Mediterranean Confetti Quinoa Salad
~ A healthy, beautiful and wildly delicious quinoa salad! Quinoa and confetti greens are accented with sun-dried tomatoes, basil, pine nuts, cheese and a fabulous balsamic vinaigrette. ~
This Recipe Is: • Make Ahead • Vegetarian • Gluten Free •
I’ve been making various versions of this salad for years, and it’s always, always the showstopper.
As in, everyone at the party asks for the recipe and volunteers to take home the leftovers. (Ummmmm … no … I kinda wanted them for myself …)
And as in, my husband stands at the refrigerator, shoveling forkfuls into his mouth and incoherently mumbling, “This is so good … I can’t stop eating it … you have to post this …”
Ok – I have to post this.
It’s like a party in a bowl (and in your tummy).
Colorful confetti-bits of greens, veggies and cheese make it eye-catching. A delicious balance of bold flavors makes it sensational. Quinoa (our friend the protein powerhouse) combines with salty parmesan and feta, tangy sun-dried tomatoes, sunny fresh basil, rich pine nuts, and kicky radicchio.
Super-healthy spinach hangs out quietly in the background, and nobody even realizes how many healthful ingredients are piling onto their plates. It all comes together with a simple balsamic dressing.
Fabulous.
And for those who are not olive-impaired … you must add the kalamatas. They put this salad completely over the top on the taste-o-meter.
Now, Gretchen and I do both understand that olives are not for everyone. Try as they might to overcome it, both our husbands harbor strong, incurable olive aversions. It’s sad. We feel sorry for them.
But since our Romeos have so many, many other wonderful qualities, we have eventually come to accept what we just cannot change.
They swear this salad is awesome without the olives, but we just laugh, comfortable in the knowledge that it’s even better yet if you add the kalamatas.
You be the judge … stirred in or served on the side … (pssssst … include the olives!).
More Great Quinoa Salads to Try:
Mediterranean Confetti Quinoa Salad
This beautiful and wildly delicious quinoa salad is both healthy and so easy! Quinoa and confetti greens are accented with sun-dried tomatoes, basil, pine nuts, cheese and a fabulous balsamic vinaigrette!
• Make Ahead • Vegetarian • Gluten Free •
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa
- 1 small- to medium-sized head radicchio, cored and finely chopped (to yield about 2 cups)
- 6 ounces baby spinach, finely chopped
- 3/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped
- 1/2 - 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (see note)
- 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh basil
- 1/2 cup reduced-fat feta cheese
- 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup finely chopped kalamata olives, optional
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar (or white balsamic – see note)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Prepare quinoa according to package directions. After cooking, allow to cool completely and fluff with a fork.
- In a large bowl, combine cooled quinoa, radicchio, spinach, tomatoes, parmesan, basil, feta, pine nuts, garlic, and olives (if using). Stir to combine.
- In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Pour over quinoa mixture and stir thoroughly to combine.
- Chill until serving.
Notes
Parmesan: The flavor profile and assertiveness of parmesan can vary notably depending on the brand and quality, and that can really impact the final flavor of this salad. Depending on the flavor of your parmesan and whether you're including the olives, you will likely need just 1/2 cup of parmesan. However, if your parmesan isn't quite as flavorful, you might need the extra bit of salty-tang from the full 3/4 cup of cheese. We recommend that you start with the more modest 1/2 cup and see how you like the taste – you can always add more if you choose. Also, to make this salad recipe truly vegetarian, be sure to select a parmesan cheese made with non-traditional enzyme alternatives from microbes or fermentation, rather than the traditional rennet.
Balsamic vinegar: For the purposes of presentation, white (or golden) balsamic yields a prettier and more vibrantly colored salad because it doesn't tinge the other ingredients with the brown color of typical balsamic vinegar. If regular balsamic is all you have on hand, though, definitely just use that – the salad will still be lovely and will taste just as fabulous.
Make-ahead option: This salad can easily be made a day or two ahead and refrigerated until serving.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 18 servings Serving Size: 1/2 cupAmount Per Serving: Calories: 93Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 4mgSodium: 214mgCarbohydrates: 10gFiber: 1gSugar: 2gProtein: 4g
Nutrition information should be considered an estimate only, and may vary depending on your choice of ingredients or preparation. No guarantees are made regarding allergies or dietary needs. Always consult a physician or dietician for specific advice and questions.
This salad is inspired by the flavors of the Orzo with Everything recipe I found years ago in America’s Test Kitchen “Cook’s Country” magazine. I’ve made a lot of changes, both to make my version healthier (by subbing quinoa and adding spinach, and upping the sun-dried tomatoes while cutting back on the fat from the parm, pine nuts, olives and olive oil) and also played with the aesthetics (adding reduced-fat feta to help provide a salty kick for those who don’t like olives and using white balsamic for a prettier presentation). Still, the original recipe is fantastic in its own right and definitely deserves a nod as the recipe that inspired me.
I love green and black olives — Kalamatas, not so much. Too salty and sour
Hi Lyn! So you are on the ‘non-olive-loving’ side with our hubbies! Lol! No problem! We found that most people are pretty definitive about how they feel about olives in general! That’s the beauty of this yummy salad … they can be left out for you, but offered on the side for those who are on the ‘olive-loving’ side! Hope you give it a try – it’s soooo good! Have a great day! 😀 ~G&S
With those vivid colors, I’m pretty sure everyone who sees this will love to grab a spoon and dig it in! Thanks for sharing!
Julie
Gourmet Getaways
Mmmm … we’ve both made this for dinner in the past week – and yes! – everyone sure did dig right in! And we loved making such a fun and flavorful dinner! It’s really so simple! Have a great day! ~G&S
Wow this sounds great although I’m one of those olive impaired people although I might not mind them finely chopped. Do you think I could sub red cabbage for the radicchio? I’ve never seen radicchio in my store. Seen on Tasty Tuesday. Pinned.
Ah, olive-impaired, huh? It’s ok … we understand! And it’ll still be awesome if you leave them out altogether (although if you could be happy having them in there finely chopped, that burst of salty, briny olive flavor will definitely add a little extra yum-factor! 😀 ).
Now, about the radicchio. Red cabbage is a great thought for its pretty, similar-to-radicchio color, but it won’t give you the pleasingly-bitter notes that radicchio lends to this salad. Nonetheless, there are so very many flavors here, and other slightly bitter-salty notes, that I think you’ll probably be ok subbing it in, and could maybe even just leave the radicchio/red cabbage out altogether. Alternately, I did a quick search for you and found some other suggestions, although I haven’t tried any of them myself and can’t vouch for them personally. Anyway – some other ideas I found that can yield a slightly bitter flavor for you in this salad are: Belgian endive, curly endive, arugula, watercress, escarole or chicory. However, most of those are a little tougher to find, too, and if you’re having trouble tracking down radicchio, you may not have much luck finding these either. Hope these ideas help, though!
I’d truly be interested in what you try and how it works for you, so don’t hesitate to pop back and let me know how it goes! 😀 ~Shelley
this salad is just so perfect for my summer! cool, i will share thiswith my friends! thanks for the recipe!
Hi! This salad is delicious in the summer (well, actually, it’s good any time of year!) and is totally perfect to bring to a party with friends! You’ll be the hero with this stunning and fabulous salad! 🙂 ~G&S