This Mediterranean Quinoa Salad is not only healthy and easy to make, it's vegan and gluten-free! Made with a simple lemon dressing, this recipe is a Moroccan variation on Tabouli, made with naturally gluten-free fluffy quinoa. It's also Weight Watchers friendly, dairy-free and can be made in under 30 minutes.
Vegan Mediterranean Quinoa Salad is popular all year round, but especially popular in the summer. This cold summer salad is the perfect side dish for a BBQ and makes a great lunch box meal too!
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This recipe was given to me by a friend at work many years ago, but it originally used couscous.
💭Health Benefits of Quinoa vs. Couscous
Although couscous looks healthy, it's really a simple carb with a nutritional value similar to white pasta. Whereas quinoa is not only gluten-free, it's a complete source of protein, has more nutrients, and double the fiber of couscous. Couscous is a little faster to make (5 minutes, as opposed to 15) but you can still make this salad in under 30 minutes. You can read more here about the health benefits of quinoa vs couscous.
🥘 Ingredients
You will need the following ingredients for this recipe
- quinoa
- English cucumber
- tomatoes
- red onions
- olive oil
- white vinegar
- fresh lemon juice
- salt
- fresh cilantro
- fresh mint
- black pepper (optional)
📖Variations & Substitutions
- Tomatoes - you can use Roma, Hothouse, grape tomatoes or cherry tomatoes
- Cucumbers - you can use baby cucumbers instead of English cucumbers
- Red Onion - you can substitute white onion or green onions
- Salt - you can use kosher salt or sea salt instead of regular table salt
- Add-ins - fresh parsley, vegan feta cheese, garbanzo beans or red bell peppers
💭Top Tip
It's critical that you use fresh herbs and fresh lemon juice in this recipe!
Calories in a Quinoa Salad
This cucumber tomato quinoa salad has 186 calories for about ¾ cup.
🔢WW Points
This vegan quinoa salad recipe is Weight Watchers friendly @ 5 WW points per serving (¾ cup)
🥗 PAIRING
These are my favorite dishes to serve with Mediterranean Quinoa Salad:
This Mediterranean Quinoa Salad recipe also makes a great make ahead lunch!
🍽Equipment
You will need a cutting board, a sharp knife, a juicer, a medium pot, and a large bowl.*See recipe card for recommended equipment links and photos
🌡️Storage
Store leftover quinoa salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. After this, the veggies start to get mushy. It's best to make it right before serving.
If you want to make it a day in advance, keep the dressing, the quinoa, and the vegetables in separate containers and combine just before serving. If you are packing it for lunch, it can be mixed together the night before.
These ingredients do not stand up to freezing.
👪 Serving Size
This lemon dressing quinoa salad recipe makes 8 servings. However, you can half, double, or triple the recipe by clicking on the serving number and selecting the number of servings you'd like. The ingredient quantities will automatically adjust.
⭐ Comments & Reviews
Did you know that commenting and rating recipes is one of the best ways to support your favorite recipe creators? If you loved this recipe, please comment and rate it in the recipe card or share photos on social media using the hashtag #foodmeanderings or tagging @foodmeanderings !
🦺Food Safety
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
- Never leave cooking food unattended
So if you are looking for a healthy Greek quinoa salad recipe, you will love this one!
And if you're interested in additional vegan and gluten-free salads, then check out this Easy Bean Salad!
📋 Mediterranean Quinoa salad (vegan) recipe
Ingredients
- 4 cups quinoa
- 1 cucumber long english
- 2 tomatoes
- ⅓ cup red onion/white onion
- 4 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 tablespoon white vinegar
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice *** fresh lemon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro
- 2 tablespoon fresh mint
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper (optional)
Garnish
- additional mint (optional)
- additional cilantro (optional)
Instructions
- Cook Quinoa as directed on box. While quinoa is cooking, chop cucumbers, tomatoes, onions and herbs.
- Put quinoa in bowl and add olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, salt and herbs. Stir in cucumber, tomato, onion and herbs. Serve or chill for 30 minutes and serve.
