Quinoa Pasta Salad
This Quinoa Pasta Salad is a summer side dish you won’t ever forget! Packed with protein and veggies, tossed in a refreshing Greek style dressing!
Honestly, I love salads year-round, but I know once warmer weather hits, people REALLY want light, filling salads without all of the cooking and prep work! One of the major reasons I love making this is because it comes together in 15 minutes and you can make it any way you like by adding additional veggies!
Quinoa pasta salad is naturally gluten-free and contains more nutrition than your average pasta salad. To make this summer side dish vegan-friendly, simply leave out the feta! Because of the protein in the quinoa, this will keep you fuller than you think! You can even serve it as your main course if you wanted to! 
If you aren’t used to cooking with quinoa, don’t forget to rinse it before you add it to the salad! If you don’t you will find it has a bitter taste that most don’t like.
More Summer Salad Ideas:
- Healthy Egg Salad With Dill
- Mediterranean Potato Salad With Tzatziki – No Mayo, No Mustard
- Sesame Ginger Vinaigrette & A Simple Asian Salad
- Vegan Smashed Chickpea Salad Wrap | Easy Lunch Idea
What You Need to Make Quinoa Pasta Salad
For the Salad:
- Quinoa (uncooked)
- Chickpeas
- English cucumber
- Cherry tomatoes
- Red bell pepper
- Onion – red onion not only adds flavor but the color is amazing!
- Kalamata olives
- Feta cheese crumbles – omit for the vegan version
Simple Greek Style Dressing:
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Red wine vinegar
- Fresh lemon juice – store bought will work if you are in a pinch
- Garlic
- Dijon mustard
- Dried oregano
- Honey (optional)
- Salt and pepper to taste
How To Make Quinoa Pasta Salad
Combine all of the salad ingredients into a bowl.
Once you have your dressing whisked together, mix with the salad and serve!
Storing For Later
This salad stays good for about 4 days. To make it last longer, you can make the dressing in a mason jar and eat the salad in single servings adding the amount of dressing you would like.
We definitely recommend this if you are into meal prepping but we don’t recommend freezing it, sorry!
Other Variations of Quinoa Pasta Salad
Feel free to spice things up! Use these suggestions to make your own version!
- Corn
- Broccoli
- Black olives
- Yellow squash
- Yellow bell pepper
If you aren’t a fan of feta use a different kind of white cheese such as mozzarella or fresh grated parmesan!
Ready to show me how your salad turned out and what you LOVE best about it?! Head over to Instagram and shoot me a DM or tag me so I can share to my stories!
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Looking for More Easy Healthy Salad Recipes?
- Healthy Greek Yogurt Chicken Salad With Cranberries And Pecans
- No Mayo Healthy Mediterranean Tuna Salad | Easy 10 Minute Recipe
- Almond & Cranberry Quinoa Salad: A Summer Essential
- Marinated Chicken Salad With Garlic Rosemary Vinaigrette
Quinoa Pasta Salad
Ingredients
For the Salad:
- 1 cup quinoa uncooked
- 1 15- ounce can chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 1 Medium English cucumber seeded and chopped
- 1 cup quartered cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
- 1/4 cup diced onion
- 1/2 cup sliced Kalamata olives
- 1 cup feta cheese crumbles
Simple Greek Style Dressing
- 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 2 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp honey optional
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook your quiona according to the package instructions.
- In a large bowl, combine the salad ingredients.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients OR place in a mason jar and shake vigorously. Pour desired amount over salad and stir to evenly coat.
Wow!!! Amazing and refreshing, I added marinated artichoke hearts to mine. This is a new sumner salad in our home