Strawberry Quinoa Salad With Feta
This Strawberry Quinoa Salad is made with feta cheese, cucumbers, tomatoes, parsley, and mint. It’s refreshing, nutritious, and incredibly easy to make!
When I think back to when I started to learn how to cook and incorporate more whole foods into my diet, I’m always reminded of the easy quinoa salads I would make. I’ve spoken about this on Instagram before, but I found this meal to be one of the easiest things to make and pack for both work and school.
Quinoa is incredibly nutritious, but it’s also one of the easiest grains to cook (IMO). All I would do was make a large batch of quinoa, chop up fresh raw veggies and tons of herbs, add a little olive oil, salt, and lemon – and I would have a packable lunch for a few days.
The flavours of those quinoa salads were originally inspired by tabbouleh, which is a delicious and popular Middle Eastern dish made of finely chopped parsley, mint, tomatoes, onion, bulgur, olive oil, lemon juice, and salt.
I still make variations of this meal to this day, but I wanted to switch it up and add fresh, juicy strawberries and feta cheese for an extra burst of flavour!
This recipe is perfect for a packed lunch, picnic, barbecue, or summer dinner. I hope you guys enjoy this strawberry quinoa salad as much as I do.
Want more summer salad recipe inspiration? Check out my roundup of 20+ easy, healthy summer salad recipes for more ideas!
Recipe Modifications & Variations
If you are vegan or don’t eat dairy, feel free to omit the feta (it still tastes good without it) or you can try adding a dairy-free feta alternative.
Feel free to experiment with other fruits + veggies here, such as bell peppers, raspberries, or blueberries!
If you’d like to add an extra boost of protein, feel free to throw in a sliced hard-boiled egg or some chickpeas.
If you’d like a winter version of this recipe, be sure to check out my Cold Chopped Quinoa Salad made with pomegranates and carrots!
How To Store Quinoa Salad
This quinoa salad can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days.
There is no need to reheat this dish, as it’s meant to be enjoyed cold!
What To Serve With Strawberry Quinoa Salad
If serving this quinoa salad as a side, I would recommend serving it with a delicious protein dish.
Here are some summer protein recipes that I think would pair perfectly:
Quinoa Salad Nutrition Benefits
This strawberry quinoa salad is not only delicious, but those fresh ingredients listed above pack in tons of nutrition, too!
Parsley is rich in vitamins A, C, K, and B6, as well as minerals like iron, calcium, and magnesium. 1 cup of chopped parsley provides over 100% of both your daily vitamin A and C needs alone!
Tomatoes and lemon juice also add plenty of vitamin C, an important antioxidant and micronutrient involved in skin health, iron absorption, and normal development.
Olive oil adds a generous serving of heart-healthy monounsaturated fatty acids, which also help your body absorb the nutrients in this meal.
While you can use any grain, I personally love quinoa because of its high fibre content and the fact that it’s a complete protein source.
This recipe adds some delicious feta cheese for even more flavour and protein.
Ah. The power of simple, whole food ingredients – amiright?!
More Easy Quinoa Recipes
- Quinoa Stuffed Delicata Squash With Kale
- Easy Chopped Quinoa Salad With Eggs
- Pesto Quinoa Bowl With Broccoli & Sweet Potato
- How To Cook & Season Quinoa: 3 Recipes
- Easy Kimchi Quinoa Bowl
- Easy Cucumber Avocado Salad With Quinoa
Did you give this Strawberry Quinoa Salad Recipe a try? Let me know by leaving a comment and recipe rating below!
If you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram or Pinterest – seeing your creations always makes my day. You can also subscribe to my email list to never miss a new recipe or nutrition education post!
