This Quinoa Salad Bowl makes for such a perfect lunch. Make my lemony hummus dressing for it, or use your favorite.
My Quinoa Salad with Lemon Hummus Dressing makes a quick and easy plant-based lunch or dinner. Plus, it’s perfect for meal planning weeks since everything can be prepared ahead of time and assembled later.
What Ingredients Do I Need?
With the exception of cooking the quinoa, the entire recipe combines fresh and prepared ingredients with little prep needed. You can read all about how to perfectly cook quinoa on the stovetop here, where I break it down step-by-step, with all of my ah-ha moments. Like, how long you really need to rinse it for and why toasting with oil isn’t the best option for the best flavor.
For the salad greens, I like to use arugula. Cucumber, tomatoes, red onion, pimento peppers, and olives round out the salad. Of course, if you don’t like some of those, you can leave them out or substitute in your favorites.
The dressing couldn’t be easier either. It uses prepared hummus, which you can buy or make yourself, which contains all of the flavors you’d ever need in a salad dressing, like garlic, spices, and tahini, thinned out with a little lemon juice and olive oil, and seasoned with salt and pepper. So easy, right?! I use this trick all of the time, and not just with hummus. It works with guacamole and dip, too.
Finally, the salad gets topped with feta cheese and roasted chickpeas for extra flavor and texture. So good. Want to keep this salad vegan? Just leave off the feta.
How To Make A Quinoa Salad Bowl
To make the salad, begin with the quinoa. In a medium saucepan, add the well-rinsed quinoa. The quinoa can be dry-toasted at this point, too, for a more nutty flavor, which I explain here. Add the garlic powder, salt, and broth. Bring the mixture to a boil and then simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. Cover the pan and set it aside for 10 minutes to allow the quinoa to fully absorb the liquid.
If you’re roasting chickpeas, you can get those going at the same time as the quinoa. I like to make them in the air fryer and you can find my instructions here.
While the quinoa is cooking, make the dressing and assemble the salad. In a small bowl, stir together the hummus, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper for the dressing and set aside. In a large bowl add the arugula, cucumber, tomatoes, red onion, pimentos, and olives. Pour the dressing over the top and toss everything together until it’s well coated in the dressing.
When the quinoa is ready, divide it evenly between four bowls. Top each bowl with some salad, feta, and roasted chickpeas. Serve and enjoy!
Quinoa Salad Bowl with Lemon-Hummus Dressing
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Author:
Christine Pittman -
Prep Time:
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Rest Time:
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Cook Time:
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Total Time:
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Yield:
4 servings -
Category:
Entrée -
Method:
Stovetop -
Cuisine:
American
DESCRIPTION
This Quinoa Salad Bowl makes for such a perfect lunch. Make my lemony hummus dressing for it, or use your favorite.
- 1 cup quinoa, rinsed well
- 2 tsp. garlic or onion powder
- + ⅛ tsp. salt, divided
- 2 cups vegetable broth or water
- ½ cup prepared hummus
- 2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- ⅛ tsp. ground black pepper
- 4 cups loosely packed arugula
- cucumber, sliced thin
- small tomatoes, cut into wedges
- ½ small red onion, peeled, sliced thin
- (4-oz.) jar sliced pimento peppers, drained
- pitted kalamata olives, cut in half
- 1 cup crumbled feta
- 2 cups roasted chickpeas
- In a medium saucepan, add quinoa, garlic powder, 1 teaspoon of salt, and broth. Bring to boiling, reduce to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes. Cover and set aside 10 minutes.
- If you haven’t roasted chickpeas in advance, make them while the quinoa cooks. I like to put them in the air fryer for 20 minutes at 375°F.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl stir together hummus, lemon juice, olive oil, ⅛ teaspoon of salt, and pepper. Set aside dressing.
- In a large bowl add arugula, cucumber, tomatoes, red onion, pimentos, and olives. Add hummus dressing, toss to coat.
- Divide quinoa evenly between four bowls. Top each bowl with ¼ of the salad, ¼ of the feta, and ¼ of the roasted chickpeas.
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