I added some items to the original recipe, which I had received from a friend. It’s so full of goodness that I frequently eat it by myself as a meal. I’ve also paired this with lamb or chicken shish kabobs or as a side dish.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 20 mins |
| Additional Time: | 30 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 5 mins |
| Servings: | 12 |
| Yield: | 12 servings |
Ingredients
- ½ cup sliced almonds
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- 2 cups quinoa
- 1 English cucumber, diced
- 15 grape tomatoes, quartered
- 1 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, stemmed and leaves finely chopped
- 1 orange bell pepper, diced
- ¾ cup crumbled feta cheese
- ½ cup raisins
- ¼ cup chopped black olives
- 4 scallions, white and light green parts, chopped
- ½ cup fresh lemon juice
- ½ cup olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spread almonds onto a baking sheet.
- Bake almonds in the preheated oven until lightly toasted and fragrant, 5 to 10 minutes.
- Bring vegetable stock and quinoa to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until quinoa is tender and stock has been absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer quinoa to a bowl and refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes.
- Mix almonds, cucumber, tomatoes, parsley, orange bell pepper, feta cheese, raisins, olives, and scallions into quinoa.
- Whisk lemon juice and olive oil together in a bowl; pour over quinoa mixture and stir until quinoa mixture is coated.
- If you can get sheep’s milk feta, use that.
- You can add salt and ground black pepper to taste, if desired.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 282 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 30 g |
| Cholesterol | 8 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Protein | 8 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g |
| Sodium | 292 mg |
| Sugars | 6 g |
| Fat | 15 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I doubled the Cucumber portion and used sliced almonds with dried cranberries in addition to the raisins for flavor contrast. This was delicious and I will definitely be making it again!
I’ve been looking for lunch-time salad recipes for my husband and me. This has been our absolute favorite. It’s both filling and delicious – and makes enough to last a week! I’ve been adding spinach (probably 3 cups-ish of fresh baby spinach) to the recipe, which adds some bulk to make it a meal on it’s own. I’ve found that almost any veggies I have on hand can easily be added to the recipe (avocado, celery, carrots, etc.). I’ve also subbed pecans for almonds when I rand out of almonds. Super forgiving recipe!
My family loves quinoa but this was my first time making it. Loved it. Did not add the olives or green onions. Next time I may do so. I used cows milk feta from traders joe as I’m not a fan of sheep or goat cheeses.
This is my go-to quinoa salad, which I make often during the summer months. If you can find sheep’s milk feta, I would suggest you try it in this salad, it’s not as sharp tasting as goat’s milk feta, and I find it has a slightly creamier texture. Another variation to this recipe would also be to use half a bunch each of minced fresh cilantro leaves and parsley.