Ohhhhh the beloved Mediterranean quinoa salad….quite possibly the only salad recipe you’ll ever need.
Okay, that make be an exaggeration, but it’s hands down the most popular salad at Alchemy.
I love how mainstream quinoa is becoming. It was only a few short years ago when I was pronouncing the funky little psuedo-grain “kee-no-ah” and wondering how to incorporate it into dishes. Now we put it in half of Alchemy’s salads and no one even asks us to define it!
Even though I’ve forced quinoa against its will into blueberry peach crumbles, cheesy buffalo bites, strawberry oatmeal bars and pumpkin muffins oh my, let’s face it…quinoa was made for salads. It’s the bite of texture. It’s the protein punch. It’s the little balls of glory that take on whatever flavor you so choose.
If you’re anything like me, you majorly over-ate on Turkey Day. That’s what the holiday is for! This salad is a nice little detox because a) it’s not an off-putting army-green smoothie and b) it makes raw vegetables taste like heaven. I’m honestly not one to snack on raw veggies that often. Even though they’re more nutritious, I personally prefer them roasted. The beauty of this salad is that you’re eating loads of raw tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, onions and parsley without even realizing it.
This salad is basically the answer to all of the questions.
Ready….set…DETOX!
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- ½ tbsp pure maple syrup
- ½ tbsp dried oregano
- ¾ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1½ cups quinoa (uncooked)
- 2½ cups water
- 1 medium cucumber, de-seeded and chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- ½ large red onion, chopped
- 1½ cups cherry tomatoes, chopped
- ¾ cup feta cheese
- ¾ cup kalamata olives, pitted and halved
- 1 cup parsley, loosely packed and finely chopped
- Place quinoa and water in a medium pot. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low and simmer covered for about 15 minutes, or until quinoa is cooked through. Fluff with a fork.
- Whisk together the dressing ingredients and set aside.
- Place cucumber, pepper, red onion, tomatoes, feta, olives, and parsley in a large bowl. Add cooked quinoa, stirring to combine.
- Pour dressing over salad and toss to combine. Serve!
This sounds delicious. I’m making this with the intention of eating it for lunch… but let’s just be real: it’ll be breakfast.
Hahaha that happens to me ALL the time!
It WAS delicious. For both meals 🙂 Easy to throw together and healthy, with a taste like that- thank you for the recipe!
I <3 quinoa in a big way – it is so easy on my gut! I love the sound of your maple-vinegar dressing with this veggie filled quinoa dish!
Thanks lady! It’s my favorite side dish to date!
Yummy, I have all the ingredients to make a batch today!
Perfect!!
I love throwing quinoa with veggies (cooked or raw) to make a grain based salad, always delicious. This one sounds great for a healthy dish to take for a holiday get-together!
Dietitian Jess recently posted…Cyber Monday Must Haves
It would be perfect for a holiday get together, especially since it’s so colorful!
I eat raw veggies aaall day everyday. I’m often too lazy or short in time to put them in the oven or a pan so I just ear then as they are. And I like it that way! Crunchy, juice, sweet, yum. I can imagine the great taste of this salad already! Roasted veggies are sooo good too though!
That’s awesome that you eat so many raw veggies!!
This is my kind of salad! I can see why it’s so popular!
Maryea @ Happy Healthy Mama recently posted…Salted Dark Chocolate Covered Bananas
You’d love it! It’s such a simple yet delish flavor combo.
Cute blog layout!
100% agree that it is so awesome to see quinoa more mainstream. I’m using it in my slow cooker and LOVE it. My Mom on the other hand likes to call it “Quizznos”. She’s not a fan. I’ll convert that Italian someday…or not. Thanks for sharing!
She Rocks Fitness recently posted…Drink Bai GIVEAWAY
I LOVE how mainstream quinoa has become! It’s on so many dishes these days and I couldn’t be happier. This salad looks so colorful and fresh! Yum!
Alex Caspero MA,RD (@delishknowledge) recently posted…Thanksgiving in Vegas
What can you recommend to substitute for maple syrup? (Can you leave it out if you wanted?) Thanks.
Agave or honey would be good subs. I suppose you could leave it out, but I’ve never tried it!
Alexis – Just made a batch of this last night for lunch this week. Soooo delicious!
Yay! Isn’t the bomb?! Perfect for lunches because it gets better as it sits!
This was awesome, worth the time
So glad you liked it, Cyndi!
This sounds delish! Not all these veggies would work, but I bet it would be yummy with roasted veggies too!
Thank you for the recipe Alexis.
It’s supper yummy and so easy to make!
Stumbled across this recipe. It’s great! I only did 1 cup (uncooked) of quinoa, because I love all the other stuff in the salad.