Healthy Greek Quinoa Salad with a Simple Lemon Vinaigrette
This healthy greek quinoa salad is a gluten-free and protein-packed lunch that is filled with chickpeas, English cucumbers, Kalamata olives, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, feta cheese, and parsley. It's a great dish to meal prep or serve to your whole family.
Ingredients
- 2 cups dry white quinoa
- 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 2 red bell peppers
- 1 English cucumber chopped
- 1 green bell pepper chopped
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes sliced in half
- 1 cup pitted Kalamata olives
- 1 15 oz. can chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 1 cup parsley chopped
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 5 oz. feta cheese optional
Lemon Vinaigrette
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp. dried oregano
- 1 garlic clove crushed or grated
- 1 tbsp. red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp. honey
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Bring a large pot to medium-high heat. Once heated, pour in the white quinoa, and toast for 1-2 minutes, or until fragrant.
- Pour in 4 cups of water or broth with the salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Bring it to a boil. Once it’s boiling, reduce the heat to medium and let the quinoa simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until all the water has been absorbed by the quinoa. For extra fluffy quinoa, cover the pot with a lid for the last 5 minutes.
- While the quinoa is cooking, wash and place the 2 red bell peppers onto a baking pan and let it roast for 30-40 minutes. You can tell it’s done when it’s soft and wrinkled with black spots.
- While the red bell peppers are roasting, make the salad. Start by cutting the cucumbers. Cut the cucumber in half, length-wise, and then scoop out the seeds. Dry each cucumber "boat" with a towel to soak up the extra water. Cut each piece in half length-wise again, and then cut into 1-inch pieces.
- When the quinoa is done cooking, set it aside to cool down. If you want to speed up the cooling process, stick the quinoa in the fridge.
- Combine the chopped cucumber, chopped green bell pepper, sliced cherry tomatoes, Kalamata olives, chickpeas, and ¾ cup of chopped parsley in a large bowl. You’ll want to soak each batch of vegetables you chop to minimize water excretion. This will help prevent the salad from getting too soggy when it sits. You can use paper towels or a regular kitchen towel to soak up the extra water the vegetables excrete.
- Make the dressing next. Combine the lemon juice, olive oil, oregano, red pepper flakes, honey, salt, pepper, and garlic in a small bowl. Mix the salad dressing well with a whisk. Set aside. You can also make the dressing by combining all of the ingredients into a blender.
- Once the red bell peppers are done roasting and have been cooled, peel the skins off, de-seed them, and roughly chop them. I usually cut them into strips length-wise, and then chop the strips into 1-inch pieces. Combine the peppers, cooled quinoa, and 4 oz. of feta cheese into the large mixing bowl with the chopped vegetables.
- Pour the salad dressing over the large salad bowl and stir to combine.
- Cover and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
- Garnish with the leftover feta cheese and parsley.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
1.) When making the dressing and measuring out the honey, use cooking oil spray on the measuring spoon you use to spoon out the honey. By spraying it with oil, and then putting the honey on the spoon, it will slip out without any honey sticking to the spoon.
2.) If you want to meal prep this dish, then prepare the quinoa, chopped vegetables, and dressing separately, and combine them when you are ready to eat. This will minimize all chances of too much moisture developing and making your salad soggy over the course of the week. However, I've tried meal-prepping this dish, and it lasts wonderfully the whole week if I just pat the chopped vegetables dry before combining everything. This is more of a precautionary step if you want to meal prep it.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition Facts
Healthy Greek Quinoa Salad with a Simple Lemon Vinaigrette
Serving Size
8
Amount per Serving
Calories
399
% Daily Value*
Fat
23
g
35
%
Saturated Fat
5
g
31
%
Polyunsaturated Fat
3
g
Monounsaturated Fat
13
g
Cholesterol
16
mg
5
%
Sodium
1060
mg
46
%
Potassium
614
mg
18
%
Carbohydrates
41
g
14
%
Fiber
7
g
29
%
Sugar
5
g
6
%
Protein
11
g
22
%
Vitamin A
2820
IU
56
%
Vitamin C
73
mg
88
%
Calcium
183
mg
18
%
Iron
4
mg
22
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Calories
399
Serving Size
8
Nutrition Facts
These values were taken from a nutrition calculator.
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