Israeli Salad Quinoa Bowl

If you are craving a quick, easy and refreshing Quinoa Bowl, stop what you are doing and run to buy the ingredients to make this simple yet flavorful Mediterranean salad recipe.

Our Israeli Salad Quinoa Bowl is made with Persian cucumbers, fresh tomatoes, parsley, quinoa, and spiced chickpeas for added protein. A simple, easy tahini salad dressing completes this light, bright and flavorful meal in a bowl. This recipe is especially fantastic at the height of summer when every ingredient is in season at their peak flavor.

Israeli Salad Ingredients

• Medium Tomatoes. The tomatoes in this traditional salad are finely chopped.
• Persian Cucumber. You could use English cucumbers if needed. No peeling is necessary.
• Red Onion.
• Fresh Parsley. You can use fresh cilantro or fresh mint for an equally tasty version.
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Lemon juice, Salt and Pepper, is the traditional dressing for Israeli salad. We made a smokey homemade Harissa-infused tahini sauce for this recipe, but you can skip it and go for the traditional flavors.

Quinoa Bowl Ingredients

• Israeli Salad
• Quinoa. The first step in this recipe is to cook the quinoa. If you have cook quinoa in your fridge use that.
• Chickpeas. Canned will work fine. Drain and rinse them.
• Spices. Sumac. Cumin. Paprika. Salt.
• Toasted Pine Nuts. These are optional for crunch. Pistachios, almonds, or walnuts will work as well.
• Homemade Tahini Dressing

Ingredients for Homemade Tahini Dressing

• Tahini Paste. This is sold in a jar. If you are using the bottom of the jar, use a blender or food processor to make the dressing. You may need to add more liquid.
• Lemon Juice. Freshly squeezed has the best flavor.
• Water. Is added to achieve the right consistency. Add it in small quantities as needed.
• Maple Syrup. Use Agave syrup or honey instead for a touch of sweetness.
• Apple Cider Vinegar. It provides brightness to the dressing.
• Harissa. This Moroccan spicy condiment adds heat and a slight smokiness to the sauce.

What Is Israeli Salad?

Israeli Salad is basically a tomato cucumber salad with onions and fresh parsley where the ingredients are diced very small, Israeli salad is also called Jerusalem Salad or Arab Salad.

How to Make Israeli Salad Quinoa Bowl

First, cook your quinoa and let it cool. Finely chop the tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, and fresh parsley. This is traditionally a finely chopped salad, so knife cuts are important. Make the spice chickpeas and toast the pine nuts. In a large bowl combine cooked quinoa, Israeli salad, and chickpeas. In a separate bowl, whisk together the dressing. Right before serving pour the dressing over the salad and toss well. Taste and adjust your quinoa bowl seasoning to taste. Top with pine nuts.

How to Serve Israeli Salad Quinoa Bowl

• This beautiful dinner bowl can be served as is or topped with homemade falafel.
• Do you want to make this meal in a bowl into a sandwich and be in carb heaven? Stuff it into a pita and add pickles.
• Make it part of a Mediterranean-inspired brunch spread. In the summer serve this quinoa salad with a bowl of gazpacho or corn soup in the colder months serve it with a bowl of Cauliflower Soup or Carrot Coriander Soup
• This quinoa bowl also works well as a side dish with your favorite protein.

Variations On A Quinoa Bowl Recipe

• Add chopped bell peppers you could use red peppers or green peppers, which are included in many Israeli salad recipes.
• Feta cheese also works really well with these flavors.
• Add falafel fresh mint instead of parsley, or a few slices of avocado.
• A drizzle of tzatziki sauce is a nice complementary flavor.
• Add some Za'atar to the quinoa bowl for an additional punch of flavor.
• Other cooked grains and beans could work well in a quinoa bowl while providing fiber, use black beans, lentils, brown rice, or couscous.
• While we like to stick with a vegan approach, chicken or lamb are common additions if you want to add protein to your meal.
• To make a roasted vegetable quinoa bowl you could include any veggies you like such as butternut squash, Brussels sprouts, sweet potato, potatoes, peppers, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, or carrots.
• If you have extra homemade salad dressing, it will keep for several days in the fridge and goes well with different dishes.
• If you need to save time, you can make the quinoa and the dressing up to one day ahead but do not prepare or mix the other ingredients.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you chop fresh herbs for Israeli Salad?

