The perfect summer salad!
A big thank you to community member @melichambliss for sharing this gorgeous recipe with us! This quinoa salad is exactly what summer eating should look like: bright, fresh, and endlessly versatile. Serve it as a side at your next backyard cookout, pack it up for a beachside lunch, or toss in some grilled chicken to turn it into a full entree salad.
One thing to keep in mind before you get started: the quinoa needs to be cooked and cooled ahead of time. @melichambliss has a great trick for speeding things up: spread the cooked quinoa out on a baking sheet and pop it in the refrigerator while you chop your vegetables. By the time you’re done prepping, it’s ready to go.
Colorful Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked Quinoa
- 2 cups water
- 2 colorful bell peppers, small dice
- 1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
- 1 English cucumber, seeded and small diced
- 1/2 red onion, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
- 1/2 cup parsley, finely chopped
- 4 oz feta cheese, crumbled, divided
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 large clove of garlic, minced
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
Instructions
- Cook quinoa according to the package directions, then let it cool completely.
- While quinoa is cooling in a jar, combine all the dressing ingredients, cover, and shake well to incorporate and set aside.
- Prep all the cut and diced vegetables, Kalamata olives, and parsley while the quinoa is cooling, too.
- In a large serving bowl, combine the cooled quinoa, diced bell peppers, seeded and diced jalapeno, seeded and diced cucumber, diced red onion, chopped kalamata olives, and parsley, then crumble half of the feta over the prepped vegetables.
- Give the dressing jar a good shake, then drizzle the desired amount over the quinoa salad mixture and season with Kosher salt and black pepper. Toss and top with reserved crumbled feta and serve.
Enjoy!
Making this recipe? Be sure and share it with us on the WOT Instagram or Facebook!
All photos by Lorianne DeVita
