Mediterranean Three Bean Quinoa Salad
Updated April 09, 2020
Mediterranean Three Bean Quinoa Salad – this protein-packed Mediterranean salad is full of flavor and great served as a main dish or side dish.
Perfect Mediterranean Salad
I hibernate during the cold winter months. I leave my house to go to the gym, grocery store, church, and that’s about it unless something special comes up. I hide under my covers and wait for the snow to melt. We got a ton of snow over the holidays and I don’t think it is going anywhere anytime soon, so I am trying to find ways to survive inside.
Last week, I made my favorite Mediterranean Three Bean Quinoa Salad. Mediterranean recipes always make me happy. I usually make this Mediterranean salad in the summer, but I needed a little pick me up to help me beat the winter blues and this salad did the trick. It is light, refreshing, and reminds me of summertime. It is a great salad for anytime of the year!
Mediterranean Salad for Healthy Eating
Mediterranean recipes are generally healthy, and this one is actually perfect for the new year because it is loaded with protein and veggies. This Mediterranean salad has three types of beans-green beans, garbanzo beans, and white cannellini beans, along with the quinoa. It also has cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers, red onion, kalamata olives, feta cheese, and fresh basil. You will love all of the color and flavors.
Oh, and you can cook the quinoa on the stove, but I tried cooking the quinoa in our new Instant Pot and it came out perfectly in just minutes. So if you have an Instant Pot, try it out! It is great for cooking up quinoa. So easy!
Mediterranean Salad Tips
- Before serving, I dress the salad with a simple balsamic dressing.
- This salad is great served as a main dish for lunch or dinner or you can serve it alongside chicken or fish.
- This salad will keep in the refrigerator for a few days. I love the leftovers and I have even pulled this salad out for breakfast. Starting the day with veggies and protein is always a good idea. You could even scramble up some eggs to go on the side.
- This salad is perfect for potlucks, parties, picnics, and barbecues.
This Mediterranean Three Bean Quinoa Salad is good any time of the day and is perfect for sharing. Make it and take it to your next potluck. It is always a hit!
If you like this Mediterranean Salad, you might also like:
- Creamy Greek Pasta Salad
- Greek Tortellini Salad
- Easy Quinoa Salad
- Mediterranean Couscous Salad
- Greek Quinoa Salad
How to Make Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
Mediterranean Three Bean Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
- For the Salad:
- 1 cup quinoa
- 2 cups water
- ½ lb. green beans trimmed and snapped into 2-inch pieces
- 1 (15 oz) can of garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed
- 1 (15 oz) white beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 red bell pepper seeds removed and chopped
- 1 yellow bell pepper seeds removed and chopped
- 1 cup chopped seedless cucumber
- 1 cup grape tomatoes cut in half
- 1/4 cup diced red onion
- 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1/3 cup kalamata olives pitted and sliced in half
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
For the Dressing:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 2 garlic cloves pressed
- 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, bring quinoa and water to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until for 15 minutes, or until quinoa is tender. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes, covered. Remove lid and fluff with a fork. Transfer quinoa to a large bowl.
- Meanwhile, blanch the green beans. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the green beans and cook until tender crisp, about 2 minutes. Drain the green beans and place in a bowl of ice water. Drain well and pat dry.
- Add the green beans, garbanzo beans, white beans, peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, red onion, feta cheese, olives, and basil to the bowl with the quinoa.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper. Pour dressing over the salad and gently stir until salad is coated with dressing. Season with additional salt and pepper. Serve.
- Note-if you have an Instant Pot, you can cook the quinoa in your Instant Pot. It only takes one minute.
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?
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Would this be good unrefrigerated for about three hours?
Yeah, that is fine.
Easy and delish!!!
We absolutely love the mediterranean quinoa salad. I have been making it for about 4 years and it is still a favorite. The only change is that I double the dressing. Occasionally I will add celery and carrots as well.
I made this salad today. It is so yummy and comes together very easily.
Glad you enjoyed the salad!
If you put the dressing on the salad will it still last for a few days
Yes!
Delicious! Followed recipe about 90% due to some replacements needed. But, its a great one!
This a great recipe, but when I make it I change the amounts of some of the ingredients. I’ve been using a whole English cucumber and I’m very generous with the olives and the feta cheese. I also double the dressing because a bowl of this salad makes a whole week of lunches for me and the dressing tends to get absorbed as the week passes.
Are the white beans, white kidney beans? Or navy beans? What is a “white” bean?
Thanks!
You can use either!
Outstanding~ it was much lunch and dinner today.
Great salad for summer
This salad is a favorite of mine! I cook the quinoa in broth to add more flavor. I find its also even better the next day when all the flavors have absorbed!
Yes, a great meal prep salad!
Just made this today. It makes A LOT of salad!, worth all the prep work and great way to use the produce from my garden! I doubled the olives and feta. I also doubled the dressing but still only used 2 cloves of garlic and that was plenty for my liking. Having company in 2 days, hope it hold up! Thanks for the recipe, looking forward to trying more of them!
It is a great meal prep recipe! I love the leftovers.
The salad was delicious but a little bland so I added red wine vinegar to the recipe (1/4 cup). It really brightened it up.
This Mediterranean Three Bean Quinoa Salad is the BEST!!! It made so much and I just love it!!
Oh good, I am so glad!
This Mediterranean Salad is amazing!!! I am making it and eating it because of a negative return on my blood lipids report!! I cannot say enough about the way it tastes and makes me feel satiated. So many tastes, textures absolutely YUMMY!! It has become a staple at breakfast with yogurt, lunch with a protein and dinner as a side dish!!
Glad you love this one!
I’m wondering if there are greens you would suggest to go with this? I just made your charred corn and avocado salad and I loved that you suggested arugula to go in it. No one in my house eats this kind of food but me so it will last me the whole week if I add a bed of greens in my bowl first and the salad stays very fresh as long as I leave certain things out and only add them to my personal bowl like avocado and the dressing. Having greens makes the salad more filling and helps it last longer as well. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I love your recipes! You are helping me to enjoy eating healthy!
You can use spinach, spring mix, or kale!
Absolutely delicious!!
Made it for Memorial Day and was enjoyed by everyone
Oh good! Thanks for sharing!
Mediterranean Three Bean Quinoa Salad is AMAZING!! It is so delicious and after the first time, it goes together really easy! I cannot say enough about the color, the flavors, and textures just YUMMY!!
I have it breakfast, lunch and dinner as a side dish and occasionally I’ll share it with a loved friend 🙂
I only have one question: this says it serves 8, how big is the serving?? I am getting way more than 8 1 cup servings.
thanks