Mediterranean Quinoa Salad Recipe with Roasted Vegetables

This simple Mediterranean quinoa salad recipe, packed full of roasted vegetables, makes a fabulous vegetarian main or a hearty side salad.  It is easy to make in advance and transports well, which makes it ideal for picnics, potlucks or for tucking into a lunchbox.

Last updated: 21st February 2019

Total Time Investment: 1 Hour 20 minutes

Something magical happens when you subject raw vegetables to the heat of the oven.  With just a little preparation, a tray of roasted vegetables has an infinite number of uses for the imaginative cook.  Eat roasted vegetables on their own as a simple side, tuck them into tarts, quiches or frittatas, blitz them quickly with a little stock into velvety soups or toss them through cooked grain to make this hearty Mediterranean quinoa salad recipe.

This simple quinoa salad appears quite regularly on our dinner table during the summer months. And as it is so easy to make in advance, and highly portable, I find that any leftovers are perfect for tucking into lunchboxes through the week.  To make your life easier, you can prepare parts of this salad separately and then just assemble the salad just before you wish to serve it.  To get all my tips for making salads in advance, make sure you grab the cheatsheet from my Resource Library.  Grab the guide by clicking the link below, or requesting the Resource Library password at the end of this post.

So take those raw vegetables, and with very little effort you can have the base for an easy meal.  Roughly chop your favourite vegetables, toss them with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and slide that tray of vegetables into the oven.  As the vegetables sweeten in the oven, the heat concentrating the flavour and lightly caramelising the edges, put your feet up and enjoy the sounds of summer.  Magic I tell you.

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Ingredient Substitutions for Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

This Mediterranean quinoa salad recipe, jammed packed with roasted vegetables, is easily customised to suit your family’s tastes.  So consider this quinoa salad more a template than a recipe, and make substitutions to turn this salad into your own:

• Not a fan of beetroot or squash?  You can use any vegetables you like here.  Use your family favourites.  Slow roasted tomatoes, fennel, pumpkin or zucchini would all be delicious here.
• Are you living with a quinoa hater? Not a problem; simply substitute a grain your family will eat instead.  Try farro, wheat, or even cous cous.
• Mix up the herbs according to what is is season.  Use loads of basil and parsley in summer, or chives and coriander in winter.  Or try dill, fennel or chervil for an aniseed twist.
• If you don’t have a fresh lemon on hand, use red wine vinegar instead.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Mediterranean Quinoa Salad Recipe

How do you make a Mediterranean Quinoa Salad?

There is no specific recipe for a Mediterranean quinoa salad.  The term ‘Mediterranean’ refers to the Mediterranean diet, which focuses on eating unprocessed ingredients and large amount of plant foods, including vegetables and grains.  Any homemade quinoa salad probably fits this description.

How long does quinoa salad last in the fridge?

This Mediterranean quinoa salad recipe will last for up to four days in the fridge.  If you add feta to the salad, it will last up to three days.

Is quinoa salad healthy?

Quinoa is a gluten free, high protein grain.  Combine that with roasted vegetables, fresh herbs and an olive oil dressing, and it is safe to say that this quinoa salad is a healthy meal for the whole family.

How do you make quinoa taste good?

This is a tricky one.  Uncooked quinoa grain has a bitter saponin coating, and if the saponin is not washed off it can affect the taste of the cooked grain. So make sure to rinse the grain well before cooking it.  Soaking quinoa overnight can also help remove the bitter coating.

Cooked quinoa has a slightly grassy taste.  If you have an avowed quinoa hater in your family though (is now the time to mention The Princess??), I find the best way to make it taste better is to simply mask the taste.

Salads, like this roasted vegetable quinoa recipe, are great as they usually have a high proportion of other ingredients.  Zesty dressings and loads of herbs can also reduce the grassy notes.   Adding the quinoa to dishes rather than serving it as the main event, like my zucchini quinoa fritters, is also a good way to keep the fussy eaters in the family happy.

Get Ahead with my Mediterranean Quinoa Salad Recipe

All of the elements of this Mediterranean quinoa salad recipe can be made ahead, and the salad assembled just before required.  Try:

1. Roasting the vegetables up to three days in advance
2. Cooking the quinoa up to three days in advance.  You can also cook the quinoa well in advance and freeze it until you wish to assemble the salad.  Just follow the tips on freezing quinoa here.
3. Making the lemon dressing up to three days in advance, and storing separately in the fridge.  The dressing is also great used in grain bowls or on other salads, so consider making extra to help out with other meals through the week.
4. Assembling the entire Mediterranean quinoa salad and packing into lunchboxes for the week ahead.  The assembled salad, made with freshly prepared ingredients, will keep for up to four  days in the fridge.

All of these tips (and more) are on my free cheatsheet which is is my Resource Library.  Download your own copy now by requesting access at the end of this post so you will always have my tips on hand.

