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Mediterranean quinoa salad with chickpeas and various colorful veggies (cucumber, tomatoes, red onion, avocado and olives) drizzled with simple olive oil-mustard dressing.

Vegan Mediterranean Salad (Healthy High-Protein Meal)

Marinela Malcheva
Mediterranean quinoa salad is an easy vegan and high-protein meal prep you'll certainly love! Healthy, gluten-free, and meat-free lunch, dinner, or side. You choose!
5 from 6 votes
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Appetizer, dinner, Lunch, Side Dish, vegan
Cuisine Mediterranean-inspired
Servings 6 servings
Calories 251 kcal

Equipment

  • Knife
  • Cutting board
  • Saucepan
  • Big bowl
  • Small container or jar
  • Spoon

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups cooked quinoa
  • 1 cup cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
  • 1 avocado diced
  • ½ cup Kalamata olives pitted, sliced
  • ½ cup red onion diced (approximately 1 small onion)
  • 1 cup fresh cucumber circle sliced (approximately 1 English cucumber)
  • 1 ½ cup tomatoes diced (approximately 2 small-medium sized tomatoes)
  • ½ cup shishito peppers thinly sliced ( approximately 2 shishito peppers)

For the Mediterranean salad dressing

  • 3 tablespoon olive oil extra virgin
  • 1 teaspoon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice freshly squeezed
  • ½ teaspoon salt or adjust it to your taste
  • ¼ teaspoon dry oregano, dry garlic, ground cummin

Instructions
 

  • First, cook the quinoa according to the package instructions. Let it cool completely. My advice is to cook it ahead of time (even the night before), store it in the fridge so it will be nice and cold the day after. In that way, you can easily assemble all the ingredients together in 10 minutes or less. For this recipe, you can use home-cooked or canned chickpeas.
    Cooked quinoa and chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
  • Next, chop up all the vegetables into small pieces.
    Fresh chopped vegetables (tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, Shishito peppers and avocado) for preparing healthy, plant-based, gluten free salad
  • After that, mix all salad dressing ingredients together in a small container or jar.
    Mediterranean quinoa salad dressing
  • Finally, in a big bowl combine cooled quinoa, chickpeas, chopped veggies, and salad vinaigrette. Give it a nice toss and enjoy it on its own or serve it as an appetizer, meze, side dish for lunch, or dinner. Serve it cold or at room temperature for those Mediterranean flavors to really pop up.
    Store any leftovers in an airtight container, refrigerated for up to 3 days.
    Easy vegan Mediterranean quinoa salad recipe for kids and whole family

Notes

  • You can totally adapt this quinoa salad to your taste because it's easily customizable. Add any other veggie you prefer more and leave out any ingredient you don't like.
  • I recommend you cook the quinoa in advance and keep it refrigerated so it will be completely cool before adding the other ingredients.
  • Always serve it cold or at room temperature.

Nutrition

Calories: 251kcalCarbohydrates: 25gProtein: 5gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 10gSodium: 530mgPotassium: 450mgFiber: 7gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 431IUVitamin C: 13mgCalcium: 41mgIron: 2mg
Keyword garbanzo bean salad, gluten-free, healthy, high protein meal prep, kid friendly, mediterranean quinoa salad, mediterranean salad with quinoa, plant based, quinoa vegetables salad
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