Fresh, bright, and straightforward to put together, Quinoa Chickpea Salad is a vegetarian American, Mediterranean salad made with uncooked quinoa, chickpeas, and english cucumber in about 25 minutes. The recipe lays out the ingredients and each cooking step clearly, so you can adjust seasoning, texture, and serving size for your own kitchen.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 15 minutes
  • Cook time: 10 minutes
  • Total time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 6
  • Category: Salad
  • Cuisine: American, Mediterranean

Ingredients

  • 1 cup uncooked quinoa
  • 15 ounce can chickpeas (drained and rinsed (1.5 cups cooked chickpeas))
  • 1/2 english cucumber ((about 1.5 cups))
  • 1 cup grape tomatoes (halved)
  • 1/2 cup red bell pepper
  • 1/2 cup red onion (finely chopped)
  • 1/2 cup coriander leaves ((or parsley), chopped)
  • 1/4 cup mint leaves ((or dill), chopped)

For The Dressing

  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup lime juice
  • 2 cloves garlic (minced)
  • salt and pepper (to taste)
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (optional)

Method

Cook Quinoa

  1. Instant Pot Pressure cooker: I generally cook the Quinoa in an Instant Pot as it is very easy, and we get a perfect fluffy separated grain every time. Pressure cook 1 cup quinoa with 1 ¼ cups of water (or vegetable broth) on High pressure for 1 minute and let the pressure release naturally. In Traditional Stovetop Pressure Cooker: Pressure cook the rinsed quinoa with 1.5 cups water for two whistles on medium-low heat. Let the pressure release naturally. On Stovetop in a Pot: Cook 1 cup of rinsed quinoa with 2 cups of water on medium-low heat until cooked, and let it cool.

Dressing:

  1. Whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, minced garlic, salt, and pepper in a glass jar to make the dressing.

Assemble the Salad

  1. In a large mixing bowl, place all the salad ingredients.
  2. Drizzle the dressing over the salad ingredients.
  3. Toss gently to combine. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.