I am in LOVE with this salad! If you know me, you know I am a salad fanatic. Not to mention, I am obsessed with trying to sneak quinoa into just about anything. Meet my latest creation, The Mediterranean Quinoa Salad Bowl. Full of vibrant colors and rich flavors! Oh and did I mention easy? Indeed, super super easy! This Mediterranean Quinoa Salad Bowl is perfectly filling, packed with protein + full of healthy antioxidant-rich veggies and fiber. 
Tara’s Tips For The Perfect Mediterranean Quinoa Salad Bowl:
- This bowl can easily be made for meal prep. Separate the quinoa, chickpeas, and the dressing from the greens + layer everything together when ready to eat!
- Change it up! I use lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, chickpeas, cucumbers, and olives. You could add a scoop of hummus on top, vegan or dairy feta cheese, Kalamata olives, shredded carrots, sprouts, or even fresh broccoli florets.
- Let’s talk about chickpeas. You can use a can of chickpeas simply drained + rinsed if you are pressed for time. Alternatively, you can give this salad an extra crunch by air frying your chickpeas. Use one of my recipes: Air Fryer Garlic Chickpeas or Air Fryer BBQ Chickpeas.
- You can substitute bulgur wheat, couscous, orzo, or brown rice for the quinoa, yum!
- Not sure about quinoa? Read this: Quinoa for Beginners.
- Start with cooked and cooled quinoa 👇🏻
How To Cook Quinoa
Cooking Quinoa Stove-Top:
Rinse quinoa Bring 2 cups of water + 1 cup of quinoa to a boil, lower heat to medium-low, cover and cook for 10 minutes. You will know the quinoa is cooked when all of the water has been absorbed and you can see the quinoa open up a little. After 10 minutes, remove the lid and fluff with a fork.
Rice Cooker Quinoa:
Rinse Quinoa Place 2 cups of water of water + 1 cup of quinoa in your rice cooker. Follow your device’s instructions as you would for white rice. The cooker should automatically turn off when quinoa is finished cooking.
Instant Pot Quinoa
- Rinse quinoa
- Place 1 cup quinoa + 1 cup water in Instant Pot.
- Put the lid on and set the lever to ‘seal’.
- Press ‘manual’ and adjust the arrows to 1 minute cook time.
- When your Instant Pot beeps, allow the pressure to release naturally (usually takes around 10 minutes).
- See my full post: Basic Instant Pot Quinoa.
Love quinoa? Me too!
Try one of my other favorite quinoa recipes:
- Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad Recipe
- Instant Pot Mexican Quinoa
- Quinoa Stuffed Peppers
- Quinoa Vegetable Soup: Instant Pot or Stove-Top
- Quinoa Upma Recipe
- Thai Green Curry Quinoa
- Toasted Quinoa
- Quinoa Crackers
- Pumpkin Quinoa Breakfast Bowl
- Pomegranate Quinoa Salad with Pomegranate Dressing
- Quinoa Sushi Bowls with Tofu
- Instant Pot Indian Turmeric Quinoa
- Quinoa Black Bean Salad with Lime Dressing
- Basic Instant Pot Quinoa
- How To Make Quinoa Cookies
- Spinach Mushroom Quinoa
Mediterranean Quinoa Salad Bowl
Cooked quinoa + chickpeas + lemon tahini dressing piled atop of your favorite salad greens + salad mix-ins. A perfect salad bowl!
Ingredients
- For the dressing:
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tbsp garlic paste or 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1/4 cup tahini (make sure your tahini has only one ingredient on the label: sesame seeds!)
- 1 tsp pink Himalayan sea salt
- For the chickpeas:
- One 14 ounce can chickpeas (drained + rinsed) or 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
- 1 tsp olive or avocado oil or spray if you use oil (omit if you don't use oil)
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- For the salad:
- 4 cups chopped lettuce
- Diced tomatoes, red onions + cucumbers - 1 cup each
- 1 tbsp finely chopped parsley or mint or both!
- 1/2 cup sliced olives
- 2 cups cooked quinoa (see body of post for quinoa cooking instructions)
Directions
- Step 1 For the dressing:
- Step 2 Combine all ingredients in a blender + blend until all ingredients combined and a smooth consistency is achieved. Add additional water 1 tbsp at a time as needed. Optional: can shake all ingredients in a glass jar until combined. Chill until ready to eat your salad.
- Step 3 For the chickpeas:
- Step 4 If pressed for time, use raw chickpeas, simply rinse + drain + add into salad.
- Step 5 Preheat air fryer to 400 degrees.
- Step 6 Drain, rinse, and make sure chickpeas are dry.
- Step 7 Place all ingredients in a bowl and stir until each chickpea is fully coated with the garlic and salt, spray with oil if using.
- Step 8 Place in air fryer basket and cook for 7 minutes, give them a good shake to prevent sticking and cook an additional 8 minutes.
- Step 9 After 15 minutes total cook time, give the basket another shake and check your chickpeas. Cook in additional 2 minute increments if necessary to achieve a golden brown color. Set aside.
- Step 10 For the salad:
- Step 11 Divide all salad ingredients into 2 bowls, add air fried chickpeas, and cooked quinoa. Finally, drizzle dressing over both salads, mix + enjoy!
- Step 12 If using for meal prep, don’t add chickpeas, quinoa, and dressing to greens until ready to eat!
- Step 13 Enjoy!
⭐️ Did you make this Mediterranean Quinoa Salad Bowl? Leave a comment + a rating below, I love to hear from you! ⭐️
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