Mediterranean Chickpea Quinoa Salad

Made using cooked quinoa, lots of veggies, and a zesty and flavorful dressing, Mediterranean Chickpea Quinoa Salad, is a healthy and delicious salad that can be made in under 10 minutes. Serve it on its own or as a side dish (vegetarian, gluten-free).

If you like to binge on refreshing salads for a light meal, check out these: Chicken Cranberry Salad, Broccoli Apple Salad, Watermelon Feta Salad, Cucumber Avocado Salad, Som Tam Salad, Grilled Paneer Quinoa Salad, or Ramen Noodle Salad.

Jump to:

• About Mediterranean Chickpea Quinoa Salad
• Ingredients
• How To Make Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
• Pro Tips By Neha
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Variations
• Serving Suggestions
• Storage Suggestions
• You Might Also Like
• Recipe Card

About Mediterranean Chickpea Quinoa Salad

Mediterranean Chickpea Quinoa Salad is a healthy salad loaded with Mediterranean (Middle Eastern) flavors. It is full of fresh crunchy vegetables, feta cheese, quinoa, and chickpeas and is topped with a tangy and zesty dressing.

This Chickpea Quinoa Salad is filling and, at the same time, very light on the stomach. You can make it using basic pantry ingredients in under 10 minutes.

The best part about this salad is that it is super customizable. The recipe I am sharing is naturally vegetarian and gluten-free, but by making a few changes, you can also make it vegan.

You can also load it with any meat of your choice for added protein, change the veggies you like and even play around with the dressing.

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad keeps good in the refrigerator and is a great make-ahead option for gatherings or potlucks.

You can easily double or triple the recipe too.

Ingredients

This salad is very forgiving. Leave the ingredients you don’t like or are not readily available to you, and it will still taste delicious.

Quinoa – Quinoa is rich in fiber and protein; it is great to include this grain in your diet. I have used white quinoa, but you can use mixed-color quinoa too. It is nuttier and will make the salad more vibrant.

Chickpeas – Another great source of vegetarian protein, chickpeas or garbanzo beans add a nice soft crunch to this salad. Soak them overnight and boil until they become soft. Check out my Instant Pot Chickpeas recipe to cook these perfectly.

To save time, use canned garbanzo beans. Make sure to drain and rinse before using them.

Veggies – I have used cherry tomatoes, English cucumbers (or Persian cucumbers), onions, red bell peppers, and parsley. You can also use avocados, green bell peppers, yellow bell peppers, carrots, corn, etc. 

You can also add any greens of your choice, such as arugula, spinach, massaged kale, chard, mixed greens, etc.

Olives – Olives add a great taste to this salad, so don’t miss this one. I have added pitted kalamata olives, but you can also go for black or green olives.

Feta Cheese – Crumbled soft feta cheese is a must in Mediterranean dishes. You can also use crumbled goat cheese instead.

To make the salad vegan, skip adding the cheese.

Pine Nuts are a must for the crunch, but if you don’t have pine nuts, add toasted walnuts, pecans, or almonds to this salad. 

Dressing – To make this salad full of flavor, make a simple dressing with a combination of just 5 ingredients – extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and balsamic vinegar.

Crushed garlic can also be added if you like garlicky flavor.

You can add fresh herbs, like parsley, mint, cilantro, chive, dill, etc., to the dressing.

Make a batch of my Balsamic Vinaigrette Salad Dressing and use it in this quinoa salad. Even Lemon Garlic Dressing will taste great here.

If you want a non-vegetarian version of this Mediterranean salad, add shredded chicken, grilled shrimp, or pieces of grilled chicken.

How To Make Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

Cook The Quinoa

Cook ¾ cup of dry quinoa. ¾ cup of dry quinoa will yield 2 cups of cooked quinoa. Cool the quinoa for a few hours before using it in the salad.

You can cook the quinoa in an instant pot or over the stovetop. Whichever way you cook it, it is essential to rinse it well to remove the natural coating on quinoa, which can make it bitter if not washed properly.

If you cook it in a pot over the stovetop, you’ll want to use 2 cups of water for every cup of quinoa. Place the water and quinoa in a pot and boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, then cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and let the quinoa cook for 13-15 minutes or until tender. Turn off the heat and let the quinoa rest for 5 minutes. Fluff it with a fork; then, you’re ready to use it.

