Quinoa Chickpea Salad with Pistachios and Fresh Herbs
Cooked quinoa and chickpeas tossed with pistachios, feta, golden raisins, olives, cucumber, and three fresh herbs in a lemon dressing.
Ingredients
Salad
- 2 cups cooked quinoa cooled; measure after cooking
- 1 15-ounce can chickpeas rinsed and drained
- 1 cup cucumber chopped
- ½ cup red onion diced
- ½ cup shelled pistachios ready to eat
- ½ cup crumbled feta
- ½ cup golden raisins
- ¼ cup Kalamata olives pitted and sliced
- ¼ cup fresh parsley chopped
- ¼ cup fresh mint chopped
- 3 tablespoons fresh dill chopped
Dressing
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Loosen 2 cups cooked cold quinoa in a large bowl. Add rinsed drained chickpeas, chopped cucumber and onion, crumbled feta, golden raisins, sliced olives, parsley, mint, and dill.
- Whisk lemon juice with honey or maple syrup, salt, and pepper. Whisk in olive oil until briefly combined.
- Pour dressing over the salad and lift ingredients gently from the bottom until coated. Fold in shelled pistachios immediately before eating, or pack them separately for later.
- Serve as 6 sides or 4 larger lunches. Cover and refrigerate promptly, using within 3 days or the earlier storage limit of the cooked quinoa.
Notes
Assembly time assumes already cooked cold quinoa. Grain preparation and cooling are additional; the target is 2 cooked cups, not a fixed dry quantity.