This Colorful Quinoa Salad with Feta will brighten your day with pops of color and flavor from fresh tomatoes, Persian cucumbers, yellow bell peppers, kalamata olives and feta cheese.
Quinoa Salad with Feta is a tasty little ray of sunshine in a salad bowl. It’s healthy and inviting and oh so pleasing to the taste buds!
We Eat With Our Eyes First
When a meal is pretty to look at, that eye appeal goes a long way to enhance our mood and enjoyment, don’t you agree? This Quinoa Salad with Feta and colorful veggies is a perfect example of “eating the rainbow”. It makes a great impression on our senses – EAT ME!
Versatile Quinoa
Quinoa is very versatile, simple to make and so good for us. It’s gluten-free and it’s one of the most nutritious and high in protein “grains”.
It’s so light and fluffy. Along with fresh crisp vegetables and a tasty dressing, it’s perfect for a lunch, picnic or a light supper.
This salad is easy to make and it’s so refreshing. It has the right balance of crunch and comfort. Kalamata olives and feta cheese fill out the umami factor for this satisfying savory dish.
INGREDIENTS FOR QUINOA SALAD WITH FETA
- Quinoa
- Fresh cherry or grape tomatoes
- Persian cucumbers or cucumbers of your choice
- Yellow bell pepper
- Red onion
- Kalamata olives
- Feta cheese
And for the Dressing:
- Fresh lime juice
- Olive oil
- Fresh garlic
- Fresh parsley
- Dijon mustard
- Honey or agave
- Sesame seeds
HOW TO MAKE THIS SALAD
- 1: First of all make and cool your quinoa and set aside
- 2: The next thing you’ll want to do is prepare the dressing so all the flavors have time to blend and make a very tasty dressing.
- 3: While your dressing flavors are melding, it’s time to prepare the veggies – In a large bowl add chopped cherry tomatoes, rounds of Persian cucumbers, diced yellow bell pepper and red onion and sliced Kalamata olives.
- 4: Add the veggies and olives to the quinoa and stir together gently. Then stir in the dressing to combine it all.
- 5: *The last thing you’ll do is sprinkle the crumbled feta cheese over the top of the salad. Gently stir it in so it stays in larger pieces and isn’t broken up in tiny pieces.
- 6: And there you have it! It’s delicious to eat right away or chilled.
Always a good time…
I don’t know about you, but a lot of times I’m not in the mood for a heavy meal in the evening. A light and fresh quinoa salad really fits the bill. Also, I’ve been known to eat this salad for breakfast… just sayin’ 😉
Quinoa Salad with Feta is a great choice for making ahead. It will keep nicely in the refrigerator for 2 – 3 days. And it’s good as a side dish and also it’s a great choice for taking along in a container to work or school. It travels well!
And I don’t want to forget to mention – take this quinoa salad to a potluck, cookout, picnic or any get- together. You’ll have a winner and an empty bowl when it’s over!
Here is the recipe:
Colorful Quinoa Salad with Feta
Ingredients
Dressing
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp fresh parsley, minced
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tsp honey or agave
- 1 tsp sesame seeds
- a few pinches of salt
Quinoa Salad with Feta
- 3 cups cooked and cooled quinoa
- 3/4 cup kalamata olives, sliced
- 1 cup Persian cucumbers, cut in rounds (1/8" to 1/4" thick)
- 1/4 cup red onion, diced very small
- 1/4 cup yellow bell pepper, diced
- 1 cup tomatoes, cherry or grape, cut in 1/2 or 1/3
- 1 Tbsp fresh chopped oregano, (optional)
- 1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
Dressing - Make First
- In a jar, with a tight fitting lid, at least 8 oz. size, combine the fresh lime juice, olive oil, garlic, parsley, Dijon mustard, honey, sesame seeds and salt.
- Stir together very well to combine all the ingredients. Put in the refrigerator while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. Shake the dressing every 5 minutes or so if you can to help blend the flavors. If not, shake or stir well before dressing the salad.
Quinoa
- Make the quinoa according to package directions.When it's cooked, spoon it into a large bowl and place the bowl on a wire cooing rack to let the quinoa cool down. Gently stir it regularly - or tossing it with 2 forks works well to cool it down also - whichever you prefer. **You can also put the bowl in the refrigerator to cool faster.**
Put It All Together
- While the quinoa is cooking, prepare the vegetables, olives and feta cheese
- When the quinoa is cooled, add it to a large clean bowl.
- Combine cucumber rounds, red onion, yellow bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, Kalamata olives and optional fresh oregano in another bowl.
- Stir the veggies into the quinoa, pour the dressing over this mixture, and gently stir together to combine. Taste for salt and pepper and add some if needed.
- Add the crumbled feta cheese and stir it in gently.
- Serve right away or refrigerate and serve chilled. This will last in the refrigerator for 2 - 3 days.
Nutrition
*Please note that the nutrition information provided is just a close estimate using an online nutrition calculator.*
Inspired by: The Roasted Root
I hope you enjoy this flavorful salad as much as we do!
Other Popular Salads on Vegelicious Kitchen:
Vegan Quinoa Salad
Did you make this recipe?
Please let me know how this Quinoa Salad with Feta turned out for you or if you would like to try it. A comment and a rating below would be greatly appreciated. I’d love to hear from you!
Thanks friends,
Thanks for PINNING!
Karly
July 14, 2019 atI love this colorful dish! I definitely eat with my eyes. Thanks for sharing,
Deb | Vegelicious Kitchen
July 14, 2019 atHi Karly! – thanks so much for stopping by and for your lovely comment!