Quinoa Greek Salad Recipe with Tomatoes, Cucumber & Feta
Isn’t there some saying about the lazy days of summer? I must be doing something wrong because my summertime groove isn’t grooving yet. Each day, an overwhelming urge to nap hits at about 4pm. This is typically on the heels of supervising playdates, driving the kids to various activities, setting up sprinklers and supersoaker wars and…oh yeah…working. It seems I’m not quite in the swing of whole “lazy day” thing and I need another week or so until I get my summertime groove back.
Keeping up with this new pace of life means that easy lunch and dinner recipes are even more necessary than ever. This quinoa salad, with the flavors of a traditional Greek salad, comes together quickly and can be served as a side dish or a full meal. If you want to serve it as the main course, add some chickpeas or cannellini beans for a hit of protein.
If you want to make mealtime prep even faster, some of that quinoa
that you have stored away in your freezer. What? No ziploc bags of quinoa in your freezer? Believe me, this is a time-saver that you don’t want to miss.
You remember this photo that I slaved over for my post on How to: Freeze Quinoa, right? Yeah, one of my crazier moments.
This recipe requires about 3 cups of cooked quinoa. Gently stir in halved grape tomatoes, cubed cucumbers, feta cheese and Kalamata olives
, then toss with a simple dressing of olive oil, red wine vinegar and oregano.
That’s it. Done.
Now you have some extra time to enjoy those “lazy” summer days.
The recipe:
In a medium saucepan, combine the quinoa and water. Bring the water to a boil, reduce the heat to low and cover. Cook until all of the water is absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes. Fluff the quinoa with a fork.
Transfer the cooked quinoa to a large baking sheet and spread it out evenly. Let it cool to room temperature.
Transfer the quinoa to a medium-sized bowl and add the tomatoes, cucumber, olives and feta cheese. Stir gently to combine.
In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, dried oregano, salt and pepper.
Pour the dressing over the quinoa salad and stir to combine. Serve.
Other summer salad recipes:
Cookin’ Canuck’s Strawberry, Pistachio, Feta Cheese & Basil Salad
Cookin’ Canuck’s Grilled Eggplant & Zucchini Salad with Feta, Chickpeas & Mint
MJ & Hungryman’s Orange, Farro & Beet Salad
Making Thyme for Health’s Roasted Corn & Tomato Summer Salad with Lemon-Basil Yogurt Dressing
Cooks Joy’s Cucumber Pineapple Salad
Quinoa Greek Salad with Tomatoes, Cucumber & Feta Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup grape tomatoes cut in half
- 1 cup quartered cucumber rounds
- 1/4 cup quartered kalamata olives
- 1/4 cup feta cheese
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, combine the quinoa and water. Bring the water to a boil, reduce the heat to low and cover. Cook until all of the water is absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes. Fluff the quinoa with a fork.
- Transfer the cooked quinoa to a large baking sheet and spread it out evenly. Let it cool to room temperature.
- Transfer the quinoa to a medium-sized bowl and add the tomatoes, cucumber, olives and feta cheese. Stir gently to combine.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, dried oregano, salt and pepper.
- Pour the dressing over the quinoa salad and stir to combine. Serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Disclosure: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar says
Jun 12, 2013 at 5:08 amThis salad is so perfect for summer. Love it!!
Kim | Making 40 Fantastic says
Jun 12, 2013 at 5:27 amI am yet to find my summer groove either…. sickness prevented me from prepping and getting my head on straight before the kids were out and now I’m playing catch~up. 🙂 Looking forward to feeling the lazy days of summer too! I’ve never thought to freeze quinoa and anxious to try that. I love it but usually make too much then throw it out! VERY fun picture… and looking forward to trying the freezing method and this salad!
Tieghan says
Jun 12, 2013 at 5:56 amThis is so pretty and I love all these flavors! Such a prefect light and healthy salad!
Pamela says
May 16, 2015 at 1:36 amThe photos! goodness 🙂 A healthy recipe and I love to do this at home. Thanks for sharing xoxo
Liz @ The Lemon Bowl says
Jun 12, 2013 at 7:05 amI could eat Greek Salad in any shape or form every day of the week. This is gorgeous Dara!
Maria says
Jun 12, 2013 at 7:12 amOne of my favorite salads! We make this all summer long!
Kulsum Kunwa says
Jun 12, 2013 at 7:15 amI love greek salad and this with quinoa is great I’m sure!
carrian says
Jun 12, 2013 at 7:22 amWe love greek anything and this one looks especially lovely!
bellini says
Jun 12, 2013 at 7:28 amThis recipe comes just in time as I have a container of cooked quinoa in the fridge from another project. Now to freeze it or make salad……
Stephanie @ Girl Versus Dough says
Jun 12, 2013 at 7:37 amMmmm, this looks so fresh and delicious! Love that it’s so easy to whip up (perfect for these busy summer days!)
