This Greek quinoa salad is healthy and delicious and so easy to make. It makes the perfect side dish or light lunch. You will love it!
This Greek quinoa salad is super easy to make and tastes fantastic. If you like quinoa that is. My daughter and I love this salad, but the boys here are not so fond of it.
They love Greek anything, but think that it should be Greek salad minus the quinoa instead. They’re wrong, but that’s okay. We can’t all like everything.
If you like quinoa though, you will enjoy this salad. All the flavours of Greek salad, but the quinoa makes it a more filling side dish. It’s even hearty enough to make a great lunch, especially if you add some cooked chicken for some added protein.
What is Greek salad made of?
Typically Greek salad has cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers, black (or kalamata) olives, red onion, and feta cheese. For this Greek quinoa salad, I’ve added quinoa to the mix, but other than that it’s basically the same as the usual Greek salad.
Adding some quinoa just makes the salad a bit more filling if you’re having it for lunch, and it covers bother the salad and the carb as a side dish with dinner.
I like to add some chopped, cooked chicken when I’m having this salad for lunch, to make it more of a complete meal, so that’s also an option.
Should quinoa salad be served cold?
This quinoa salad should be served cold. With all the fresh vegetables in this salad, you should definitely used cooked quinoa that has cooled down.
Don’t mix up the salad immediately after cooking the quinoa while it’s still hot. Let it cool first, then toss the salad together, and chill it until you are ready to serve it.
Can you make this salad ahead of time?
Yes, you can prepare this salad ahead of time. Either earlier in the day, or even a day or two ahead of time is totally fine.
This salad keeps well in the fridge for up to 3 days, so it’s a very convenient side dish or lunch recipe, as you can mix it up when you have time, and then chill it until you are ready to serve it.
How to make Greek Quinoa Salad:
- Chop up all the veggies, cook and cool the quinoa, and whisk together the dressing. You can mix all three together immediately and chill it until you are ready to serve it.
- I do recommend using a fresh lemon and lemon zest for the dressing rather than bottled lemon juice.
- If you prefer kalamata olives instead of black olives you can definitely substitute them. My kids don’t like kalamata olives for some reason so I always use black instead.
Here are some more great salad recipes for you:
- Easy Cucumber Salad
- Chopped Salad with Grilled Chicken
- Broccoli Salad
- Potato Salad
- Greek Pasta Salad
Greek Quinoa Salad
This Greek quinoa salad is healthy and delicious and so easy to make. It makes the perfect side dish or light lunch. You will love it!
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 2 cups cooked quinoa
- 2 cups chopped cucumber
- 1/2 cup sliced black olives
- 1 bell pepper (any colour), chopped
- 1/3 cup chopped red onion
- 2 cups quartered grape tomatoes
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
For the dressing:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lemon, juice and zest
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 3/4 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- In a large bowl, place the quinoa, cucumber, olives, bell pepper, red onion, tomatoes, and feta.
- In a small bowl, whisk together all of the dressing ingredients.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to coat the salad evenly with the dressing.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Salad keeps well in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1 cupAmount Per Serving: Calories: 232Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 11mgSodium: 296mgCarbohydrates: 21gFiber: 4gSugar: 5gProtein: 6g
Nutrition Information is estimated based on ingredients used and may not be exact.
I’ve also shared this Greek Quinoa Salad recipe over on Food Fanatic.