This easy to make Greek Quinoa Chopped Salad recipe is full of delicious Greek-style ingredients and flavors.
The best thing about eating healthy is that there is a variety of stuff out there that you can put together for a great meal. This isn’t a terribly low calorie salad or anything, but it sure does have many of the colors of the rainbow. Eating the rainbow is apparently the focus of a healthy diet!
Ingredients Needed:
- quinoa
- lemon
- crumbled feta cheese
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt
- dried oregano
- romaine lettuce
- canned chickpeas
- mini sweet peppers
- cucumber
- roasted red pepper
- kalamata olives
- red onion
- pita chips
How to make Greek Quinoa Chopped Salad:
The complete, printable recipe is at the end of this post.
- In a medium saucepan, bring the water and quinoa to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, 15 minutes or until the water is absorbed. Spread the quinoa on a large baking sheet to cool.
- Meanwhile, for the dressing, remove 2 teaspoons of zest and squeeze ¼ cup of juice from the lemon. In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon zest and juice, cheese, oil, salt and oregano until combined.
- In a large bowl, combine the lettuce, chickpeas, sweet peppers, cucumber, roasted peppers, olives and red onion. Add half the dressing; toss to coat. Return the quinoa to the saucepan and drizzle with the remaining dressing; toss to coat. Combine the quinoa with the romaine mixture and top with crushed pita chips. Drizzle with additional oil, if desired.
Healthy Recipe Tip!
If trying to cut the carbs, leave pita chips off the salad!
Why do you rinse Quinoa?
Rinsing quinoa is important to remove its natural coating, called saponin. Saponins are bitter, so rinsing helps eliminate this taste, making the quinoa more palatable. Additionally, saponins can sometimes cause digestive discomfort, so washing them off can also improve digestion.
To rinse quinoa, simply place it in a fine-mesh strainer and run cold water over it for 30 seconds to a minute, swishing it around gently. While some pre-packaged quinoa may be labeled as pre-rinsed, it’s still a good practice to rinse it again to be sure.
What I Love About This Recipe:
- It’s filling enough to be a main dish for dinner (especially if you add some cooked chicken).
- It’s light enough to have for lunch!
- You can make the quinoa and dressing ahead of time and just keep it in the refrigerator until it’s time to assemble the salad.
Favorite Recipes Using Quinoa:
Greek Quinoa Chopped Salad
Ingredients
- 1½ cups water
- ¾ cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
- 1 large lemon
- ⅓ cup crumbled feta cheese
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
- 2 cups chopped romaine lettuce
- One 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1¼ cups sliced mini red, yellow and orange sweet peppers
- 1¼ cups finely chopped cucumber
- ½ cup (jarred) chopped roasted red sweet peppers
- ½ cup pitted, sliced kalamata olives
- ¼ cup finely chopped red onion
- 1½ cups coarsely crushed pita chips
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, bring the water and quinoa to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, 15 minutes or until the water is absorbed. Spread the quinoa on a large baking sheet to cool.
- Meanwhile, for the dressing, remove 2 teaspoons of zest and squeeze ¼ cup of juice from the lemon. In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon zest and juice, cheese, oil, salt and oregano until combined.
- In a large bowl, combine the lettuce, chickpeas, sweet peppers, cucumber, roasted peppers, olives and red onion. Add half the dressing; toss to coat. Return the quinoa to the saucepan and drizzle with the remaining dressing; toss to coat. Combine the quinoa with the romaine mixture and top with crushed pita chips. Drizzle with additional oil, if desired.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
