Loaded with juicy tomatoes, crunchy cucumber, creamy feta, briny olives, lots of fresh herbs, then tossed with a zingy lemony dressing, this gorgeous Greek-inspired quinoa salad is perfect for meal prep. Ready in just 25 minutes, it’s fab as a veggie main, or pair it with creamy tzatziki, juicy lamb koftas, or honey harissa chicken for a Mediterranean-style feast.
Greek Quinoa Salad, at a Glance
⏰ Total time: 25 minutes
🍽 Servings: 4 as a main, 6 as a side
🛒 Key Ingredients: Quinoa, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, feta, Kalamata olives, lemon, olive oil
🧠 Skill Level: Beginner-friendly
🥗 Perfect For: Quick weeknight dinners, meal prep, easy lunches, BBQs, picnics, and entertaining
🍗 Serve With: Creamy tzatziki, or spicy whipped feta, two-ingredient dough flatbreads, honey harissa chicken, Greek-style lamb burgers, air fryer chicken doner kebabs, or juicy lamb koftas
⏳ Prep Ahead: Keeps for up to four days, stored in the fridge
My Go-To Salad, Made Even Better
If I had to pick a go-to salad, it would most likely be a Greek salad. The combination of juicy tomatoes, crunchy cucumber, creamy feta, briny olives, lots of fresh herbs, and bright lemon is pretty hard to beat. I also tend to have the ingredients in my fridge, so it’s often an easy option when I’m low on time.
Here I’m adding quinoa, which turns those gorgeous flavors into something a little more substantial. It comes together basically within the time the quinoa cooks. Just get it simmering, then chop everything, mix your quick dressing, and toss it all together to finish.
It’s a fab little all-rounder too. Great by itself as a veggie-packed lunch, add your favorite protein to make it even more satisfying, or take it to a BBQ, picnic, or potluck.
It’ll keep for up to four days in the fridge, so it’s brilliant for meal prep.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Quinoa. A little goes a long way here! Make sure you give it a good rinse first, to get rid of any potential bitterness. You can also buy quinoa pre-cooked, which saves time.
- Fresh herbs. I’m using a mix of flat-leaf parsley, mint and oregano. If you can’t find all three, don’t worry. Prioritise the parsley if you can.
- Cherry tomatoes. I love their sweetness, but you could use regular tomatoes if you like.
- Feta. This brings a lovely creamy element that works so well with the other fresh, crunchy ingredients. You could use goat’s cheese or Boursin, or marinated feta for even more flavor.
- Olives. Not everyone likes olives, so if you don’t, skip them or use sundried tomatoes in their place. I love using Kalamata olives, but black or green olives work well too.
- The dressing. You’ll need olive oil, white wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar), a lemon, honey, Dijon mustard, and dried oregano.
How to Make Your Greek Quinoa Salad
- Mix your dressing, and cook your quinoa.
- Chop all your salad ingredients, then add them to a large mixing bowl.
- Add the quinoa and pour over the dressing, then toss very well to combine. Taste, and season with a little more salt and pepper if needed.
Greek Quinoa Salad FAQs
Yes! It will keep for at least 4 days, stored in the fridge. It’ll lose a little texture the longer it sits, but it’ll still be delicious.
If you’re making it ahead of time for a party, I recommend keeping the salad ingredients and the dressing separate, then tossing them together the day you want to serve it for the best texture.
Adding drained chickpeas or butter beans works well, or you could pair it with chicken (this honey harissa chicken is great), fish, beef (these harissa and zucchini meatballs work well), or lamb (like these juicy lamb koftas).
It’s best to let it cool for about 10 minutes before you add the veggies, herbs and feta, as the heat from the quinoa can soften them and melt the feta.
You can mix the dressing through the warm quinoa though if you like – it helps it absorb flavor.
Yes! This makes the salad even easier. I like using the pre-cooked pouches for this – start with one and then add another if you’d like it more substantial.
Like this recipe? Here are more meal prep salad ideas for you
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! You can leave me a comment below.
Greek Quinoa Salad with Feta
Ingredients
Method
- Cook your quinoa.Rinse the quinoa in a colander over the sink for a minute (this helps remove any bitter coating). Add ¾ cup of rinsed quinoa, 1 ½ cups of water, and ½ teaspoon of salt to a small pot you have a lid for. Set it over medium-high heat. Once the water is simmering, turn the heat to low, place the lid on, and cook for 10 minutes.After 10 minutes, remove the pot from the heat but leave the lid on for another 5 minutes to let the quinoa finish steaming. After 5 minutes, remove the lid, fluff up the quinoa with a fork and leave to cool slightly.
- Prepare the salad.While the quinoa cooks, finely dice your cucumber and red onion, chop your Kalamata olives and cherry tomatoes into quarters, roughly chop your flat-leaf parsley, oregano and mint, and crumble your feta into smaller chunks.
- Mix the dressing.Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, 1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon of honey, 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard, 3 crushed garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon of dried oregano, and 1 teaspoon of salt to a small bowl (or a jar), then mix vigorously with a fork until you have a cohesive dressing. If you're using a jar, screw the lid on and give it a good shake.
- Assemble the salad.Add all the salad ingredients to a large mixing bowl, then pour over the dressing, and finish with a few good grinds of black pepper. Toss to combine, making sure it's mixed very well.Taste, then season with a little more salt if you like.
