If you loaded the amount of quinoa our family eats in one year into a small boat, that vessel would sink to the bottom of the sea faster than you could say “healthy mini grain” five times fast. Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) is actually healthy; I didn’t just make that up. It is a complete protein source, plus it packs a punch with its fiber and iron content. Not too shabby for a grain that only takes 20 minutes to cook and can be livened up with flavors such as lime and chipotle peppers or cumin and orange.
With a mint plant that is trying its darnedest to bust out of its pot, we started to use the fragrant leaves in drinks, salads and desserts (think Watermelon Mojito Sorbet). In this recipe, it is mixed with protein-rich chickpeas and briny kalamata olives to make a light salad that can be served either as a side dish or vegetarian entree.
The recipe:
In a fine-mesh strainer, rinse quinoa well and drain.
In a medium pot, combine quinoa and water. Bring to a boil, then cover and turn heat to low. Cook until all the water is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat, fluff the quinoa and transfer to a cookie sheet, spreading the quinoa in a thin layer, to cool.
In a large bowl, mix together cooled quinoa, chickpeas, tomatoes and kalamata olives. Stir well.
For the dressing, whisk together white wine vinegar, lemon juice, honey, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. While whisking constantly, slow pour in olive oil until combined.
Pour the dressing over the quinoa salad, toss to coat and stir in fresh mint. Serve.
Other quinoa salad recipes:
Quinoa Chickpea Salad
Black Quinoa Salad with Orange & Cumin Dressing
Quinoa with Black Beans, Corn with Chipotle Pepper & Lime Dressing
Quinoa Salad with Chickpeas, Kalamata Olives & Mint
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa
- 2 cups water
- 1 14 ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1 1/2 cups quartered cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 cup pitted and sliced kalamata olives
The Vinaigrette:
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 3/4 teaspoon honey
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 large mint leaves thinly sliced
Instructions
- In a fine-mesh strainer, rinse quinoa well and drain.
- In a medium pot, combine quinoa and water. Bring to a boil, then cover and turn heat to low. Cook until all the water is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat, fluff the quinoa and transfer to a cookie sheet, spreading the quinoa in a thin layer, to cool.
- In a large bowl, mix together cooled quinoa, chickpeas, tomatoes and kalamata olives. Stir well.
- For the dressing, whisk together white wine vinegar, lemon juice, honey, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. While whisking constantly, slow pour in olive oil until combined.
- Pour the dressing over the quinoa salad, toss to coat and stir in fresh mint. Serve.
Nutrition
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Missy
Just made this fir dinner and LOVED it! I didn’t have any tomatoes but used cucumber instead and it came out great. Thanks for sharing!
RuthAnn Funderburk
Oops! Clearly I meant to post this to ANOTHER recipe.
Here’s my comment on THIS recipe:
Loved it! I added an array of veggies to it: zucchini, onions, broccoli.
RuthAnn Funderburk
These are *wonderful*! I added some ground flaxseed, some flax meal, some oatmeal (which I pulverized in my blender), some grated carrots, and some grated apples
Monica Del Rosario
This was soooo good!! I didn’t have cherry tomatoes so I didn’t add it and I only had red wine vinegar so I added one tbsp of that instead of two for fear of tasting bad.. and it is DELICIOUS! CAME OUT DELISH!!
JenE
Made this again tonight. Again w/ avocado. Lime juice instead of lemon. Oh, baby!
Mel
I doubled this recipe for a summer party – The only changes were that I added 2 whole cut-in-small-cubes fresh garden cucumbers, 1 cup very finely diced red onion, both 15 thinly cut leaves of fresh basil & fresh mint – there was no more salad left after about half an hour into the party – a definite keeper.
JenE
SO good. I added corn cut off of one cob and garnished w/ avocado. Forgot to add the mint but MAN O MAN O, is this good! Possibly favorite summer quinoa salad so far.
carlyn
made this tonight and it turned out great!! we have fresh tomatoes and mint from our garden that i was looking to use. i doubled the olives and i cooked the quinoa in the microwave(so i used 2 1/2 cups of water). delish!! thanks for the recipe.
Dara (Cookin' Canuck)
I’m so glad you enjoyed this. It sounds like you have the same penchant for olives as I do!
Jeanette
What a nice light protein complete summer salad – love the mint too!
Carolyn
Such a great, healthy summer salad. Wonderful!
HeatherChristo
I love Quinoa! I always mean to make it more often- this is a great recipe to get started!