An easy, make-ahead Mediterranean salad with quinoa, chickpeas, red bell pepper, cucumbers, red onions, olives, sun-dried tomatoes and feta cheese tossed in a garlic-lemon dressing.

Eat a serving of this divine salad for lunch and I promise the rest of your day will flow as it should.

This salad is influenced by the wonderful flavours of the Mediterranean. It’s bursting with protein-packed quinoa, hearty chickpeas, colourful red peppers, crispy cucumbers, sharp red onions, kalamata olives, sun-dried tomatoes and salty feta cheese. All wonderful ingredients that mingle beautifully when combined. And just imagine all this tossed in a fresh, zesty garlic-lemony dressing; who could ask for anything more?

Salad ingredients

Salad ready to toss

I’ve been making this salad for years, even before “quinoa” became a trendy superfood and it’s always been a big hit in our family. I like to make up a batch of it on the weekend so it’s available for packed lunches. Fellow lunchmates are always jealous when they get a scent of the garlic-lemon aroma and see the colourful combination of ingredients. And it makes me happy to know that my family and I are eating super good–for-you-food that keeps us feeling full for a long time.

But don’t think this salad is only for lunch. It also makes a perfect main course or side dish for dinner, as well as a perfect salad to place on a pot-luck table. This salad never disappoints.

Mediterranean Quinoa & Chickpea Salad

This protein packed salad is bursting with Mediterranean flavours. Full of quinoa, chickpeas, red bell peppers, crispy cucumbers, red onions, kalamata olives, sun-dried tomatoes and feta cheese tossed in a garlic-lemon dressing. Perfect for packed lunches!

Servings 12

Author Rita Jakobschuk

Ingredients

Salad

¾ cup uncooked quinoa
1 ½ cups water
1 540 mL tin chickpeas drained and rinsed
1 cup diced red bell pepper
1 cup diced English cucumber unpeeled and seeded
¼ cup finely diced red onion
½ cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes in oil
½ cup pitted and sliced kalamata olives
1 cup crumbled feta cheese

Dressing

¼ cup olive oil
⅓ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 garlic clove crushed
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano

Instructions

In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, add quinoa and water. Cover and bring to a light boil. Reduce heat to simmer, keep covered and cook for 13 to 15 minutes until all liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat, fluff with a fork and cool completely.
In a small bowl whisk together the dressing ingredients: olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper, cumin and oregano.
In a large salad bowl add salad ingredients: cooled quinoa, chickpeas, red pepper, cucumber, red onion, sun-dried tomatoes, olives and feta cheese. Pour dressing over salad and gently stir to combine well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.