You know that icebreaker question, “If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?” Yeah, well, my answer has been the same for as long as I can remember—Greece.
A Greek vacation would have pretty much everything that makes me happy. Beautiful beaches and water, amazing historical sights, breathtaking scenery and incredible, healthy stupendous food.
You knew that last one was going to be in the list, didn’t you?

I don’t see a Greek vacation happening anytime in the foreseeable future but I will someday make it onto my well-researched two-week Greek Isles cruise (swoon). For now, I have to just try bring a little bit of the Greek lifestyle into my deeply American world. And the best way I know how to do that? Good wine and good food.
The stars of a traditional Greek salad are sweet tomatoes, creamy feta and salty kalamata olives. My non-traditional version turns this super fresh and simple salad into a hearty grain salad with a humble quinoa base. Quinoa is such a magical little grain. It’s one of a handful of sources of complete vegan protein—which means that it provides all the amino acids that aren’t made in the human body (called the essential amino acids). Quinoa is available at most grocery stores now-a-days, but if you can’t track it down—here is my favorite brand that is available online.
Many vegan sources offer incomplete protein (meaning they have a few of the essential amino acids, but not all of them) but for your body to truly benefit from protein, you need the whole amino acid package. Normally you have to hit up an animal product to get all of the essential amino acids, but quinoa comes to the rescue and delivers them all in a delicious, nutty, chewy, vegan package. Yay, quinoa!
We made this recipe for dinner and then snacked on it for days for lunches. It was a great main dish for my bento boxes. This would also make an amazing contribution to a potluck or cookout. People will be asking for the recipe, I promise. We served ours with a nice pile of crunchy pita chips for dipping.

Greek Quinoa Salad
This Greek Quinoa Salad is the perfect vegetarian lunch or a great healthy side dish! Make up a batch on the weekend and eat on it all week long.
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa {recommended: Bob's Red Mill}
- 1 1/2 cup vegetable broth
- 1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded (if preferred) and diced
- 8 ounces grape tomatoes, halved
- 1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 1 loose cup fresh parsley, minced OR 3 tablespoons dried parsley
- 1 small red onion, diced
- 1 cup kalamata olives, halved
- 4 ounces feta, crumbled or cubed
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill or 1 teaspoon dried
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan stir together quinoa and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil over high heat, stir once, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 20-25 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and let rest for 5 minutes. Then fluff with a fork.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine cooked quinoa, cucumber, tomatoes, red pepper, parsley, onion, olives and feta.
- In a small bowl, combine olive oil, red wine vinegar, oregano, dill, salt, pepper, honey and lemon juice. Pour over salad and stir to combine. Refrigerate for at least a half hour to allow flavors to meld.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1 servingAmount Per Serving: Calories: 188Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 13mgSodium: 503mgCarbohydrates: 12gFiber: 2gSugar: 4gProtein: 4g
At Wholefully, we believe that good nutrition is about much more than just the numbers on the nutrition facts panel. Please use the above information as only a small part of what helps you decide what foods are nourishing for you.
This is my go-to dish for picnics, potlucks, and those weeks when I need an easy lunch in the fridge! Everyone always raves about this salad and asks for the recipe.
So glad you’ve enjoyed it!
How much is considered one serving?
1/8 of the recipe, which I would estimate is about a cup or a little less?
I have made Greek quinoa salad before, but this recipe is my favorite! I had never thought to add dill, which turned out be a delightful surprise to my tastebuds! I did add fresh minced garlic to the dressing, just because my husband loves garlic. Thank you!
How long do you think this would last in the fridge?
I’d say you could get a week out of it, no problem.
Just made this and WHOA I love the flavors! Thank you for the tips and tricks of meal planning! I am ready and excited to keep going!!
Hi are Kalamati olives a must or can you use black olives?
Kalamata will give you the best flavor, but black olives will work in a pinch.
Oops that last post said ‘queen’ instead of Quorn! Sorry!
Hi Cassie! I am so enjoying that I found your website today, thank you for all your amazing recipes, I’m testing one of your overnight oats tomorrow morning (I just made it). I love quinoa but haven’t cooked it at home for ages so the tip about freezing it should be so handy for us. My hubby and I are both veggies so I’m always happy to find new ways to get a fuller profile of nutrients into us. My hubby cooks as he gets in before I do but he would be the first to admit his repertoire is a little limited! We just moved over from a weekly queen bolognaise to using lentils instead, so I reckon a swap out of quinoa for rice with our bean chilli, curries or Chinese stir fry would totally work. I love the Greek quinoa salad recipe too, looks great for our veggie barbecues, can I ask if it’s still gluten free if you add the dressing as my closest friend is a coeliac – yeah we have great fun eating on holidays!
Welcome!! And yes, the Greek quinoa salad is still gluten-free with the dressing!
Around how many calories are in 1 serving.
Here is a great copy and paste nutrition info calculator that should help: https://www.caloriecount.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php
WOW this is an amazing dish. The flavors are so great. Thank you for this!!
We make a recipe much like this, and sometimes it gets stuffed into hollowed-out acorn squash, topped with extra feta, and baked until the squash is done. YUM.
Okay, so I know it takes the “Greek” out of it, but we do not like feta, olives or parsley in our home, so we left those ingredients out and this was AMAZING. I could not stop eating it. Husband loved it. Kids loved it! Great recipe! Brought some today for lunch. Mmmm. Thank you!
This looks equally healthful and delicious. I’ll be trying this (and blogging about it too!) for a picnic this weekend!