Zesty Quinoa Salad

This zesty quinoa salad with chickpeas and feta cheese is packed with flavor, texture, and goodness. It's a very simple salad to pull together, and is filling and healthy. You'll make this on repeat!

Course Salad

Cuisine Mediterranean

Diet Gluten Free, Halal, Vegetarian

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 15

Servings people

Calories 275kcal

Author Farah Abumaizar

Ingredients

For the dressing

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup
1 tablespoon balsalmic vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
1/2 teaspoon salt
pinch black pepper

For the salad:

1 cup quinoa, rinsed well 160g
2 cups water
2 cucumbers, diced small
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green apple, diced
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed 400g
1/2 cup parsley, finely chopped
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup dried cranberries

Instructions

For the dressing:

Whisk together all the dressing ingredients until smooth and combined. Set aside.

For the salad:

Combine the rinsed quinoa and the water in a medium saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, then decrease the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook uncovered, until the quinoa has absorbed all of the water, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and let the quinoa rest for 5 minutes, to give it time to fluff up. Cool to room temperature.
In a serving plate, add the cucumbers, bell pepper, green apple, red onion, chickpeas and parsley. Toss to combine. Add the cooled cooked quinoa and mix to combine.
Drizzle the dressing on top of the salad, and toss to combine.
Sprinkle the dried cranberries and feta on top, and serve.

Video

Notes

Rinse the quinoa before cooking to get rid of any bitter flavor.
Cook the quinoa in advance to save time. You can also make the salad dressing in advance and store in a jar in the fridge, taste the dressing and adjust for seasoning.
Add any a more well rounded meal.extra veggies you like, or top the finished salad with grilled chicken or salmon to make this

Storing leftovers:

Leftover salad will store dressed for 2 days in an air tight container in the fridge, while undressed quinoa salad will last for 4 days.

Nutrition