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, use 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:
Strawberry, Pistachio, Feta Cheese & Basil Salad
Grilled Eggplant & Zucchini Salad with Feta, Chickpeas & Mint
Printable Recipe
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
- ¼ cup quartered kalamata olives
- ¼ cup feta cheese
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 ½ tablespoons red wine vinegar
- ¾ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ 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.
Abby @ The Frosted Vegan
I remember that quinoa picture, love it! Annnd need this salad in my body stat!
Stephanie @ Girl Versus Dough
Mmmm, this looks so fresh and delicious! Love that it's so easy to whip up (perfect for these busy summer days!)
bellini
This 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......
carrian
We love greek anything and this one looks especially lovely!
Kulsum Kunwa
I love greek salad and this with quinoa is great I'm sure!
Maria
One of my favorite salads! We make this all summer long!
Liz @ The Lemon Bowl
I could eat Greek Salad in any shape or form every day of the week. This is gorgeous Dara!
Tieghan
This is so pretty and I love all these flavors! Such a prefect light and healthy salad!
Pamela
The photos! goodness 🙂 A healthy recipe and I love to do this at home. Thanks for sharing xoxo
Kim | Making 40 Fantastic
I 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!
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar
This salad is so perfect for summer. Love it!!