Colorful and bursting with flavor, this salad is easy to make and festive to eat. Sweet cherry tomatoes, crispy-crunchy Persian cucumbers and savory olives team up with the bite of fresh flat leaf parsley and baby arugula to make this your go-to salad for that next picnic… or lunch at the office. 🙂 Just make sure you bring enough to share!!

Gluten free, grain free, plant-based and vegan, allium free (no onions, no garlic), Low FODMAP and yummy!

Let’s begin! Jump to Recipe

Light, Fluffy Quinoa

The key to making this salad come together is in preparing light, fluffy quinoa. To achieve this, I use 1.5 cups of water for each cup of quinoa…which is about 1/2 cup less than the proportion I typically use.

Cool the quinoa to room temperature (or make in advance and refrigerate) and proceed to the next step.

Combining the Salad

Combine the quinoa, parsley, olives, tomatoes and cucumbers in a large mixing bowl. Add baby arugula to taste and toss to combine. I usually end up coarsely chopping the baby arugula to make the salad easier to eat.

Dressing

Combine equal parts lemon juice and olive oil and whisk to combine. Pour over the salad. Add salt, black pepper and 7-spice blend (optional) to taste. For added heft, toss with your favorite vegan feta and serve!

Note: If you’re packing the salad for later, store the dressing (with salt) on the side and pour over right before eating. This will help keep the salad fresh-tasting and crunchy longer.

Print Recipe

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time20 mins

Course: Lunch, Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine: Mediterranean

Keyword: allium free (no onions, no garlic), chickpea free, gluten-free, grain free, Plant-based and vegan

Servings: 6

Calories: 198kcal

Ingredients

• 2.5 cups cooked quinoa cooled to room temperature. 1.25 cups dry, see Recipe Notes
• 1 bunch chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley to taste
• 1.5 cups olives halved. 6oz can or bottle, any variety
• 1 cup chopped seedless cucumbers about 2-3 Persian cucumbers
• 1.5 cups multicolored cherry tomatoes halved
• 2 cups baby arugula 2oz bag, coarsely chopped if needed
• 2 tbsp lemon juice to taste
• 2 tbsp olive oil to taste
• salt to taste
• black pepper freshly ground, to taste
• 7 spice blend optional, to taste

Instructions

• Combine the quinoa (see recipe notes for cooking instructions), parsley, olives, tomatoes and cucumbers in a large mixing bowl. Add arugula to taste and toss to combine.
• Mix lemon juice and olive oil in a bowl. Pour over the salad.
• Add salt, pepper and 7 spice to taste. Serve!

Notes

For best results, cook the quinoa with a little less water than you normally do to get a fluffier, more ‘dry’ texture. To achieve this I use 1.5 cups of water for every 1 cup of quinoa.

Remove the cooked quinoa from heat, transfer to a wide bowl, fluff with a fork and let cool to room temperature before using in this recipe. Alternately, this step can be done overnight. 

Every now and then I add dash of Lebanese 7-spice blend to this salad for added aroma. It’s delicious in small amounts. 

If you’re packing the salad for lunch, I recommend storing the dressing (with salt) on the side and adding it in right before eating. This will keep the ingredients of the salad fresh-tasting and flavorful longer.  

Tried this recipe or just have something fun to share? I’d love to hear about it. 🙂