Abby @ The Frosted Vegan says
Jun 12, 2013 at 8:03 amI remember that quinoa picture, love it! Annnd need this salad in my body stat!
Liz says
Jun 12, 2013 at 8:13 amSounds and looks wonderful. Thank you.
Brianna says
Jun 12, 2013 at 9:19 amYummy! What a delicious sounding summer salad. It’s so pretty too, perfect for a backyard party 🙂
kirsten@FarmFreshFeasts says
Jun 12, 2013 at 9:20 amDara,
This is a wonderful looking salad. I bet I could use the sun dried tomatoes I’ve got in the fridge while I wait for the tomatoes to ripen around here.
Thanks!
Laura (Tutti Dolci) says
Jun 12, 2013 at 10:28 amOne of my favorite summer salads!
Anna @ Crunchy Creamy Sweet says
Jun 12, 2013 at 11:51 amGorgeous! I want a big bowl of this salad for lunch today!
Crystal @ Simply Playful Fare says
Jun 12, 2013 at 12:07 pmI just posted a quinoa salad last week! Must be something in the air. This one looks so good! You really can get super creative with quinoa. I love all of these flavors. I’ve got to try this! 🙂
Mr. & Mrs. P says
Jun 12, 2013 at 1:33 pmSuch a fresh and delicious salad!! Love the bright summery colors
Carla @ Carlas Confections says
Jun 12, 2013 at 1:40 pmOh man I am loving this! Pinned! I love the tiny little quinoa speckled everywhere. So pretty 😀
Cassie says
Jun 12, 2013 at 1:59 pmI love quinoa all ways. Great flavors, Dara!
Min says
Jun 12, 2013 at 2:31 pmHi Dara! Your blog is so lovely! Your pictures are stunning and the recipes all sound so delicious. I love quinoa in salads! Ever since I succeeded in getting my husband into liking it, I have to make sure to cook extra batches. Freezing quinoa sounds like the perfect solution. Thank you so much for the mention! I sure do appreciate it.
nessa says
Jun 12, 2013 at 3:59 pmI looove quinoa! This is a must-make!
sippitysup says
Jun 12, 2013 at 6:40 pmI bet you still cringe when you quinoa and tweezers in the same room. GREG
Sommer @ ASpicyPerspective says
Jun 12, 2013 at 8:41 pmLove quinoa! This looks delicious!
Megan {Country Cleaver} says
Jun 12, 2013 at 10:08 pmThis totally puts me in the mood for a picnic Dara! Gorgeous.
addie | culicurious says
Jun 13, 2013 at 5:11 ami love any version of Greek salad and this one looks amazing! Love quinoa! 🙂
Carrie's Experimental Kitchen says
Jun 13, 2013 at 6:12 pmI love the simplicity of this salad and it looks gorgeous.
Nutmeg Nanny says
Jun 14, 2013 at 11:17 amMy favorite type of salad! I love all things greek 🙂
Georgia @ The Comfort of Cooking says
Jun 14, 2013 at 1:58 pmThis is gorgeous, Dara! I love Greek meals and I’d love to make this!
Shawn @ I Wash You Dry says
Jun 14, 2013 at 5:32 pmWe are still waiting for summer to begin up here in Canada! But oh, how I love the flavors of Greek, and I am certainly in love with Quinoa! What a great recipe!
Sarah says
Jun 15, 2013 at 9:15 pmMaking it now for our Father’s Day cookout tomorrow… it already looks delicious, and I can’t wait to eat it! 🙂
Tammy says
Jul 6, 2013 at 12:51 pmI’ve been looking for a non-mayonnaise-y salad side dish for an upcoming dinner party and this looked great. I literally JUST made it and it’s delicious! Can’t wait to see how it tastes after a few hours in the fridge for the flavors to blend — I think it will be even better. This looks like a regular addition to my salad options. Thanks!
Dara (Cookin' Canuck) says
Jul 7, 2013 at 9:45 amTammy, I’m so glad to hear that! I hope it was a hit at your dinner party.
Tammy says
Jul 18, 2013 at 3:50 amDara — it was a HUGE hit — even after I realized that I mistakenly used couscous instead of quinoa! Believe me, that works, too. We love it and have already made it twice.
Dara (Cookin' Canuck) says
Jul 18, 2013 at 7:07 amTammy, I’m so glad it turned out! And now I’ll have to try it with couscous, too. 🙂
Emily Lainas says
Oct 17, 2014 at 4:36 amFantastic idea and execution of the recipe, the result was yummy! Thanks
Lola(Services Optometriques) says
Jun 4, 2015 at 11:07 pmPinned! looks so yummy and delish 🙂
Jean Miksch says
Sep 7, 2015 at 2:30 pmGreat summer recipe. I added fresh lime juice, as I like the acid addition and it freshens up the taste.