Easy Make-Ahead Greek Quinoa Salad Without Tomatoes
This easy make-ahead Greek quinoa salad without tomatoes is such a delightful savory salad. Perfect for prepping ahead and makes for a refreshing protein-packed meal, or side dish with its flavor-bursting taste.
Looking for a meal prep dish that is great for a quick lunch or side dish? This easy make-ahead Greek quinoa salad without tomatoes is one to add to your list.
Whether you serve this salad as a lunch or dinner by itself or as an accompaniment with some beef, chicken, pork, or seafood, there is something to be loved about this Greek quinoa salad-inspired Mediterranean dish.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more found under FAQ
With every bite, this cold quinoa salad is sure to leave you feeling satisfied with its fresh and wholesome ingredients.
If you are looking for other salad recipes like this easy quinoa salad you may also like this Easy Broccoli Salad, Tomato Basil Cucumber Salad with Bocconcini, and our Spinach Berry Melon Salad with Feta.
INGREDIENT NOTES
When it comes to making this gluten-free quinoa salad, you will need a few simple ingredients:
- Cooked Quinoa: quinoa is the protein source for this salad.
- Cucumber: finely chopped cucumber adds such a great crunch.
- Red Onion: for a burst of flavor with some zing and added crunch, red onion will do the trick.
- Black Olives: to add a little savory to this recipe we use sliced black olives.
- Crumbled Feta: for some added texture and tart we use feta cheese to also bring out more flavor.
- Greek Salad Dressing: to keep this recipe simple we used store-bought Greek salad dressing.
- Lemon Juice: lemon juice balances out the flavors in this dish
- Salt/Pepper: for some extra seasoning and spice.
This Greek-style quinoa salad without tomatoes is a little different and does not use olive oil or red wine vinegar.
Instead, we use store-bought Greek dressing to simplify the ingredient list and still keep this quinoa salad delicious.
Quinoa is considered a superfood and is the star ingredient in this salad. It is versatile, gluten-free, high in protein and fiber, and high in vitamins and minerals, such as zinc and magnesium!
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more found under Privacy Policy.
STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS
- Cook quinoa according to the instructions. no need to pre-soak, unless that is a personal preference
- Once quinoa is cooked, transfer the hot quinoa to a heat-safe dish and allow it to cool. Place the quinoa (once in a heat-safe dish), into the refrigerator to cool quicker, stirring the quinoa around.
- Stir the quinoa around every 10 minutes for 30 minutes.
- While the quinoa is cooling, chop your onion, and cucumber, and measure out the remaining ingredients.
- After 30 minutes in the refrigerator, remove the quinoa and start making the salad.
- Transfer the quinoa to a large salad bowl. Add in all remaining ingredients and stir everything together until combined.
EXPERT TIPS
Quinoa Preparation: Ensure you prepare the quinoa according to the directions on the package to ensure optimal taste and texture.
Chill Time: give this quinoa salad some time to chill in the refrigerator before serving, 1-2 hours, to amplify the taste.
SERVINGS TIPS
This gluten-free quinoa salad recipe is great served on its own. But there are so many other serving suggestions for this salad.
You can serve this healthy salad as a main dish or a side, pack it for lunches as meal prep, chilled or fresh, pair it with a protein, add it to some greens, like spinach, or add it to a brunch menu.
The options are endless, and there are so many variations of this Greek-style quinoa salad.
STORAGE TIPS
This simple quinoa salad can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. It is best served cold.
You can pre-measure out the salad into individual potions and refrigerate for quick meal prep giving you 6-8 servings of this salad.
HOW TO PREP AHEAD
This quinoa salad is best made ahead of time. When the quinoa salad is prepared ahead of time it allows all the flavors to come together and enrichen the taste.
This quinoa salad also makes for a great side dish. Preparing it ahead of time means that you can easily cook some protein and have the perfect savory side salad to go with it.
Preparing this Greek quinoa salad ahead of time saves you time on those busy days when you just need to grab something quick or serve something quick.
VARIATIONS/SUBSTITUTIONS
You can easily make different variations for this quinoa salad. Some of our favorite additional ingredients include:
- Chickpeas
- Tomatoes
- Green onion
- Parsley
- Red bell pepper
- Avocado
- Pine nuts
- Italian dressing
- Olive oil
- Balsamic vinegar
- Red wine vinegar
When making different variations of this salad it is so easy to add in or swap ingredients.
You can easily swap out the Greek dressing for Italian, or a simple olive oil drizzle with some balsamic or red wine vinegar.
The options are endless when it comes to the different variations of this simple quinoa salad.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ’s)
Yes, you can! Whatever kind of quinoa you have on hand or prefer to eat will work!
Yes, you can easily swap out or omit ingredients with plant-based alternatives.
RELATED SALAD RECIPES
Creamy Coleslaw Salad
Creamy Broccoli Salad
Tomato Cucumber Salad
Spinach Melon Salad
Easy Make-Ahead Greek Quinoa Salad Without Tomatoes
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa uncooked
- ¾ cup black olives sliced, drained
- ¾ cup feta cheese crumbled
- ⅔ cup red onion finely diced
- 1 cup cucumber diced
- ⅓ cup Greek dressing store-bought
- 1 tbsp lemon juice fresh or store-bought
- ¼ tsp salt sea salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
- Cook quinoa according to the instructions. no need to pre-soak, unless that is a personal preference.
- Once quinoa is cooked, transfer the hot quinoa to a heat-safe dish and allow it to cool. Place the quinoa (once in a heat-safe dish), into the refrigerator to cool quicker, stirring the quinoa around.
- Stir the quinoa around every 10 minutes for 30 minutes.
- While the quinoa is cooling, chop your onion, and cucumber, and measure out the remaining ingredients.
- After 30 minutes in the refrigerator, remove the quinoa and start making the salad.
- Transfer the quinoa to a large salad bowl. Add in all remaining ingredients and stir everything together until combined.
- Serve and enjoy.
Made this as my meal for my lunches this week! Delicious!!!
Amazing, thank you 🙂