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Gluten Free Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

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This gluten-free Mediterranean Quinoa salad recipe is so easy to make and is bursting with bright and fresh flavours. Made with quinoa, lots of veggies and crumbled cheese on top, this salad makes a great lunch or healthy dinner side dish any night of the week. 


Gluten Free Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

This recipe was published before Always Nourished transitioned to PCOS-focused recipes. Some of the ingredients used in this recipe may not be PCOS-friendly or compliant with the Always Nourished food and nutrition methods or protocols for PCOS.

Hello, there lunch/dinner/big bowl of anytime deliciousness.

Hello there Mediterranean Quinoa Salad that has all the gluten-free and vegan-possible qualities we’ve come to expect and crazy bright and fresh and full of flavour taste we dream of. 

Friends, I bring to you today this week’s lunchtime obsession – fluffy white quinoa dressed in a herby-savoury-balsamic dressing and mixed with veggies like peppers and cucumbers, olives and onions and all topped with cheese for a super satisfying, yet healthy salad perfect for lunch or dinner. 

It’s been too long since I shared a new quinoa salad recipe! 

If you’ve been reading the blog for any amount of time, you know that quinoa is pretty much my soul sister. There isn’t a week (let alone a 2-day span) that goes by that a pot of quinoa isn’t cooking up on my stove. And my favourite way to enjoy this protein-packed, nutty-tasting grain (alright, seed…) is quinoa salad.

I love a good quinoa salad and this Mediterranean version is no exception. 

Gluten Free Mediterranean Quinoa SaladMORE ABOUT THIS MEDITERRANEAN QUINOA SALAD RECIPE…

I love the variety of textures and flavours in the salad. It has a little bit of everything in each bite. 

The mixture of veggies here is classic to the ones found in a Greek salad – cucumbers, peppers, olives, onions, and fresh herbs. (You can even add in some chickpeas if you want as well). The last time I made this salad I added roasted red peppers instead of raw peppers and it was a total game changer! Roasted reds are so tender and sweet and gave this salad even more texture and sweet flavour. If you have them on hand already, DO IT! 

And that dressing! It took me a couple times to get right, but it is officially one of my favourites. And all the dried pantry spices, really spice up this dressing up (pun definitely intended). But the real secret ingredient here is the nutritional yeast. Trust me. It gives this salad a super savoury thing that you just can’t beat.  

And then topped with cheese, please. A Mediterranean salad just isn’t the same without salty cheese crumbles on top. I like to use feta or goat cheese for a creamy-salty-totally delicious topping.   

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Gluten Free Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

Gluten Free Mediterranean Quinoa Salad


  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: Serves 2-4 1x
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Description

This gluten free Mediterranean Quinoa salad recipe is so easy to make and bursting with bright and fresh flavours. Made with quinoa, lots of veggies and crumbled cheese on top, this salad makes a great lunch or healthy dinner side dish any night of the week.


Ingredients

Scale

For the Salad:

  • 2 1/2 cups cooked quinoa (from about 3/4 cup of uncooked quinoa)
  • 1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped*
  • 1/2 cup cucumber, chopped
  • 1/2 cup Kalamata or black olives, pits removed and chopped
  • 1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (omit if vegan)

For the Dressing:

  • 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 1–2 teaspoons honey, (adjust to taste or omit if vegan)
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutritional yeast (optional but recommended)
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried dill
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • Fresh ground pepper, to taste

Instructions

  1. In a large mixing bowl, add cooked quinoa, peppers, cucumbers, olives, red onion and parsley. Stir to combine.
  2. In a mason jar with a tight fitting lid, or use a small bowl and a whisk, make the dressing. Add oil, vinegar and spices and shake or whisk until smooth and combine. Season with additional salt and pepper and add a little more honey, if needed.
  3. Poor dressing over quinoa salad and toss to combine until quinoa and veggies are well dressed.
  4. Top salad with crumbled feta cheese before serving. Salad tastes best if consumed within 1-2 days of making.

Notes

*Or use roasted red peppers instead to add more flavour and texture to the salad

  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 5 minutes

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April 6, 2017

« Green Goddess Smashed Chickpea Sandwich
Chopped Veggie Kale Salad with Sesame Dressing »

 

Rebecca Dwyre is the holistic nutritionist, recipe creator and photographer behind Always Nourished. Being diagnosed with PCOS in 2018 was unexpected and devastating for her. Since then she’s been on her own PCOS Freedom journey and has learned so much about managing Polycystic Ovary Syndrome with food and lifestyle that she’s made it her mission to share what she has learned so that other women with PCOS don’t have to struggle like she did.

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

  1. Amy says

    April 18, 2017 at 9:37 pm

    Just discovered your blog. Great stuff! Looks yummy. I try to be as oil free as possible. Any suggestions for the dressing? Thanks

    Reply
    • Rebecca says

      April 21, 2017 at 7:03 am

      Thanks so much, Amy! My favourite oil free dressing uses tahini, warm water, lemon and a little bit of maple syrup. I think the lemon and the tahini would go really well with the Mediterranean flavours here. If you give it a try, let me know what you think!

      Reply
  2. Liz @ pumpkin & peanut butter says

    April 6, 2017 at 8:49 pm

    This looks so perfect for weekday lunches! Definitely going to add this to the rotation 🙂

    Reply
    • Rebecca says

      April 7, 2017 at 6:41 am

      It’s become a regular addition to my rotation as well. I hope you love it!!

      Reply

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Welcome to Always Nourished!

Hi! I’m Becca - a holistic nutritionist sharing delicious recipes and PCOS resources in this little corner of the internet. I’m on a mission to share everything I’ve learned about managing my PCOS with food and lifestyle so that other women with PCOS don’t have to struggle with PCOS like I did. READ MORE...

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