1cup(250 mL) cooked or canned chickpeas, drained & rinsed
1/2red bellpepper, chopped
1/2green bell pepper, chopped
1cup(250 mL) cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
1/2red onion, chopped
1/2cucumber, chopped
1/4cup(60 mL) black olives, chopped
1/3cup(75 mL) feta cheese
Dressing (makes 1 1/4 cups/300 mL)
3/4cup(175 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
1/3cup(75 mL) balsamic vinegar
2Tbsp(30 mL) white wine vinegar
1Tbsp(15 mL) fresh lemon juice
1tsp(5 mL) Dijon mustard
1Tbsp(15 mL) sugar, optional
1clovegarlic, finely grated
1tsp(5 mL) dried basil
1/2tsp(2 mL) dried crushed red pepper
salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste
Directions
Salad
Place water and quinoa in a small saucepan, bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes until quinoa is soft. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely. Quinoa will absorb remaining water and become quite fluffy. If you prefer a crunchier quinoa, drain off any remaining water and then allow to cool completely.
In a large bowl, place the chickpeas, peppers, tomatoes, red onion, cucumber, black olives and feta. Mix together and add the cooled quinoa.
Dressing
Whisk together the oil, vinegars, lemon juice, mustard, sugar, garlic and spices. Pour 1/2 cup (125 mL) of the dressing over salad. Toss well and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes before serving to allow flavors to combine.
This salad absorbs the dressing the longer it sits. Feel free to add more dressing before serving or place remaining dressing in a small pitcher and let your guests add more dressing if desired.
Notes
For a quick dressing, mix together equal portions of commercial balsamic vinaigrette and spicy Italian vinaigrette and add to the salad.
This is a really tasty, quick, and easy salad to throw together and eat as a side or a meal! I added some shredded carrots and parsley I had to use up, which made for delicious and colourful additions. I also cut back the oil to 1/2 cup, upped the balsamic vinegar to about 1/2 cup and squeezed in a little more than 1 tbsp lemon juice. I’m vegan so I omitted the feta and simply used extra black olives. I really liked it and recommend highly! This was exactly what I was looking for when I thought of a cold salad for meal prep this week!!
We are so glad you enjoyed the Mediterranean Quinoa Chickpea Salad, it is one of our favorites as well! Thank you for the vegan tips!
1cup(250 mL) cooked or canned chickpeas, drained & rinsed
1/2red bellpepper, chopped
1/2green bell pepper, chopped
1cup(250 mL) cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
1/2red onion, chopped
1/2cucumber, chopped
1/4cup(60 mL) black olives, chopped
1/3cup(75 mL) feta cheese
Dressing (makes 1 1/4 cups/300 mL)
3/4cup(175 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
1/3cup(75 mL) balsamic vinegar
2Tbsp(30 mL) white wine vinegar
1Tbsp(15 mL) fresh lemon juice
1tsp(5 mL) Dijon mustard
1Tbsp(15 mL) sugar, optional
1clovegarlic, finely grated
1tsp(5 mL) dried basil
1/2tsp(2 mL) dried crushed red pepper
salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste
1
Place water and quinoa in a small saucepan, bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes until quinoa is soft. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely. Quinoa will absorb remaining water and become quite fluffy. If you prefer a crunchier quinoa, drain off any remaining water and then allow to cool completely.
2
In a large bowl, place the chickpeas, peppers, tomatoes, red onion, cucumber, black olives and feta. Mix together and add the cooled quinoa.
3
Whisk together the oil, vinegars, lemon juice, mustard, sugar, garlic and spices. Pour 1/2 cup (125 mL) of the dressing over salad. Toss well and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes before serving to allow flavors to combine.
4
This salad absorbs the dressing the longer it sits. Feel free to add more dressing before serving or place remaining dressing in a small pitcher and let your guests add more dressing if desired.
This is a really tasty, quick, and easy salad to throw together and eat as a side or a meal! I added some shredded carrots and parsley I had to use up, which made for delicious and colourful additions. I also cut back the oil to 1/2 cup, upped the balsamic vinegar to about 1/2 cup and squeezed in a little more than 1 tbsp lemon juice. I’m vegan so I omitted the feta and simply used extra black olives. I really liked it and recommend highly! This was exactly what I was looking for when I thought of a cold salad for meal prep this week!!
We are so glad you enjoyed the Mediterranean Quinoa Chickpea Salad, it is one of our favorites as well! Thank you for the vegan tips!
Hi Andrea this is A VERY GOOD one …so yummy!