting and sharing how to raise a healthy happy gluten-free family. Read more ...
I adore this recipe! It is a go to in our house at this point because it is so easy and even my picky 5yo scarfs it down!!!
This is sooo yummy and quick to throw together! A great fall meal that isn’t heavy but uses up the fresh tomatoes that are still hanging in there. Fresh tasting and a total winner. A fresh idea for my kids who like chickpeas.
So happy you and your kids love it! And I’m loving it with the fresh tomatoes too!
Such a fast and tasty dinner! This recipe will definitely be a new staple for me.
Isn’t it?! So happy you love it too!
Hi, looking to try this today. If I make extra portions would they freeze ok? Thanks for the great recipes.
Great question! While I freeze just about everything, this isn’t a dish I think would freeze well… I would taste good cold or reheated the next day though. And thank you!
Turned out well! Didn’t use olives but still do good !!
Happy you loved it! Thank you!
I love this recipe☺️Thank you!
Made this for dinner the other night & paired it with a rotisserie chicken. Love the combination of flavors & textures! Enjoyed it for lunch today with sliced avocado. Delicious!