Quinoa Salad

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 Mediterranean flavors combined with quinoa makes a healthy salad in this quinoa salad.

This quinoa salad has the simplest ingredients and is so delicious.  I intended this to be a side-dish for dinner.  It never made it that far.  My kids were hovering when I made this.  

They kept coming by and snatching a bell pepper slice, then an olive, then a mozzarella ball.

When I had it mixed altogether they wanted the whole salad.  I made them wait.  I needed some pictures first.  Every few minutes they would ask, “Can we have some now?”

 Finally, I was able to divvy up the salad. They gobbled it up and came back looking for more!  Needless to say, there wasn’t any left for dinner.  I guess I can’t complain.  That was a pretty healthy snack they had!

This salad is easy enough to throw together so I can make it again soon…..next time I’d better double…or maybe even triple this salad!

When I started throwing this salad together, I added just the lemon juice and then tasted it.  I found it didn’t need anything more, except a bit of fresh ground pepper.  It was perfect with just lemon juice as a dressing.  This is so much healthier than a dressing with added oils and it really is super yummy.

This salad uses kalamata olives and fresh mozzarella cheese.  Both items can be found in the deli area of a grocery store.  Not all stores carry an olive bar, but when they do, they often carry fresh mozzarella too.  These mozzarella balls are small, about the same size as the olives and cherry tomatoes.

When using quinoa, always rinse your quinoa well first before cooking. Otherwise you will be left with a bitter tasting quinoa.  To do this,  I measure out the amount I need into a large bowl.  Then fill the bowl with water.  I use my fingers to gently massage the small quinoa together.

 The water will become a bit murky.  I then pour the quinoa into a very fine mesh strainer and rinse under water.  Then cook according to package directions.

Check out this post on how to cook quinoa.

Other Great Recipes with Quinoa

• Quinoa Enchilada Bake
• Quinoa Waffles
• Quinoa Banana Bread

Other Delicious Salads

• Barley Salad
• Couscous Salad
• Thai Pasta Salad
• Walleye Salad

If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment below and snap a picture and tag me on Instagram @beyondthechickencoop

Check out all my salad recipes!

Quinoa Salad

Kathy

Quinoa, bell peppers, olives and mozzarella

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 mins

Total Time 15 mins

Course Salad

Cuisine American, Mediterranean

Servings 4 people

Calories 157 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 cup cooked quinoa (cooled)
• 1 small orange or yellow bell pepper (sliced thin)
• 1/2 cup Kalamata olives pitted and halved
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes (halved)
• 1 cup fresh mozzarella balls (quartered)
• 6-8 fresh basil leaves sliced thinly
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• Freshly ground black pepper
• salt

Instructions

 

• In a large bowl, combine quinoa, bell pepper, olives, tomatoes, mozzarella and basil.
• Squeeze lemon juice over mixture.
• Add fresh ground pepper.
• Taste salad. Add more lemon juice or pepper if needed. Add salt, if needed.
• Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate to serve later.

Video

Notes

Fresh mozzarella balls can often be found in the deli section where fine olives are sold. You want small sized balls, similar in size to cherry tomatoes.

Nutrition

Calories: 157kcalCarbohydrates: 13gProtein: 7gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 9mgSodium: 288mgPotassium: 223mgFiber: 2gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 340IUVitamin C: 63.1mgCalcium: 113mgIron: 1.2mg

Keyword meditteranean quinoa salad, quinoa recipes, quinoa salad, quinoa salad recipes, tomato mozzarella bell peppers salad, vegan salads

Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and let me know what you think.