This garden-fresh Mediterranean Quinoa Salad with Feta and Lemon-Herb Dressing makes a protein-rich summertime meal in a bowl! Combine quinoa, tomatoes, cucumbers, Kalamata olives, and fresh basil for a healthy Greek lunch or side dish for dinner.
❤️ Why you'll love this quinoa salad
- This Mediterranean Quinoa Salad with fresh garden tomatoes and feta will take you to the sun-drenched beaches of the Greek Islands. It has all the flavors of the Mediterranean in one healthy quinoa salad.
- When summer produce is abundant, gardens and farmers' markets are overflowing with cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, fresh herbs and so much more. And what better way to beat the heat than with a nutritious salad made with fresh garden veggies?
- I make this vegetarian Mediterranean quinoa salad recipe every summer to take advantage of our usual bumper crop of tomatoes, cucumbers, and basil.
- I add Greek touches with salty Kalamata olives and feta cheese. Topped off with a lemon-herb vinaigrette, this salad makes a tasty summertime meal-in-a-bowl.
🛒 Ingredients
Ready to gather ingredients? Here's what you'll need to make this Greek-inspired quinoa salad.
- quinoa: Rinse it thoroughly first in a fine-mesh colander. This step removes the naturally occurring saponins on the outside of the grains which can be bitter.
- cherry tomatoes: or grape tomatoes, or other tomatoes, chopped
- cucumber: seeded and chopped, crunchy cucumbers add texture
- red onion: or green onion, if you prefer
- Kalamata olives: pitted and sliced, salty olives add a delicious layer of flavor to this Mediterranean quinoa salad.
- feta cheese: crumbled, for more salty deliciousness
- fresh basil leaves: chiffonade cut
For the dressing, you'll need
- olive oil, a lemon, white wine or champagne vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, dried thyme and oregano, a garlic clove, salt.
🥄 Step-by-Step Instructions
- Rinse and measure the quinoa. While the standard proportions for cooking quinoa are 1 part quinoa to 2 parts water, I always have more success when I use a little less water. One cup of quinoa will yield three cups of cooked quinoa. In this recipe, you'll only need two cups, so use ⅔ of a cup of dry quinoa and 1 ⅓ cups of water. Follow the directions on your package of quinoa.
- Cook the quinoa. Combine it with water and salt in a medium saucepan, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmer gently until all the water has been absorbed. Remove from the heat, keep it covered, and let it stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork, then spread out on a baking sheet or tray to cool completely.
- Chop the veggies.
- Combine the Lemon-Herb dressing ingredients in a blender.
- Toss all ingredients together in a bowl.
- Chill until serving time.
❓Your questions, answered
Quinoa is a healthy seed with a complete protein rarely found in plant foods. It's gluten-free and it's an excellent source of iron and fiber, making it a great choice for vegetarian diets.
While this recipe is best eaten on the day it's made, it will stay fresh for 2 - 3 days when kept covered in the fridge. Basil bruises easily, so add it just before serving.
🔁 Possible Variations
Make it your own! Here are a few suggestions for ways to vary this salad. Use what you have on hand!
- Add chopped cooked chicken (or shredded rotisserie chicken).
- Keep it vegetarian by adding canned and rinsed chickpeas.
- Add spinach or arugula leaves.
- Top with cubed or sliced avocado.
- Keep it paleo by leaving out the feta cheese.
🍽 Serving suggestions
This Garden Fresh Mediterranean Quinoa Salad with Feta is an ideal salad to take on a picnic, a camping trip, or to a potluck. With no lettuce to wilt, and no mayonnaise to worry about spoiling, it's a Greek quinoa salad that will stay fresh, packed up for your next adventure.
It's a salad I've been making for years, with variations depending on what I have on hand. Think of it as a back-pocket salad--one that you can use to round out almost any meal.
Need a lunch idea? This salad packs easily (try it in a Mason jar) and it makes a satisfying lunch!
I make this Quinoa Salad with Cranberries and Pears in the fall and winter, and these Teriyaki Chicken Quinoa Bowls year round, but today I'm sharing this summer-fresh Greek quinoa salad.
This Mediterranean quinoa salad is delicious with any of the following dishes.
🗒 More fresh salad recipes
- Thai-Style Coleslaw with Sesame Ginger Dressing
- Blackberry Spinach Salad with Blackberry Balsamic Dressing
- Roasted Sweet Potato Kale Salad with Nutritional Yeast Dressing
- Winter Persimmon Kale Salad
📖 Recipe
Garden Fresh Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
Salad Ingredients
- ⅔ cup dry quinoa, rinsed
- 1 ⅓ cups water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 medium cucumber, seeded and chopped
- ½ cup kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
- ½ cup feta cheese, crumbled
- ¼ cup red onion, finely chopped
- 4 - 6 fresh basil leaves, chiffonade cut, for garnish
Lemon Herb Vinaigrette Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest, finely grated
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar, or champagne vinegar
- ¼ cup olive oil, extra virgin
- ½ teaspoon ground thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 clove garlic , finely minced, or ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 pinch sea salt
Instructions
- First, cook the quinoa. While the standard proportions for cooking quinoa are 1 part quinoa to 2 parts water, I have more success when I use a little less water. 1 cup of quinoa will yield 3 cups of cooked quinoa. In this recipe, you'll only need 2 cups, so use ⅔ cup of dry quinoa and 1 ⅓ cups of water. (or follow the directions on your package of quinoa.) Rinse the quinoa thoroughly in a fine-mesh colander, then combine with water and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmer gently until all the water has been absorbed. Remove from the heat, keep it covered and let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork, then spread out on a baking sheet or tray to cool completely.
- Combine the Lemon-Herb Vinaigrette ingredients in a blender.
- Chop or slice the tomatoes, cucumber, olives and red onion .
- In a large bowl, combine the cooled quinoa, tomatoes, cucumber, olives, feta cheese and red onion.
- Toss with Lemon Herb Vinaigrette and garnish with fresh basil.
Notes
- Add chopped cooked chicken (or shredded rotisserie chicken).
- Keep it vegetarian by adding chickpeas.
- Add spinach or arugula leaves.
- Top with cubed or sliced avocado.
- Keep it dairy-free by leaving out the feta cheese.
Donna
This is a great basic quinoa salad. I've made it many times and change it up. Sometimes I add chicken to it, or black beans, or chickpeas. Always turns out good.Thanks.
Elaine
Thanks Donna! Happy to hear you like it as much as we do!