Mediterranean Quinoa Salad with Roasted Vegetables

Our Mediterranean quinoa salad recipe is filled with sweet roasted vegetables. It's easy to make, healthy, tasty, and will soon become your go-to salad to serve for lunch, light dinner or as a side dish for your favorite protein.

This delicious healthy quinoa salad contains protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals, it's vegan and gluten-free making it a healthy and tasty choice for your weekly meal prep.

Ingredients for Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

• Quinoa. Contains fiber and protein. It cooks quickly and has the perfect texture to add to salads.
• Fresh Corn. You may also use frozen corn.
• Cremini Mushrooms. You may use any other mushrooms you enjoy.
• Zucchini. Summer yellow squash or green squash.
• Chickpeas. Also known as garbanzo beans. Canned and drained.
• Persian Cucumbers. Sweet and mild cucumbers that are also very crunchy.
• Grape or Cherry Tomatoes.
• Scallions.
• Ground Cumin and Coriander.

How to Make a Quinoa Salad with Roasted Vegetables

Roast the veggies (corn, mushrooms, zucchini, tomatoes, and scallions) in the oven with the spices. Cook the quinoa while the veggies are roasting. Mix veggies and quinoa, and add cucumbers and chickpeas. This can be served with our creamy balsamic dressing or our Pomegranate Vinaigrette.

Quinoa Salad Variations

You can change up this salad in endless ways just by choosing a different dressing or different vegetables to roast. It is equally at home with lemon herb dill as it is with the balsamic dressing.

1. Use any vegetables that you have in hand, you can roast peppers, onions, carrots, fennel, eggplant, butternut squash, asparagus, etc.
2. Add kalamata olives to the salad when you add the cucumbers. Olives should be pitted and diced or chopped in half. Artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, and jarred red peppers are also good choices.
3. Add a little heat with diced jalapenos.
4. Add finely diced red onion to the salad if you want to add a touch onion flavor.
5. Add pickled onions.
6. Feta cheese is the perfect choice if you like to have cheese in your salad. It plays nicely with the roasted vegetables and quinoa.
7. Diced red bell pepper add freshness to the salad.
8. Add fresh herbs such as fresh basil, parsley, mint, or cilantro right before serving.
9. Roasted pine nuts, almonds or pecans add a nice crunch.

Tips for our Easy Mediterranean Quinoa Salad Recipe

• Rinse quinoa before cooking it and check it for rocks or other debris
• Cook the quinoa while the veggies are roasting.
• Meal prep this salad ahead of time for the best flavor. It can be made a day ahead. Refrigerate the salad before serving it so that it is nice and cold for your meal.
• Taste the salad after you have tossed it all together in a large bowl, and make sure you don't need to adjust with either a tad bit of red wine vinegar or a dash of olive oil, depending on how you like your dressing. If it needs a bit more acid and you don't want to use vinegar, try a dash of lemon juice. You may also need to add more dressing or add black pepper and sea salt to taste.
• Prep time for this salad is very minimal. The quinoa cooks nearly in the time it takes to roast the vegetables and mix them all together.
• Quinoa salad can be served warm or cold.

FAQ

Can Mediterranean quinoa salad be frozen?

If you need to freezer this healthy salad, freeze before adding the cucumber, chickpeas and salad dressing. Thaw it in the fridge an add the remaining ingredients and dressing right before serving .

Is quinoa salad healthy?

Yes. Both quinoa and chickpeas contain fiber and protein. The vegetables all contain vitamins and minerals. Olive oil is a healthy fat. Choose your dressing wisely, and you are good to go.

How long can you keep quinoa salad?

It will keep for 2-3 days in a sealed, airtight container in the refrigerator.

Does quinoa salad need to be refrigerated?

Yes. Leftover quinoa salad should be refrigerated. You should also refrigerate the salad after mixing it up and before serving it.

Can I replace quinoa with another grain?

Yes, you can replace the quinoa with farro, bulgur wheat, wheat berries, couscous, Israeli couscous, etc.

More Great Quinoa Salad Recipes

• Super Easy Quinoa Salad Recipe
• Quinoa Pomegranare Salad with Orange Tahini Dressing
• Quinoa Greek Salad with Roasted Vegetables
• Spinach Salad with Quinoa and Black Beans
• Spinach Salad with Strawberries and Quinoa

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Mediterranean Quinoa Salad with Roasted Vegetables

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5 from 3 reviews

• Author: Vicky and Ruth
• Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
• Yield: 8 cups 1x
• Diet: Vegan

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Description

Our Mediterranean quinoa salad recipe is filled with roasted vegetables and fresh cucumbers. It's easy to make, healthy, tasty, and will soon become your go-to salad to serve as a light lunch or as a side for your favorite protein. 

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• Kernels from 4 ears of corn, or 2 cups frozen corn, thawed
• 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced. You may use white mushrooms
• 2 small zucchini, diced (about 2 cups)
• 1-pint grape or cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
• 9 scallions, sliced. White and light green parts
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
• 1-15 ounce can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed.
• 2 Persian cucumbers, sliced
• Pomegranate Vinaigrette, Creamy Balsamic Dressing or any dressing of your choice

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Line 1 large baking sheet with parchment paper. 
2. Place the corn, mushrooms, zucchini, tomatoes, and scallions in a large bowl. Add olive oil, cumin, coriander, and salt. Toss well making sure all the vegetables get coated with the oil and spices.
3. Transfer the vegetables to the baking sheet,  making sure they lay flat and there's space in between the pieces (it's important not to overcrowd the pan, use an additional baking sheet if necessary. Bake for 45 minutes or until desired tenderness.
4. While the vegetables are roasting cook the quinoa. Combine the rinsed quinoa, 1 ⅓ cups of water, and ½ teaspoon of sea salt in a medium saucepan with a tight-fitting lid and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat, and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until all the water is absorbed.  Let it sit for 10 minutes, covered. Fluff the quinoa with a fork. 
5. When you are ready to assemble the salad place the roasted vegetables and the quinoa in a large bowl. Add the chickpeas, cucumbers, and salad dressing of choice and mix well. 
6. Serve warm or cold

• Prep Time: 20
• Cook Time: 45
• Category: Salad
• Method: Roasting
• Cuisine: Mediterranean

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 cup
• Calories: 240
• Sugar: 5.9
• Sodium: 462
• Fat: 8.6
• Saturated Fat: 1.2
• Unsaturated Fat: 6.7
• Trans Fat: 0
• Carbohydrates: 35.5
• Fiber: 6.1
• Protein: 9
• Cholesterol: 0