Greek Quinoa Salad

Greek Quinoa Salad – made with quinoa, cucumbers, red onion, tomatoes, olives, feta, and homemade delicious greek vinaigrette. It’s fresh, delicious, and the perfect side dish for your next party or make it to enjoy for lunches all week.

I enjoy salads all year round but when summer comes I go into salad overdrive. Salads are easy to make, healthy, and go with grilled chicken, turkey burgers, hamburgers, and other grilled favorites.

Mexican Quinoa Salad, Vegan Pasta Salad, Chickpea Salad are always on repeat during the hot summer months. Now we can this Greek Quinoa Salad to the list.

Reasons you’ll love this recipe

• Healthy – Fresh vegetables fill this quinoa salad. The quinoa adds protein, fiber, and omega-3s, and the salad dressing includes simple, clean ingredients.
• Easy to prepare – This salad comes together quickly. 
• Gluten-free – This greek quinoa salad is a delicious gluten-free salad option to serve at your next party.
• Vegetarian – Non-meat eaters will enjoy this quinoa greek salad, but it also tastes delicious with chicken, fish, or steak.
• Make-ahead – You can make this salad on Sunday for lunches all week or ahead of time to serve for your next summer party.

Ingredients

Quinoa – often thought of as a grain, quinoa is a seed. However, it’s similar to other grains in the way you prepare and use it in recipes. Quinoa is a nutritional powerhouse that includes fiber, protein, omega-3’s, and other nutrition. It’s also gluten-free, which makes it a popular choice for people who have gluten sensitivities.

I use organic white quinoa for this recipe, but any quinoa variety will work. I purchase organic quinoa in a 3lb bag from my local wholesale store (BJ’s Wholesale).

Vegetable broth – Using vegetable broth keeps this Quinoa Greek Salad vegetarian. However, you can also use chicken broth. I recommend a high-quality organic broth for the best flavor.

Cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and red onion – This is the vegetable foundation to any greek salad recipe. 

You can use cherry or grape tomatoes. I like to cut them in half, but you can keep them whole.

For the cucumbers, I like using small cucumbers that I cut in half-moons. These are also called Persian cucumbers; they come in a package of 5 or 6. I don’t peel these cucumbers.

You can also use English cucumbers. I recommend peeling, cutting in half and removing the seeds, and then chopping them into small pieces for this variety.

Kalamata olives – A small amount of kalamata (or greek) olives go a long way with flavor. You can purchase a jar of Greek kalamata olives or head over to the Mediterranean bar in your local grocery store. Make sure to buy pitted olives.

Chickpeas – these add a meaty texture along with extra protein and fiber.

Feta cheese – Is it even a Greek salad if it doesn’t include feta? I don’t think so. I use crumbled plain feta, but you can purchase a block of feta and cut it into small cubes. Or a marinated feta would be good. Use your favorite.

Greek dressing – When I first started making this salad, I used store-bought olive oil and vinegar dressing. In the last couple of years, I began to make a homemade Greek dressing to go with this salad. Both are excellent, but homemade dressing keeps this recipe clean and gluten-free. 

Cooking Tips

Supplies

• Small sauce pot
• Small and Large Mixing Bowls
• 16-ounce mason jars
• Salad bowl
• Mesh strainer
• Meal prep containers 
• Large covered storage bowl

How to Make Greek Quinoa Salad

• Start by making the quinoa. First, soak the quinoa in a small bowl of water for a minute. As it soaks, give it a couple of stirs until the water becomes slightly cloudy. Then pour the quinoa into a mesh strainer and rinse under cold running water. 
• Place the quinoa into a small pot and pour in the vegetable broth. Cover and bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for 15 minutes or until water is absorbed.
• Remove from the heat and let it sit covered for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork. Cool the quinoa before tossing it with the other salad ingredients. It’s helpful to make the quinoa ahead of time and then keeping it in the fridge until ready to put the rest of the salad together.
• Put together the greek salad dressing. In a 16-ounce mason jar (or medium bowl), pour in the olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, lemon juice, oregano, and honey. Shake vigorously or whisk together. Set the dressing aside.
• In a large mixing or salad bowl, add the quinoa, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, olives, and feta cheese and mix. 
• Pour the dressing over the top and toss to coat evenly—season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to 4-5 days. Please note if you’re making this salad ahead of time for a party, I recommend adding half the dressing the day before the party and the rest of it right before you serve it.

How to Store

Meal prep for the week

Greek Quinoa Salad is a delicious salad to make for lunches during the week. Prepare the salad on Sunday and then either portion it out into individual meal prep containers or place it into a large covered container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

As the salad sits, it does soak up a lot of the dressing, so I recommend saving some of the dressing to add to the salad before eating it during the week.

Other make-ahead options

Another meal prep option is to prepare the quinoa and dressing ahead of time. When you’re ready to make the salad, mix with the rest of the ingredients and serve.

Other Healthy Greek Recipes

• Keto Greek Salad in a Jar
• Greek Turkey Meatloaf
• Greek Turkey Burger
• Greek Chicken Marinade
• Greek Chicken and Vegetables
• Greek Quinoa Breakfast Bowl
• Greek Shrimp

Or check out my other healthy salad recipes.

Did you make this recipe?

Have you tried this Greek Quinoa Salad yet? If so, I’d love for you to rate this recipe and leave a comment below. We all learn from each other’s experiences. Also, it would be awesome if you could share a picture on Instagram and tag it #organizeyourselfskinny. I can’t wait to see it.