Rinse the herbs and strip the leaves off of the stems. Chop them using a sharp knife.

What is the difference between Israeli and Greek Salad?

Israeli salad is made with tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and parsley all diced really small and dressed with olive oil, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. In Greek salad, the veggies are typically cut into larger chunks and it is made with tomatoes, cucumbers, feta, red onion, kalamata olives, and a Greek Vinaigrette and it is sometimes served over lettuce.

What are the other names for Israeli Salad?

This salad might also be called Jerusalem salad, Arab salad, or Mediterranean salad.

Can Israeli Salad be made ahead?

Yes. Make it a few hours ahead of time and refrigerate it. This salad is best served fresh. If you need to make it a day ahead, add the dressing right before serving, so the veggies stay fresh and crunchy.

How long does Israeli Salad last?

Salads have a bad reputation for getting soggy in the fridge. Keep this one in an airtight container and enjoy it within days. If you don't like day-old chopped tomatoes, consider using cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes instead, they will stay firmer longer. It won't be quite the same but it will work. For a dryer tomato that keeps even longer, use plum or Roma tomatoes.

Is a quinoa bowl served hot or cold?

A quinoa bowl can be served hot or cold, but this recipe should be served cold. Chill your cooked quinoa for several hours before mixing the salad.

More Middle Eastern Recipes to Try

• Fattoush Salad
• Sfouf - Vegan Middle-Eastern Turmeric Cake
• Homemade Hummus
• Tabouli Salad (Tabbouleh)- Authentic Recipe
• Falafel

If you enjoyed this recipe, it would help us tremendously if you left us a star rating in the comments below or on the recipe card. Do you have any questions about the recipe? Do you need a swap for any of the ingredients? We are here to help, just leave us a question in the comments below.

Israeli Salad Quinoa Bowl

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• Author: Vicky Cohen and Ruth Foc
• Total Time: 35 minutes
• Yield: 6 cups 1x
• Diet: Vegan

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Description

If you are craving a quick, easy and refreshing Quinoa Bowl, make this simple yet flavorful Mediterranean salad recipe.

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 cup of uncooked quinoa
• 3 Medium Tomatoes, diced very small
• 6 Persian Cucumber, diced very small
• ½ red onion, diced very small
• ¼ cup freshly chopped parsley or cilantro
• 1 can chickpeas
• ½ tsp sumac
• ½ tsp cumin
• ½ tsp paprika
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 tbsp toasted pine nuts (optional)

For the Tahini Dressing

• ½ cup tahini paste
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• ¼ cup water. See Note 1
• 1 tsp Maple Syrup
• 2 tsp Apple Cide Vinegar
• ½-1 teaspoon Harissa ( to taste). See Note 2

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Instructions

1. Cook quinoa following any of our how-to-cook quinoa methods
2. In a large bowl mix chickpeas with sumac, cumin, paprika, and salt until well coated.
3. Add tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and cilantro or parsley
4. Make the dressing by whisking all the ingredients together or put them all in a blender, especially if you used tahini from the bottom of the jar.
5. Pour as much dressing as you would like on the salad and mix well.  Adjust seasoning with more salt, or lemon if necessary.

Notes

1. If you are using tahini from the bottom of the jar, it is usually drier.  In that case, you may need to add more water to achieve the desired consistency for the tahini dressing. You will probably need to use a blender to make the dressing.
2. Depending on the brand of Harissa that you are using it could be hotter or milder.  Add as much as you need to your taste.
3. You may have some leftover tahini dressing, you store it in the fridge for up to 4 days or freeze it. Use leftover dressing with your favorite salad.

• Prep Time: 15
• Cook Time: 20
• Category: Bowl
• Method: Raw
• Cuisine: Medditerranean

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 cup
• Calories: 344
• Sugar: 5.8 g
• Sodium: 313.6 mg
• Fat: 16.6 g
• Saturated Fat: 2.3 g
• Trans Fat: 0 g
• Carbohydrates: 40.6 g
• Fiber: 7.6 g
• Protein: 12.2 g
• Cholesterol: 0 mg