Greek quinoa salad with fresh veggies, feta, and a delicious vinaigrette is the perfect summer meal! I love that you can prepare this meal in less than half an hour. I also love that you can make it ahead and enjoy it for a whole week after.
It’s hard to beat meals you can just grab out of the fridge to eat — no reheating required.
You might have noticed my greek quinoa salad doesn’t include olives. I know this is borderline blasphemous to admit, but I just don’t like olives! I wish I did though, if that counts? Go ahead and add about a cup of them if that’s an ingredient you’d like to include.
Tips for cooking your quinoa
If you’ve got the time, I highly recommend toasting your quinoa before you cook it.
All it takes is adding the quinoa to a pot (and a little bit of oil if you want but it’s not totally necessary), and cooking it on medium heat for about five minutes. You’ll notice the delicious, nutty aroma start to fill the air.
Once this is done, you can go ahead and boil your quinoa according to package directions. Toasting the quinoa first really enhances the flavor, if you ask me. But if you skip this step, your Greek quinoa salad will still be DELICIOUS!
You’ll also see in the recipe notes I talked about exactly how I cook mine.
Here’s a link to some great instructions for toasting and cooking quinoa.
Customizing your Greek quinoa salad
Not only do I not include olives in my Greek quinoa salad, I also peel my cucumbers before dicing them.
These are two things that are just personal preferences. You can do what’s best for you! For example, if you want a dairy free and vegan salad, skip the feta. Or you can use half or two thirds the amount of oil and vinegar if you’d like it less saucy.
But this is how I love it and I think you’ll love it too!
This is the perfect thing to make on a Sunday night for meal prep, portion out, and take for lunch during the week! It doesn’t require reheating and I think it gets even better after some fridge time when it has a chance to marinate…Yum!!!!
Print RecipeGreek Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
For the Dressing
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- ½ lemon juiced
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- ¼ tsp sugar
- ½ tsp basil dried
- 1 tsp oregano dried
- ½ tsp parsley dried
- ¼ tsp salt or to taste
- 10-15 grinds black pepper or to taste
For the Salad
- 1.25 cups quinoa (measured uncooked)
- ½ large cucumber diced
- ½ large red bell pepper diced
- ½ large green bell pepper diced
- ⅓ cup red onion diced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 cup feta cheese crumbled
Instructions
- Cook quinoa* according to package directions. Set aside and let cool.
- While your quinoa cooks, set out a large mixing bowl. In the bowl, add olive oil, red wine vinegar, and the juice of half a lemon. Mix. Add basil, oregano, parsley, sugar, salt, and pepper. Whisk well to combine.
- Dice your vegetables and add them to the bowl with the dressing. Add the crumbled feta. Stir to combine.
- Add the quinoa to the dressing and vegetables once it's cooled down to room temperature. Stir everything well to make sure all ingredients are incorporated.
- Serve immediately, or keep in the fridge and eat within one week (serve cold).
Notes
- This greek quinoa salad makes GREAT leftovers.
- If you're serving this as a main course, it should serve about four people. For a side dish, it will make at least six servings.
- I peel my cucumber before dicing it, but it's up to you if you want to keep the skins on.
- Feel free to multiply or divide the ingredients to change the amount you make.
- I cook 1.25 cups of quinoa in two cups of water. I combine the quinoa and water, and let it come to a boil. Then, I reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for about 15 minutes, or until all the water is absorbed. Then, I fluff it with a fork and let it sit and come to room temperature.
I can’t waaaait to hear what you think of this one! Please comment down below and let me know what you think.
xo – C
Made this salad for dinner tonight (and tomorrow’s lunch!) and absolutely loved it. Super light and refreshing but also filling at the same time. My husband loved it too. Total winner!
This made my day! Thanks Kels xo