This Lemon Herb Quinoa Salad is your perfect side dish right now! A light quinoa dish with a Lemon Vinaigrette, lots of fresh herbs, chickpeas, cucumbers, feta cheese and pistachios! A light yet hearty salad that is great on its own or as a side dish.

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This salad is full of flavour and so easy to put together.  Much like the Lemon Herb Couscous Salad, this is a substantial salad that is absolutely delicious, versatile and great as a Side Dish to many Main Courses!

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What is This Summer Salad Like

• Difficulty – This is a very easy recipe to make. It has two parts and comes together in about an hour.
• Taste – A great tasting dish with hearty quinoa, crisp cucumber, fresh herbs and a wonderful Lemon Vinaigrette.
• Serving – This dish will make between 4 – 6 servings. Keep in mind, you can easily adjust the serving size in the recipe card at the end of the post.

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Ingredients

• Quinoa – Quinoa is the base for this salad. You can purchase it at your local supermarket in the isle with couscous and rice.
• Vegetable broth – Vegetable broth is used to cook the quinoa. Don’t skip the broth as it adds more flavour to the salad.
• Chickpeas – I used jar chickpeas. If you prefer you can soak and cook your own. Just remember preparing chickpeas does take a long time as the chickpeas will have to soak overnight.
• Cucumber – Make sure to use a crisp and firm cucumber for the salad.
• Pistachios – I used unsalted pistachios, but you and opt for salted if you prefer.
• Feta cheese – It’s best to use real Feta cheese for this salad instead of the imitation cheese. Feta had a wonderful flavour.
• Herbs – This salad uses both fresh chopped parsley and fresh chopped mint.
• Vinaigrette – I made a basic Lemon Vinaigrette using olive oil, lemon juice, honey, salt and pepper.

NOTE, The full recipe and instructions can be found at the end of the post in the recipe card.

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Instructions

1. Cook quinoa – Place a large skillet over medium heat. Add the quinoa and stir for about 2 minutes. Add all the stock, reduce heat to low and cover. Leave to cook for about 20 minutes or until the quinoa is cooked and the liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat.
2. Combine lemon vinaigrette – In a small bowl combine the olive oil, lemon juice, honey, salt and pepper. Whisk to combine and set aside.
3. Assemble salad – In a large salad bowl or serving dish combine the cooked quinoa, chickpeas, cucumber, feta cheese, pistachios, fresh parsley and fresh mint. Pour over the lemon vinaigrette. Toss to combine everything. Cover and refrigerate for about 30 minutes to let flavours enhance.
4. Serve – Serve cold or at room temperature. Can garnish with extra herbs if desired.

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Recipe Tips

• Cooking quinoa – It’s best to dry fry the Quinoa. Add the quinoa to the pan with nothing else and cook it on high heat for just a minute or two, stirring as it dry frys. This helps prevent it from clumping together after it’s cooked.
• Refrigerate – Make sure to refrigerate the salad after assembly. This will give the flavours a chance to enhance.

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Substitutions and Additions

• Herbs – I used a mix of parsley and mint. They both worked so well in this salad. If you prefer different flavours, fresh basil will also work well for this salad.
• Additional ingredients – You can add chopped red onion, chopped bell peppers, diced raw carrots, radishes or any other crisp vegetables that you might like.
• Pistachios – You can completely omit the nuts if you prefer. Alternatively, cashews, almonds, Brazil nuts or pine nuts would go great in this salad.

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Serving

• Chicken & Turkey – I’ve served this with the Green Olive Chicken so many times and it goes great. As well, the Roasted Spatchcock Chicken would be great.
• Fish & Seafood – Why not serve it alongside the Lemon Crusted Baked Cod or the Pan Fried Hake.
• Beef & Pork – Serve it with the Moroccan Spiced Pork Kebabs or the Barbecue Pork Tenderloin.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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Thanks For Stopping By & Hope To See You Soon!