Garnish
- Garnish with additional mint and basil, if desired.
Jamie Young
Keep sharing your stories! Food is beyond just what's on the plate; it's nostalgia, it's a story, it's a promise, it's so much more. This Quinoa salad recipe sounds so delicious and I look forward to making it soon!
Terri Gilson
Thanks, Jamie! I agree- food is so much more! 🙂 I hope you enjoy the salad!
Sean@Diversivore
Wonderful, wonderful post Terri. I couldn't agree more with you. Food is about nourishment of course, but it is one of the deepest and most unifying aspects of our culture as well. Food connects us deeply, in the furthest recesses of memory. Food is a vessel that can instantly transport us to times, places, and events shared with people (many of whom, as you point out, we might have forgotten otherwise). I have a jump-to-recipe button too, and I have no plans to remove it. For me, they're at their most important when you're actually working in the kitchen, trying to make sure you can get to the meat of the recipe quickly without losing your place. But I consider myself a writer, and not just a recipe developer. Will everyone read my writing? No, certainly not. But I believe that those who choose to take away more than just a recipe - they participate in a cultural or personal experience. They connect - to me, to their friends and family, to something! And I think you might be right. This is our attempt to replicate the importance of those hand-written cards - to give gravitas and meaning to an innately impersonal and somewhat ephemeral medium. And I think that posts like this, like the recipe cards they replace, will hold meaning for a long time to come. Cheers.
Terri Gilson
Thanks so much, Sean! Beautifully said! I started this blog because I wanted to write about food, as much as I wanted to create recipes. And I really do hope that we, as food bloggers and writers are filling that void and that people will remember us through our recipes in the same way we remember those that wrote upon those recipe cards. 🙂
Leanne | Crumb Top Baking
Love quinoa and this is a great dish! But I really loved your take on the storey telling of food blogging! Sure, I love the recipes, but I enjoy getting to know the people behind the recipes, and food blogging makes that happen. Great post! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Terri Gilson
Hi Leanne- thank you! Yes, I'm always so curious about people and who's behind the recipe as well. The 'about me' is the FIRST thing I look at when I go to a blog, even before the recipe 🙂
Denise of Urb’n’Spice
I loved your story, Terri. Keep on doing what you are doing. I have been able to get to know so many fellow bloggers through their stories and even though I may never get the chance to meet any of them, I do feel a connection. The same with my personal recipe collection. I will keep the handwritten 3x5’s with the names of the contributor because every time I make the recipe, there is still a connection and feeling of nostalgia. Aside from that, your quinoa salad recipe sounds wonderful, fresh and flavorful. Thanks for sharing both your stories and your recipes.
Terri Gilson
Thank you, Denise 🙂 I really do enjoy doing both the writing and the recipes and getting both from other bloggers as well! It's nice to feel connected to something bigger...
Cathy
Thank you for reminding me of the importance of the personal connection with recipes, both on paper and online. I also appreciate your substitution of quinoa in this recipe which makes it gluten free!
Terri Gilson
Thank you, Cathy! Yes, it made me very happy when I realized that the personal connection may have changed, but it's not gone 🙂
Sharon
Thank you for this Terri! I feel the same. As someone who is about to add a 'jump to recipe' button, I wonder why it is so difficult to simply scroll through if reading the post is too tedious. Ironically, SEO dictates we churn out a minimum of 300 words to rank in google searches, so SOMEONE must be enjoying the reading. 😉 I too appreciate the heartfelt stories ( Redawna has made me cry too!!) and the memories that bloggers share. This salad looks delicious also!!
Terri Gilson
Thanks, Sharon!That's great you are getting a jump to recipe button. It's considerate to give readers the option. as we get a variety of readers from a variety of sources. For a long time I didn't really know if anyone cared to read my writing, but I enjoyed doing it and it's my blog, so I kept doing it. But several people I know have told me they like the stories. So, I try to keep writing them. It's a lot more work, but it's more fulfilling and hopefully they'll feel more connected to something bigger and remember me 🙂