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Easy Quinoa Salad
If you like Greek salad and quinoa, then you’ll enjoy this Easy Quinoa Salad with homemade lemon vinaigrette. Even if you don’t have a fresh lemon on hand, you can still throw it together. The tang of the feta, the crunch of the cucumber and the other mellow flavors lend to a wonderful backdrop for the lemon vinaigrette dressing of this Easy Quinoa Salad. Because all the flavors blend beautifully, this could be your next crowd-pleaser.
Start with Quinoa
One cup dry = 4 cups cooked. There’s something so comforting about the savory fragrance of quinoa cooking on the stove top. But the instant pot makes it so easy. This 5 minute quinoa instant pot recipe has been so helpful from sofabfood.com. Give time for the quinoa to cool before mixing ingredients.
Truly this salad is so versatile
Add what you want, keep out what you don’t. Kalamata or canned black olives are fine. One cucumber. Two medium tomatoes. A handful of chopped parsley. And half cup of feta.
I also really like my Oxo Good Grips Salad Dressing Shaker for salad dressing.
The Dressing
For the lemon vinaigrette, use fresh minced garlic. It’s the cornerstone of the dressing, if dressings have cornerstones. Salt, pepper, olive oil come next. Juice the entire lemon, and then add enough red wine vinegar to reach 1/3 cup of a lemon/red wine vinegar combination. You could use all lemon juice if you want. I just don’t feel like buying two lemons for more juice than I need. Plus, the red wine vinegar gives a welcome addition. You could substitute any vinegar, really. Shake well to dissolve the salt.
If you like the sound of this dressing, try this sweet Hawaiian Dressing! It has vinegar, oil and garlic as well.
Once assembled, this recipe makes about 7 cups. So depending on what you need, it could serve a crowd. Or make a great lunch or side throughout the week. If you or the people you’re serving are not afraid of quinoa, then Easy Quinoa Salad makes a great dish to share!
Easy Quinoa Salad from nickelplatekitchen.com
Greek flavors make this quinoa salad delightful with the lemon vinaigrette.
Ingredients
- FOR THE SALAD
- 4 cups cooked and cooled quinoa
- 1 cucumber, gutted and chopped (1 and 1/2 cups)
- 2 medium tomatoes, chopped (1 and 1/2 cups)
- 1/2 cup parsley, chopped
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta
- 1/2 cup whole kalamata olives
- FOR THE LEMON VINAIGRETTE DRESSING
- 1/3 cup of juice from one whole lemon with enough red wine vinegar added to reach 1/3 cup
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Directions
- Step 1 Toss all salad ingredients
- Step 2 Assemble dressing ingredients in a lidded jar and shake well until salt is dissolved.
- Step 3 Toss salad with dressing just before serving.
Did you try this recipe?
Finally, I’d love to see a picture of your Easy Quinoa Salad. Share it on Instagram @nickelplatekitchen or #nickelplatekitchen.
Welcome to Nickel Plate Kitchen! I'm Elizabeth, wife of Jim and mom of two boys (a 3yo and a newborn). I'm passionate about good food on a budget with room for extravagance now and then. I hope you find something helpful while you're here. Thanks for stopping by!