Mediterranean quinoa salad – think Greek salad meets grain bowl. All the classic Mediterranean flavors in every color of the rainbow: crisp green cucumbers, juicy red tomatoes, sweet red, orange and yellow bell peppers, nutty creamy garbanzo beans, briny black olives, tangy white feta, fresh green herbs, and pungent red onions.

Overhead shot of colorful salad in a glass rectangular dish – green herbs, purple red onion, orange ellow bell peppers, juicy red tomatoes, and golden chickpeas on a white background.

This is the salad you make before the party. Before the picnic. Before the potluck where you want to be the person who brings the most colorful dish to the table. It travels, it holds, and it looks vibrantly fabulous.

This recipe is a study in how to build a salad: varied shapes, colors, textures and flavors. Mediterranean inspired with a quinoa riff. This ancient Andean staple is not traditionally part of Mediterranean cuisine, this salad is authentic to nowhere but my kitchen. It’s simple and highlights high-quality, fresh ingredients – what summer cooking is all about.

I Have Thoughts

There’s generally no lettuce in a classic Greek salad and there’s none here either. Which means, no wilting worries. We’re using quinoa, sturdier, more absorbent, and travel friendly.
Bell Peppers come in four colors and tomatoes in all the colors of the rainbow. Use as many colors as your heart desires.
If raw red onion is too pungent for your taste buds, soak it in the red wine vinegar for 10 minutes and incorporate it in the dressing serving completely raw.
Always get feta in brine, not the pre-crumbled kind. It's fresher and it's better.

Make Ahead

Prep everything separately and store in airtight containers — quinoa, vegetables, dressing all happy in the fridge up to a day (or more) ahead. Add herbs and feta right before serving. It tastes just as good at room temperature. Once assembled, it keeps for up to 3 days.

Overhead flatlay of Mediterranean quinoa salad meal prep — individual glass containers holding red tomatoes, orange and yellow bell peppers, golden chickpeas, crisp green cucumber, fresh green herbs, purple red onion, cooked quinoa, and lemony oregano dressing on a white marble background.

My Mediterranean Quinoa Salad Wisdom

Spread cooked quinoa on a baking sheet and refrigerate 10 minutes — prevents clumping when dressed.
Dress the quinoa while still warm so it soaks up the vinaigrette, then let it cool before adding the veggies, so they stay crisp.
Soak the red onion in the red wine vingar for 10 minutes before adding — takes the sharp edge off, almost pickling them.
Buy feta in brine, not the pre-crumbled kind. It's fresher and it's better.
Add herbs and feta right before serving for maximum freshness and color

Mediterranean ingredients, California mindset, traditional to nowhere but my kitchen.

Play Away

This salad is welcoming to additions – anything from crispy chickpeas to shredded lamb shoulder to tahini in the dressing. If it would go well on a Greek salad, it will go well in this salad.

If ya tried it, I'd love to hear – leave a comment below and tag me on IG, @danielagerson, so I can see too!

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Print Recipe

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

Greek salad meets grain bowl — crisp cucumbers, juicy tomatoes, crunchy bell peppers, briny olives, creamy feta. Classic Mediterranean flavor in every color of the rainbow.

Course: Salad

Cuisine: Californian, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern

Author: Daniela Gerson

Ingredients

Salad

2 cups cooked quinoa
1 cans chickpeas drained & rinsed
2 cups chopped cucumbers
3 cups chopped tomatoes
2 cups chopped bell peppers
½ cup sliced Kalamata or other briny black olives
1/3 cup finely chopped red onion
½ cup sliced Kalamata or other briny black olives
2/3 cup crumbled feta
1 cup loosely packed fresh herbs such as parsley, dill, mint, & basil

Lemon Vinaigrette

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

To assemble the salad, arrange a layer of quinoa and top with remaining ingredients. Drizzle in dressing, 1-2 tablespoons at a time, until well coated; season to taste with salt and pepper.
To Make the Dressing: Combine the lemon juice, vinegar, and oregano in a bowl. Whisking constantly, slowly drizzle in the olive oil until emulsified. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Notes

Spread cooked quinoa on a baking sheet and refrigerate 10 minutes — prevents clumping when dressed. Dress while still warm so it soaks up the vinaigrette, then let it cool before adding the vegetables. Soak the red onion in red wine vinegar for 10 minutes before adding. Buy feta in brine, not the pre-crumbled kind. Add herbs and feta right before serving.

More Colorful Mediterranean Dishes

If you want to bring the most marvelously magenta dish, bring the beet hummus. The most dramatically black, black hummus. The most vibrantly green, green tahini. The most gorgeously purple, purple carrot hummus. The most strikingly red, muhammara. The creamiest white, labneh.