We’ve had exceptionally warm weather this month and it’s gotten me thinking about healthy make-ahead lunches that aren’t soup. I can happily eat soup all year round but not everyone here for lunch feels that way. This Greek quinoa salad is a perfect spring and summer lunch alternative – easy to mass produce, full of healthy ingredients, keeps well in the fridge all week, and bursting with the flavours of summer.
It’s pretty self-explanatory I guess – we’re basically just taking the ingredients for Greek salad (tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, red onion, and olives if you’re into that kind of thing), cutting them a lot smaller than traditional Greek salad, and mixing them with quinoa and fresh homemade Greek vinaigrette before topping it with a generous amount of feta cheese.
I first had this salad at a barbecue a couple years ago, and I’ll admit I was skeptical. Quinoa isn’t typically an ingredient that speaks to me. I mean, it tastes good disguised in chocolate cake or chili, but as a main ingredient in a salad? But I knew the person who brought it makes really good food, so I took a small scoop to try…and soon went back for more, and then got the recipe.
While I still love Greek salad on its own, this higher-protein version makes a beautiful summer side dish to literally any grilled meat, and leftovers are one of my favourite summer lunches. Hope you enjoy it too!
- QUINOA SALAD:
- 2 cups cooked, cooled quinoa
- 1 cucumber, diced small
- ¼ cup finely diced red onion
- 2 orange or yellow bell peppers, finely diced
- 2-3 Roma tomatoes, finely diced
- Feta cheese to taste
- DRESSING:
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed or finely minced
- 1-2 tsp dried oregano, or 1 Tbsp fresh oregano
- 1 tsp dried parsley, or 1 Tbsp fresh parsley
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- Mix all salad ingredients gently in a large bowl.
- Combine dressing ingredients in a measuring cup or jar with a lid. Whisk or shake thoroughly to combine and drizzle over quinoa. Stir to combine and add additional salt, pepper, and feta to taste.
My mom makes this a lot and it’s always tasty!