This Mediterranean Quinoa Salad is a hearty mix of tomato and quinoa sofritos, served on green vegetables and topped with feta. This is sublime!
We received this email from a reader a few months ago: Hello Sonja and Alex. I just ate the most delicious Greek salad at Panera. I would like to make it at home but I don’t know where to start. maybe you do – Kathi. As we read Kathy’s request, we thought, why not just try making a recipe? The result was this Mediterranean Quinoa Salad! It’s a very tasty bowl of quinoa: a hearty main course salad that works like a meal. That’s how it’s done!
Tips for this Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
This Mediterranean Quinoa Salad is a little different than most: it’s more like a bowl of quinoa that works as a healthy dinner recipe! Here are some flavor notes:
- The main function? A quinoa and tomato sofrito. Sofrito is a sauce used as a base in Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Latin American cuisine. Typical of Spanish cuisine are garlic, onions, peppers and tomatoes cooked in olive oil (this is also typical as a base for paella). Here, a simplified sofrito imparts an almost meaty taste and texture to quinoa. Some people complain about the bitter taste of quinoa, but the sofrito makes it taste tangy and almost sweet!
- Garnish with Mediterranean vegetables. For a Mediterranean quinoa salad main course, serve it over greens with cucumber, Kalamata olives, feta cheese and a savory vinaigrette of olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon and oregano.
- Serve as a healthy lunch or dinner. This salad turned out even more satisfying than we imagined! Eat as a healthy lunch or dinner, complemented with bread, toast or crackers.
Olive Oil Nutrients
Like most Mediterranean diet dishes, this Mediterranean quinoa salad has a good helping of olive oil. Speaking of health and olive oil, turns out there’s a correlation between the two!
- Healthy fats like extra virgin olive oil can help you fight stress, improve mood swings, reduce mental fatigue, and even control your weight. Not all fats are bad! The Harvard School of Public Health recommends a healthy fat intake; usually with the bad, with the good.
- Olive Olive may reduce the risk of heart disease. The FDA claims that consuming 2 tablespoons of olive oil daily may reduce the risk of heart disease due to its monounsaturated fat content.
With health benefits and great taste, this bowl was an asset to our home. Thank you Kathy for the challenge of creating this Panera Quinoa Salad recipe!
More quinoa recipes
Aside from this quinoa salad, we have plenty of quinoa recipes on A Couple Cooks! Here are some of our favorite quinoa recipes:
This Mediterranean Quinoa Salad recipe is…
Vegetarian and gluten free. For vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free dishes, omit the feta crumbs.
The description
This Mediterranean Quinoa Salad is a hearty mix of tomato and quinoa sofritos, served on green vegetables and topped with feta. This is sublime!
For the quinoa tomato sofrito
- 1 ½ cups dry quinoa
- 1 small white onion (or 1/2 large)
- 1 large clove of garlic
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 15 ounces can crushed tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, shared
- Black pepper to taste
For the vinaigrette
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
For the Mediterranean quinoa salad
- ¼ cup sliced almonds
- 2 Roman hearts
- 1 large bunch of lacinato kale or 5 ounces baby kale
- 1/2 english cucumber
- ⅓ cup Kalamata olives
- ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
- Cook the quinoa (or use our Instant Pot Quinoa Method): Using a colander, rinse the quinoa under cold running water and drain completely. Place quinoa in a saucepan with 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Cover the pot and simmer where the water is bubbling, until the water is completely absorbed, about 17-20 minutes. Check by removing the quinoa with a fork to see if any water remains. Turn off the heat and let stand 5 minutes with the lid steaming, then fluff the quinoa with a fork.
- Prepare the sofrito: Finely chop the onion and mince the garlic. In a medium-sized saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and thyme and fry for a further 1 minute. Add the crushed tomatoes. paprika and ½ teaspoon kosher salt and mix well. Simmer with the lid on for about 15 minutes until the mixture thickens slightly. When the sauce is ready, stir in the cooked quinoa, ½ teaspoon Kosher salt, and freshly ground pepper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the red wine vinegar, lemon juice, oregano, and kosher salt. Gradually whisk in 6 tablespoons olive oil until dressing is emulsified and creamy.
- In a small, dry skillet, toast the almonds over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until lightly browned and fragrant.
- Chop the romaine and kale. dice cucumber. Halve the olives.
- To serve, place the vegetables in a bowl. Top with a layer of quinoa, then cucumber, olives, feta and almonds. Drizzle with vinaigrette and serve.
- Category: main course
- Method: Cook
- Kitchen: Greek
- Diet: vegetarian
Keywords: Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
