Greek Quinoa Salad with cherry tomatoes, cucumber, olives, red onion, feta cheese, and a delicious zesty dressing. An easy, nourishing vegetarian quinoa salad recipe, perfect to go alongside any meal!
Remember on Monday how I was bellyaching about the heat wave and how intensely I wanted to swivel my way up a fruity cocktail, fall in, and just….live there?
I high tailed it out of California.
Hopped in the car, leaving Molten Lavaville for the mountains, where temperatures are 20 degrees cooler.
For those of you who are still melting saunas of cranky sweat, my warmest (errrr….coolest?) wishes to you…I’ll be joining you again soon enough. Here, have some sangria!
Soooo….
This easy Greek Quinoa Salad recipe is perfect for hot weather dining since it is served cold.
The 4th of July happens to be my favorite holiday on account of my profound love for fireworks.
Plus the love of barbecuing. And picnics. And floating down the river with boozy beverages in hand. Our nation’s day of independence brings me a lot of joy.
And here’s where your Greek quinoa salad comes in! It’s great for your 4th of July gathering.
It’s not all mayo-ed out like potato or pasta salad. Light, refreshing, easy to make, and the whole thing can be prepped in 40ish minutes.
Plus it serves as a side dish for 6 and can easily be doubled to feed an army.
Ingredients for Greek Quinoa Salad:
Quinoa, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, kalamata olives, red onion, feta cheese, olive oil (or avocado oil), lemon juice, and fresh garlic!
This combination yields a fresh, flavorful, nourishing healthy quinoa salad recipe that is just so palatable!
You can also toss in some fresh parsley and a touch of mustard for added flavor, but both are optional.
How to Make Greek Quinoa Salad:
Prepare the Dressing:
- Whisk all dressing ingredients together in a bowl or cup and set aside.
Prepare the Quinoa Salad:
- Cook the quinoa by following instructions on the back of the package (be sure to rinse and soak the quinoa first for light and fluffy results!)
- While the quinoa is cooking, prepare the rest of the salad ingredients by doing all your chopping and adding everything except for the feta cheese to a large bowl.
- Once the quinoa is cooked and has cooled, add it to the bowl with the other salad ingredients and fold together gently.
- Pour the dressing over everything and again gently fold the ingredients together.
- Add the feta cheese on top and serve either hot or cold!
Do you remember when I posted the Mediterranean Quinoa Salad and you went all haywire over it – asked it to go steady, moved in with it, and then promptly proposed marriage?
This one’s like that. 😉
Have a safe and happy holiday!
Greek Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
For the Greek Quinoa Salad
- ¾ cup uncooked quinoa
- 1 cup red onion finely chopped
- 2 cups cucumber peeled and chopped
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes halved
- ¾ cup pitted kalamata olives sliced
- ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
- Salt to taste
For the Dressing:
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped
- 1 teaspoon stone ground mustard
Instructions
To Prepare the Dressing:
- Whisk all dressing ingredients together in a bowl or cup and set aside.
To Prepare the Quinoa Salad:
- Cook the quinoa by following instructions on the back of the package (be sure to rinse and soak the quinoa first for light and fluffy results!)
- While the quinoa is cooking, prepare the rest of the salad ingredients by doing all your chopping and adding everything except for the feta cheese to a large bowl.
- Once the quinoa is cooked and has cooled, add it to the bowl with the other salad ingredients and fold together gently.
- Pour the dressing over everything and again gently fold the ingredients together.
- Add the feta cheese on top and serve either hot or cold!
Nutrition
Beautiful, healthy, simple, easy and delicious! Love this quinoa salad and its greek flavors!
They canceled our very traditional 4th of July celebration here this year. So we decided we’re going to just go with it, and make everything about our 4th very non-traditional this year. This mayo-less salad looks like it would totally fit the bill. It looks so simple, fresh, and healthy! Who needs a mayo based salad sitting outside in the hot sun anyway, right? Now if only I could convince myself we don’t really need the fireworks. 😉
No fireworks? Ohhhhhhh bummer! Well a good bbq and good company is always awesome for celebrating the holiday. Have a fun 4th!
I love everything about this, Julie. These flavors are at the top of my list of favorites!
Thanks lady! It’s definitely a refreshing salad!
Love this quinoa salad!!! Definitely a must-make! Hope you have a great 4th!!
What a delicious spin on my favorite salad! So nutritious and colorful, I love it!
Beautiful salad! I just bought quinoa for my in-laws who’ve never tried it before. This seems like one of the recipes I want to make with it.
first of all, I’m so jealous you found a cooler spot to spend a few days. We are melting!!!
Second of all, will you please over night me some sangria?
Third of all, this quinoa salad looks so stinking good. I think sangria and a bowl of this will get me through this hot and miserable time!
This looks delicious! I’ve been craving a good greek salad, and adding quinoa is a great way to make it more filling and more of a meal. Thanks for sharing!
I love love love that last picture! This looks super refreshing…perfect for a party! I’m so glad it’s not oozing with mayo, too 🙂