Mediterranean Salad with Crispy Quinoa

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Mediterranean Salad with Crispy Quinoa

With sun dried tomatoes, olives, cucumbers, chickpeas and feta, this mediterranean salad with crispy quinoa has bold ingredients and good crunch.

Prep Time15

Cook Time30

Total Time45

Course: Salads

Cuisine: Mediterranean

Servings:

Author: Paige Adams

Ingredients

For quinoa

1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa, cooled
2 teaspoons olive oil
Pinch of kosher salt
Pinch of black pepper

For vinaigrette

1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Pinch of red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil

For salad

3 cups chopped romaine
15 ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 cup diced cucumbers
1/2 cup halved pitted kalamata olives
1/2 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes, oil drained
1/4 cup finely diced red onions
1/4 cup crumbled feta
1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, stir the quinoa with 2 teaspoons olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt and a pinch of black pepper. Spread the quinoa across the prepared pan.
Toast the quinoa until it is browned and crisp, about 25-30 minutes. Stir it on the pan every 10 minutes.
To make the dressing, whisk the garlic, mustard, honey, oregano, red pepper flakes, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, vinegar and 1/4 cup olive oil in a small bowl.
For the salad, combine the romaine, chickpeas, cucumbers, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, red onions, feta and parsley and toss with half the vinaigrette.
Stir in the crispy quinoa. Drizzle in additional dressing as desired.

Notes

The salad can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days. If the greens are tossed in the dressing, they will soften. If you are planning to have leftovers, try to not toss that portion in the dressing. Keep the vinaigrette in a separate jar in the fridge.

Store the crispy quinoa in an airtight container at room temperature. It is ok to make the quinoa 2 days ahead of time.

You can make the dressing up to 2 days in advance. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Let it sit out at room temperature for 15 minutes before tossing it into the salad.

To make the salad vegan, leave out the feta or use a plant-based, dairy free cheese. In the vinaigrette, use maple syrup instead of honey.

Nutrition