If you want to cook the quinoa in an instant pot, check out my Instant Pot Quinoa recipe to cook it perfectly.

Cook The Chickpeas

If you are cooking the chickpeas from scratch, soak the dry chickpeas in water for 6-8 hours for better cooking. Cook them in a traditional pressure cooker or an instant pot. Check out my Instant Pot Chickpeas recipe for perfectly cooked chickpeas. To save time, you can use canned chickpeas too. Drain the can, rinse the beans well, and use them in the salad.

Prepare The Veggies

Dice the bell peppers into ½-inch pieces. Discard their seeds. Chop the cucumbers into ½-inch cubes. You can choose to keep the skin on or peel it. I like using Persian or English cucumbers as they are seedless and juicy. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half. Chop the onions.

Toast The Nuts

Toast the pine nuts or any other nuts you use in a pan or oven. You can toast a big batch, store it in an airtight container, and keep using them in your recipes. Make sure to toast them on medium heat.

Make The Salad

Place

• 2 cups of cooked quinoa
• 1 cup cooked chickpeas
• ½ cup diced red bell pepper
• ½ cup cubed cucumber
• ½ cup halved cherry tomatoes
• ½ cup chopped onions
• ½ cup pitted kalamata olives, whole or sliced
• 2 tablespoon chopped parsley

in a large mixing bowl.

Stir together

• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

in a small bowl to make the dressing.

Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to coat nicely.

Refrigerate the salad for 1-2 hours before serving.

Top the salad with 2 oz crumbled feta cheese, and ¼ cup toasted pine nuts just before serving.

Pro Tips By Neha

If you do not like a particular ingredient in this salad, you can skip it. It won’t make a big difference.

You can add leafy greens such as kale, spinach, and arugula for extra nutrition and taste.

Add sun-dried tomatoes instead of fresh tomatoes to this salad.

This Mediterranean salad remains fresh for a long, making it apt for picnics, potlucks, and barbecues. It is an excellent salad for meal prep too.

Make it vegan by replacing feta cheese with avocado.

This recipe can be easily doubled or tripled.

This is a great recipe to use up the leftover cooked quinoa from a previous meal.

Frequently Asked Questions

Variations

You can also add some more ingredients to this Mediterranean quinoa salad to make it even more filling and wholesome,

• Add some proteins like – soft or hard-boiled eggs or tofu
• Bread croutons
• Make it with 3 beans instead of just garbanzo. Use cannellini beans, red kidney beans, white beans, or any other of your choice.
• Add roasted peppers instead of raw ones.
• You can add other veggies such as summer squash, eggplant, etc.
• Add shredded boiled or grilled chicken or shrimp.
• Add arugula leaves, spinach, massaged kale, or fresh basil leaves for flavor.
• Replace the dressing. Use Sumac Vinaigrette, Lemon Garlic Dressing, Strawberry Vinaigrette, or Lemon Pepper Dressing for a taste change.

Serving Suggestions

This delicious and flavorful Mediterranean-style quinoa salad tastes great for a light lunch or dinner. Serve it cold or at room temperature as per your preference.

Mediterranean quinoa salad is great to serve as a side dish along with grilled chicken or fish and also for backyard parties, potlucks, dinner parties, and BBQs. You can even serve it as a side with your continental brunches.

As it is a light salad, you can serve it as a side with a hearty soup or sandwich. But there is one way I like to serve it, along with hummus and pita bread. It tastes the best!

If you are making it for a big crowd and want to keep it fresh and crunchy, then you can chop the veggies, cook the quinoa in advance, and store everything in separate airtight containers in the fridge. Once you are ready to serve, mix everything well with the dressing and serve fresh.

Storage Suggestions

If you have leftovers, you can store them in the refrigerator in an airtight container for about 3 days.

The beauty of this quinoa salad is that it tastes even better the next day. The more you keep it, the more flavorful this salad becomes.

This Mediterranean salad will remain good for 3 days. After that, the taste will differ and won’t taste as good as the fresh one.

I would not recommend you freeze this quinoa vegetable salad; if you freeze it, the freshness and texture will not remain the same. Instead, you can cook the quinoa and freeze it. Stir up the vegetables and feta cheese in the quinoa when you want to serve the salad.

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