Today’s recipe has been a staple in our house over the last 2 years. Chad first made this quinoa salad when we wanted a side to some grilled salmon. And we have pretty much been making it ever since.  I love a light, yet filling and hearty side dish and bonus points if it’s healthy and gluten free.

I also love this easy quinoa salad because it’s very versatile, so you can use anything you have on hand. We will make it for a side dish or meal prep a big batch and eat is all week at lunch or dinner.

Here are the parts of it…

• Quinoa  - I love quinoa because it’s light yet filling and gluten-free! Quinoa is also great for its health benefits - like protein, fiber, folate, and magnesium. A win-win in my book.

• Vegetables + other mix-in’s – we will use whatever we have on hand, but our go-to combo is onion, bell peppers and tomatoes.  We also sometimes add in olives or zucchini if we have either on hand.

• Cheese – we use crumbled Feta cheese the most but will use parmesan if we don’t have feta.

• Italian or similar oil-based dressing – you can use a homemade recipe or a favorite bottle of Italian dressing, either work perfect! I usually go the easy route for me and just use a bottle of a fav dressing.

• Herbs – I love using fresh herbs from our garden, which is why I find ourselves making this recipe the most in the warmer months. This past week, I did a mix of thyme, oregano and basil. But really any combo of herbs or one herb is great. Such as thyme, oregano, basil or parsley.  I also will just use chopped fresh basil.

Those were just some ideas and the recipe below has our go-to combo. I have even made this with just parm, herbs and homemade Italian dressing. It was great that way, too! I don’t really measure anything, I just kind of eye-ball and add more if I want more. You kind of adjust it to your liking.

The best part about this recipe is that it is also great for meal prep. I will make a big batch on a Sunday and then enjoy it all week long. The hardest part is making the quinoa, which isn’t even hard (for some reason I just feels hard!), it just takes a few steps. You rinse the quinoa and then prepare according to the directions on the package. Usually involving putting on the stove with water and bringing to a boil and then covering and simmering for 15 minutes. It is similar to making rice.

This recipe is not an exact one with measurements, but more of a method and you can use whatever produce you have on hand and add more or less of an ingredient depending on your preference. This would also be a fun side to take to a cookout! Leftovers store well all week in the refrigerator.

Easy Quinoa Salad

• Cooked Quinoa

• fresh herbs - we will use fresh Basil and/or thyme and oregano

• chopped red or white onion

• cherry tomatoes, halved

• chopped bell pepper (we love yellow bell pepper)

• feta cheese

• Italian dressing (we stir it up and taste and decide if you want to add more)

• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Cook the quinoa according to package directions.

2. Mix all of the ingredients up in a bowl and add salt and pepper to taste.

3. Enjoy! Store any leftovers in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.