This mediterranean cucumber salad is perfectly crunchy with onions, cucumbers, and peppers as well as additions of olives, tomatoes, chickpeas, quinoa, fresh herbs and topped with feta. YUM!
In our last post of baked caprese stuffed chicken, I mentioned that I had a surplus of tomatoes that I had picked from my garden. That very much still stands. A basket is overflowing with them on our kitchen counter. If you know of any good ways to use up tomatoes, I would love to hear about them! However, that basket is also accumulating some cucumbers. So, I am happy to be sharing with you this recipe in hopes to use up some of these fresh veggies.
I love a good, chilled salad. Especially a chilled salad that is lettuce-less. Sometimes those are the best kinds of salads. This mediterranean cucumber salad is such a refreshing salad to pull out on a warm summer day.
If you love trying out different salads, we have a peach and goat cheese summer salad as well as a roasted sweet potato brussel sprout salad here on the blog.
Why You Will Love Mediterranean Cucumber Salad with Quinoa
- Nutrient Dense – There are multiple ingredients in this salad that make it very nutrient dense. To start, the quinoa is rich in protein, fiber, and B vitamins. Olives contain healthy fats and have powerful antioxidants that are great for the heart. The vegetables within this salad do so many good things for you and your body. A few of them are promote healthy skin, good vision, heart health, and regulates blood sugar.
- Meal Prep Friendly – With school starting up soon and busy, routine schedules being the new normal, having healthy meal prep foods that you can quickly grab is a lifesaver. This salad can be made at the beginning of the week and stored in the fridge for throughout the week.
- Easy – This recipe is not detailed or difficult to follow. It is simple and one that you will want to make again and again!
Best Ways to Serve Mediterranean Cucumber Salad with Quinoa
- Fish – This Mediterranean cucumber salad with quinoa would serve as a great bed for salmon or your favorite fish.
- On a Salad – While this is already a salad, this would go well on a bed of lettuce or spinach with another protein.
- Sweet potatoes – Making this Mediterranean cucumber salad with quinoa with room temperature ingredients and then serving it on top of baked sweet potatoes would be a delicious hearty meal.
- Burrito Bowl – We have burrito bowls frequently for dinner over here in our home. Although often times I run out of topping ideas for them. This salad would be a great topping for a chicken burrito bowl.
Ingredients
Quinoa – There are different kinds of quinoa. The white kind of quinoa has a mild flavor and a softer texture. Compared to white quinoa, red quinoa has a nuttier flavor and more of a chewy texture. Lastly, there is black quinoa. Black quinoa has a rich and almost earthy flavor. Any kind of quinoa would go well within this salad. It all depends on what kind of flavor you prefer. I am using a combination of all three to get the ultimate flavor and texture variety.
Cucumber – Diced up into small bite sized pieces.
Tomato – You can remove the seeds from the tomatoes and just have the “flesh” if you prefer. Diced up into small bite sized pieces as well.
Chickpeas
White Onion – Diced
Green Peppers – Diced
Red Olives – Red olives are jarred with the best herbs and juices. They add wonderful flavor to this salad.
Feta
Fresh Basil
Olive Oil
Lemon Juice
Garlic Cloves
Salt & Pepper
Tools You Will Need
Large Bowl
Mixing Spoon
Cutting Board
Sharp Knife
Medium Sized Pot
Measuring Cups & Spoons
How to Make Mediterranean Cucumber Salad with Quinoa Step-by-Step
To start, place your cooked and cooled quinoa into a large mixing bowl.
Then, taking all the vegetables that go into this salad, dice them up into bite sized pieces. This will ensure that you get a little bit of everything in each bite. Add in the things that don’t need diced up like the chickpeas and the olives.
On top of all the ingredients, add in the chopped basil, lemon juice, olive oil, and minced garlic cloves.
Give everything a good toss. Serve at room temperature or set in the fridge in an airtight container and allow to chill. Enjoy!
Mediterranean Cucumber Salad with Quinoa
This Mediterranean cucumber salad with quinoa is a refreshing salad to whip up on a warm summer day. It is an easy recipe and one that is great for meal prepping!
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa, cooked
- 15.5-ounce chickpeas, 1 can
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1 cup tomato, diced
- 1 cup white onion, diced
- 1 cup cucumber, diced
- 1/2 cup purple olives, chopped
- 4 ounces feta
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/4 cup chopped basil
- 2 gloves garlic, minced
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- To start, place your cooked and cooled quinoa into a large mixing bowl. 1 cup quinoa
- Next, dice up the pepper, tomato, onion, cucumber, and chop the olives roughly. Add all the diced vegetables into the mixing bowl. 1 green bell pepper, 1 cup tomato, 1 cup white onion, 1/2 cup purple olives.
- To the bowl, add in the things that don't need chopped. This would be the chickpeas and the feta. 1-15.5 ounce can of chickpeas, 4 ounces feta
- Now for the ingredients that act as the "dressing." Add in the olive oil, lemon juice, chopped basil, garlic cloves, and salt and pepper to the bowl. 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup lemon juice, 1/4 cup chopped basil, 2 garlic cloves (minced) and salt and pepper to taste
- Give everything a good stir and taste it to see if anything needs added.
- Serve at room temperature or place in an airtight container and set in the fridge to chill.
Notes
This meditteranean cucumber salad is a great meal prep option. Place into an airtight container and keep it in the fridge to grab throughout the week.
If you tried this recipe out, the ladies here at Brick House on Green would love to know how it turned out for you. Leave us a comment down below telling us about it!
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