Get the Recipe: Strawberry Quinoa Salad With Feta
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked quinoa (from 2/3 cup dry)
- 1/2 lb strawberries, fresh
- 1 long english cucumber
- Approx. 20 vine-ripened cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 cup mint, chopped
- 1 cup parsley, chopped
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- Approx. 60 grams feta cheese
- Salt + black pepper to taste
Instructions
- If you don't already have cooked quinoa on hand, start by cooking quinoa. Measure out 2/3 cup dry quinoa and rinse in a sieve. Add quinoa to a large pot with 1 + 1/3 cup water. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat. Let simmer until all water is fully absorbed (about 15 mins).
- While the quinoa cooks, wash, dry, and chop strawberries, cucumber, and tomatoes into small pieces. Add to a large bowl.
- Wash and dry mint and parsley in a salad spinner. Chop both herbs finely and add to bowl.
- Once done, add 2 cups cooked quinoa to the bowl. Add olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and black pepper to taste. Mix ingredients together well and place in the fridge to chill for about an hour. If using pre-cooked quinoa, you can omit the chill time!
- Serve cold and topped with feta. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
As a dietitian, I create recipes with whole food ingredients that provide the nutrients needed for optimal health. My nutrition philosophy does not focus on numbers; however, I understand that this information can be helpful.
Do note that the nutrition info provided is an estimate and I cannot guarantee correctness of the displayed values. These numbers will differ depending on brands used, recipe modifications, and amount eaten. If you require specific nutrition information due to medical reasons, please consult with your dietitian or physician.
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10 Comments on “Strawberry Quinoa Salad With Feta”
Perfect summer salad🍓💚. Loved that it was very quick and easy to make and very delicious😋
Hi Anastasia! Thank you so much for sharing your experience!! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this summer salad <3
Just made this for meal prep to bring to work for lunches. So beyond easy, but such great flavors. I rarely actually follow recipes and there just wasn’t anything I would change! Looking forward to eating this all week (:
Hi Daria! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this one – it is so perfect for work lunches!! No need to heat up haha :). Thanks so much for sharing your experience!!
This is the tastiest quinoa salad I have ever eaten! No joke! So delicious. I don’t normally care for Tabbouleh that much, but this recipe is spot on. Definitely making it to the regular rotation.
Hi Stephanie,
This is so sweet of you to say! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe so much. Thank you SO much for sharing that. I hope you enjoy it again and again 🙂
Dear Carrie,
I think this salad should just be called Strawberry Quinoa Feta salad. I showed it to few people from Lebanon and it is no where close to being tabbouleh. I read your background section and I am not sure how adapting and changing so much of the ingredients would still make it tabbouleh. It’s a cultural dish with great value to the people, it was westernized in ways that took away the authenticity- the addition of cucumber or changing the proportion of burghol to parsley. It is nice to be creative with your salads and recipes but it is important to respect the cultural values that food represents to people especially in communities where westernization has been linked to a history of cultural appropriation.
Hi Fatema,
Thank you so much for your comment and for bringing this to my attention. This was a 2 year old post and I just read over it with your comment in mind and you are so right. While it was inspired by tabbouleh, I now realize that it’s disrespectful to call it that when I’ve made so many of my own changes. I’ve gone in and updated the entire post to reflect what it truly is! I hope it’s alright that I included in the intro that it was inspired by tabbouleh though, because it truly was inspired by the tabbouleh salads I’ve tried in restaurants (which are absolutely delicious!)
Again, I appreciate you bringing this up and doing so in a way that was respectful and educational. It is never my intention to engage in cultural appropriation and this was a real opportunity for learning and reflection for me on how I name and share recipes moving forward. As a Chinese person myself, I see it happen all too often in my own culture and I would never want to take away from the cultural traditions of another.
Thank you so much again,
Carrie
This is such a winner in my book! I had precooked quinoa so it was a total breeze to put together. The flavors are so summery and delicious and this has a lot of value as a keep-in-the-fridge lunch or a delicious BBQ side this summer. Definitely make this if you’re thinking about it.
Hi Vee! Thank you so much for the kind review. I so appreciate it! So happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe and love that you’re thinking of it as both a make ahead lunch or a summer BBQ side!!