A few final Tips for A Delicious Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Salad

Let me leave you with a few final tips to not only make the most delicious roasted vegetable quinoa salad you can, but also get ahead on a few other meals with very little effort:

1. Whilst I prefer to roast my vegetables in the oven, I have also successfully used the BBQ when the summer becomes far too hot to even contemplate switching the oven on.
2. Don’t just think this is a summer salad.  It is just as good served warm during the cooler months.
3. The dressing is extremely tart when tasted on its own. This is deliberate, and the sharpness of the dressing will be balanced out by the sweetness of the roasted vegetables.
4. Beetroot will turn your quinoa pink. If this bothers you, use more sweet potato and carrots instead.
5. Roast double the amount of vegetables required, or cook twice the amount of quinoa, and either freeze them for later or use the leftovers for other meals during the week. Turn the vegetables into frittata, and the quinoa into these simple fritters.
6. If the number of people at your dinner table suddenly increases, just cook more quinoa or roast more vegetables.
7. The roasted vegetable quinoa salad is great served either as a substantial vegetarian main or a hearty side salad for a simple piece of grilled chicken or a steak.

Enjoy!

One year ago:  Lentil & Roast Beef Salad

Two years ago:  5 Minute Sour Cream Salad Dressing

Three years ago:  Spiced Plum & Yoghurt Popsicles

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Simple Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

Easy to make in advance, and highly portable, Mediterranean quinoa salad is perfect for picnics and potlucks. Great as a vegetarian main or a hearty side salad, and ideal for lunchboxes.

Course Salad

Cuisine Mediterranean

Keyword lunchbox salad, picnic salad, potluck salad

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Servings 4

Calories 587kcal

Author Tania @ The Cook's Pyjamas

Ingredients

To roast the vegetables

• 1 bunch of baby beetroot leaves removed and scrubbed
• 1 bunch of baby carrots leaves removed and scrubbed
• 3 (approx 450g) small sweet potatoes peeled and cut into 3cm pieces
• 1 medium red onion peeled and cut into eighths
• 10 (approx 250g) baby yellow squash halved
• 1 red pepper cut into 2cm pieces
• Olive oil for roasting
• Salt & pepper

For the quinoa base

• 180 g (1 cup) uncooked quinoa
• 5 - 6 Tablespoons chopped herbs (I used parsley, basil and chives)
• 60 ml (1/4 cup) lemon juice
• 60 ml (1/4 cup) olive oil
• Salt & pepper

Instructions

To roast the vegetables

• Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan forced).
• Place the baby beetroot into the centre of a large sheet of foil. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt & pepper, and scrunch the foil to enclose the beetroot. Place in the oven.
• Toss the sweet potato with olive oil, salt & pepper. Spread on a baking tray, and place in the oven. [See note 1]
• Toss the red onion with olive oil, salt & pepper. Place on a tray in the oven.
• Toss the carrots with olive oil, salt & pepper. Place on a tray in the oven.
• Toss the baby squash with olive oil, salt & pepper. Place on a tray in the oven.
• Toss the red pepper with olive oil, salt & pepper. Place on a tray in the oven.
• Cook the beetroot for approximately 45 minutes, or until a skewer easily pierces the beetroot. Remove from the oven, and open the foil packet to allow the beetroot to cool slightly. When cool enough to handle, slip the skins off the beetroot and cut them into quarters. Set aside.
• Cook the remaining vegetables until softened and lightly browned. My approximate cooking times are:
  sweet potato - 45 minutes,
  

  baby carrots - 30 minutes,
  

  red onion - 30 minutes,
  

  baby squash - 25 minutes,
  

  red pepper - 20 minutes.
• Remove the vegetables from the oven once cooked. Some vegetable pieces may cook faster than others, so remove them individually during the cooking time if necessary to prevent them overcooking.

For the quinoa base

• While the vegetables are roasting, cook the quinoa according to the packet directions.
• Place the lemon juice and olive oil in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper, then whisk together. Set aside.
• Place the cooked quinoa and the chopped herbs into a large bowl.
• Season with salt & pepper, then toss the herbs lightly through the quinoa.

To finish the salad

• Add the warm vegetables to the quinoa.
• Pour the lemon dressing over the vegetables.
• Toss the vegetables through the quinoa to combine.
• Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes

Note 1: I use two large baking trays for this recipe. I place the vegetables that take the longest time to cook in the oven first, and then prepare the next round of vegetables.

I use a portion of the baking tray for each type of vegetable, keeping like vegetables together to make it easier to remove them when cooked.

Other Notes:

1. The quantities of vegetables are not extremely important here. The salad is highly flexible and will work well with both fewer or more vegetables. Feel free to swap out the vegetables and herbs I have used for your favourites.
2. The dressing is extremely tart when tasted on its own. This is deliberate, and the sharpness of the dressing will be balanced out by the sweetness of the roasted vegetables.
3. I can only provide approximate cooking times in this recipe. Exact cooking times will depend on the type and freshness of your vegetables, and the size of the cut vegetables.
4. Beetroot will turn your quinoa pink. If this bothers you, use more sweet potato and carrots instead.

Update notes:  This post was updated on 17th May 2018.  The text was substantially re-written to make it easier to follow, and small functional changes were made to the recipe.  It was updated again on 21st January 2019 to include FAQ’s and to improve the readability of the text.