Quinoa Chickpea Salad
This zesty quinoa chickpea salad is fresh, flavourful and filling. It's packed with veggies and is great for a tasty healthy lunch.
Servings 4
Calories 510kcal
Ingredients
- 100 g / ⅔ of a cup of quinoa (dry weight)
- 1 x 400 g can of chickpeas (240g drained weight) / 1½ cups
- ½ a medium red onion finely chopped
- ½ a large English cucumber chopped
- 1 stalk of celery chopped
- 10 cherry tomatoes cut into quarters
- 1 small courgette (zucchini) chopped
- ½ a large avocado peeled, seed removed and chopped
- A small handfull of coriander (cilantro) chopped
- 90 g / 3oz feta cut into cubes
- 15 almonds roughly chopped
- 25 ml /⅛ of a cup of extra virgin olive oil
- ½ a large lemon, the juice of
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ a vegetable stock cube optional
Instructions
- Cook the quinoa. Add the dry quinoa to a saucepan cover with water and add the stock cube if using. Bring the water to a boil then reduce to a slow simmer and cover. Cook until all the water has evaporated.Turn off the heat and leave the quinoa to cool in the saucepan with the lid on for 15 minutes. Take the lid off then fluff it up with a fork. Leave the quinoa to cool.
- Add all the chopped vegetables, except the avocado, to a large serving bowl along with the chickpeas and garlic. Toss well.
- Add the avocado, coriander, almonds and feta to the vegetables and gently toss.Finally, add the quinoa, lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, salt and freshly ground pepper and add the lemon juice. Toss well and serve.
Notes
- Quinoa - I used a tri-colour quinoa but plain quinoa works just as well. Leaving the cooked quinoa to sit in the pan covered for 10 - 15 minutes will help dry out the quinoa. Fluffing the quinoa with a fork will help separate the quinoa. I also add half a vegetable stock cube when the quinoa is cooking, this gives it more flavour.
- Storage/MakingAhead - Store the finished salad in an airtight container in the fridge and use it within 3 days. You can store the salad in individual containers for lunches if you like. You can make the quinoa the day before if you like. You can also prep the veggies and have them ready to go.
- Nutritional Information - is calculated using an online nutrition tool and is approximate.
- Weights and measurements - For US readers, I use Cuisipro measuring cups and spoons, and a Pyrex measuring jug for liquids. These are the industry standard. Cup/spoon volumes can differ from brand to brand, for accuracy, I recommend weighing all ingredients if possible for best results.
Nutrition
Calories: 510kcal | Carbohydrates: 69.4g | Protein: 18.9g | Fat: 18.4g | Saturated Fat: 5.1g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 682mg | Potassium: 757mg | Fiber: 9.8g | Sugar: 4g | Calcium: 201mg | Iron: 5mg