Description
Today I’m going to share with you my quick and easy Quinoa Salad recipe, which is vegetarian and gluten free. It’s a very refreshing salad with all the fresh veggies and the vinaigrette dressing. This Quinoa Salad a crowd pleaser and is perfect for a big gathering, picnic or a barbecue.
Ingredients
For Vinaigrette Dressing
- ¼ cup Lemon Juice
- ¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 Garlic Clove, crushed
- 1 tbsp Honey
- ½ tsp Mustard
- ½ tsp Pepper, freshly cracked
- ½ tsp Salt
For the Quinoa
- 1 ½ cups White Quinoa Seed
- 3 cups Water (remove 3 tbsp of water)
- 1 tsp Olive Oil
- 1 tsp Salt
For the Veggies
- ½ cup Fresh Parsley, finely chopped
- ¼ cup Fresh Mint, finely chopped
- 1 cup (4) Green Onions, thinly sliced
- 1½ cup Cherry & Grape Tomatoes, halved
- 1¼ cup (1¼) Yellow Bell pepper, finely diced
- 1½ cup (½) English Cucumbers, chopped
- 1 cup (2 medium) Carrots, finely chopped
- 1 cup Chickpeas
- 250 grams Feta Cheese, broken and crumbled
Method
- Pour the lemon juice and olive oil into a mason jar. Add crushed garlic, honey, mustard, pepper and salt. Shake until well combined.
- Wash the quinoa under running water till the water runs clear. Drain off all the excess water and transfer it to a pot.
- Add water just shy of 3 cups (3 tbsp less). On a high flame, bring the water to a boil. Once the water begins to boil, lower the heat to medium low, cover the pot and cook for 12 minutes. Then take the quinoa off the heat and allow it to sit in the covered pot for 5 minutes.
- While the quinoa is sitting, chop up the herbs.
- After 5 minutes, add the chopped herbs to the warm quinoa and using a fork, fluff up the quinoa while mixing the herbs with it.
- Now transfer the quinoa into a bowl to cool.
- Chop all the veggies and add them into the bowl with the quinoa.
- Drain the liquid from the chickpea tin and rinse the chickpeas to take off the excess sodium. Toss them into the bowl along with the veggies.
- Crumble three fourths of the feta cheese and add it into the bowl.
- Drizzle on the dressing and give it a gentle mix.
- To plate the quinoa salad, transfer it into a serving bowl and garnish with some more crumbled feta cheese and finely chopped parsley.
