Mediterranean Quinoa Salad with Zaatar Vinaigrette done 2 ways. It’s going up to 107°F/42C here today that means minimum cooking maximum flavor.
This practically no cook salad bowl checks all my needs for a summer salad. It’s crunchy, flavorful and nutrient dense.
Servings:
Ingredients
Grain Bowl
- 2 ½ cups quinoa cooked **
- 5 cups Romaine or organic spring mixed greens, chopped
- 3 Persian cucumbers or 3/4 English cucumber
- 1 ½ cup baby tomatoes halved
- ½ cup red onion sliced
- 1.5 can chickpeas drained and rinsed
- ½ cup pitted kalamata olives halved
- ½ cup pomegranate from one small fruit
- 1 large avocado diced
- 1 jalepeno sliced, optional
Herbed Vinaigrette
- ½ cup cold pressed extra virgin olive oil
- juice from one large lemon about ½ cup
- 2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves finely chopped, or 1 tablespoon dried
- 3 tablespoons fresh dill or 1 teaspoon dried, finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
- 4 cloves garlic grated or minced, about 1 leveled teaspoon, use less if you don’t like the strong flavor
- pinch sumac optional
- sea salt as needed
- freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
- **Combine 1 part rinsed quinoa with 2 parts water or any liquid like veggie broth in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Then lower the heat to a simmer. Cook until quinoa absorbs all the liquid. About 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat. Cover and let it rest for 5 minutes. Remove lid and fluff quinoa with a fork. Set aside to cool slightly.
- In a small bowl combine the vinaigrette ingredients.
- In a bowl combine the sliced cucumber, baby tomatoes, red onion, warm quinoa, jalapeño if using, and chickpeas. Toss 3/4 of the vinaigrette. Mix well. Set aside to marinate for about 10 minutes.
- In about 4-5 bowls place a handful of greens. Divide the marinated cucumber, cherry tomato, chickpeas,onion mixture between the bowls. Finally top with pitted kalamata olives, pomegranate and diced avocado. Pour the remaining vinaigrette between the bowls.
At Good Old Vegan, we believe in living a healthy vegan lifestyle, and only recommend products/services that we believe in. Occasionally, articles may contain affiliate links that earn us a small commission at no extra cost to you. This will never affects the integrity of our content.
Did you try this recipe?Mention @goodoldvegan or tag #goodoldvegan!
6 thoughts on “Mediterranean Quinoa Salad with Zaatar Vinaigrette”
This looks great, but I have a question… why is it called zaatar vinaigrette of there is no zaatar in the recipe? I have some at home and was hoping to be able to finally use it!!
Hi Emily!
Zaatar is not one spice, but a mixture of different herbs and spices. The spices used in the Vinegraitte resemble the flavor of Zaatar! I think you could replace them with your mixture if you like!
I have Zaatar, how would I use it in this recipe to make the vinaigrette.
I’d recommend executing step 2, but instead of adding in all herbs mentioned for the vinegraitte you simply add in your Za’atar instead!
This is so delicious!
Happy you like it Hein!
Comments are closed.