Quinoa and Roasted Feta Cheese Salad

Written by
Jennifer Meier
Food writer, cookbook author, and recipe developer Jennifer Meier specializes in creating healthy and diet-specific recipes.
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Jennifer Meier
Updated 12/02/19
Quinoa and roasted red pepper recipe

The Spruce / Zorica Lakonic
Prep: 20 mins
Cook: 25 mins
Total: 45 mins
Servings: 6 servings
Nutritional Guidelines (per serving)
307 Calories
22g Fat
17g Carbs
13g Protein
See Full Nutritional Guidelines Hide Full Nutritional Guidelines
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6
Amount per serving
Calories 307
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 22g 29%
Saturated Fat 8g 38%
Cholesterol 34mg 11%
Sodium 2856mg 124%
Total Carbohydrate 17g 6%
Dietary Fiber 3g 10%
Protein 13g
Calcium 277mg 21%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

The inspiration for this recipe comes from the brilliant vegetarian cookbook A Modern Way to Eat by Anna Jones. It's filled with inspiring recipes, but one with roasted feta and raw tomatoes really caught my eye.

You'll love feta this way, roasted until warm in the oven. In this recipe, we serve roasted feta with lemon and herb quinoa, zucchini and seared cherry tomatoes.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup quinoa (uncooked, rinsed)
  • 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (divided)
  • 1 lemon (zested and juiced)
  • 1/2 cup fresh parsley (finely chopped or chiffonade, or basil or mint or oregano or a combination of herbs)
  • 8 ounces feta cheese (in a solid block)
  • 2 zucchini (sliced into very thin rounds)
  • 8 ounces cherry tomatoes (halved)
  • 2 garlic cloves (finely chopped or pressed)​

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients for quinoa and roasted feta cheese salad
    The Spruce / Zorica Lakonic

  2. Preheat oven to 425 F.

  3. In a pot, combine quinoa and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook 12 to 15 minutes, until the quinoa is tender and absorbs all the water. Fluff with a fork.

    Combine quinoa and water
    The Spruce / Zorica Lakonic

  4. When the quinoa has cooled a bit, mix in 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil, the zest and juice from the lemon, fresh herbs, and salt to taste. Set aside.

    Mix in olive oil
    The Spruce / Zorica Lakonic

  5. Place the feta on a parchment-lined baking sheet and drizzle with a tablespoon of olive oil.

    Place feta on baking sheet
    The Spruce / Zorica Lakonic

  6. Roast in the oven for about 25, minutes until feta is bubbling and golden around the edges.

    Roast in oven
    The Spruce / Zorica Lakonic

  7. While the feta is roasting, saute the zucchini in 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. The zucchini can be left slightly firm, or cooked until it is very soft – whichever you prefer.

    Saute zucchini
    The Spruce / Zorica Lakonic

  8. In a separate sauté pan (wide enough to fit the cherry tomatoes in one layer) over medium-high, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the cherry tomatoes – be careful, the tomatoes will spit and splatter oil. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the tomatoes are blackened in spots and are getting soft.

    Heat olive oil
    The Spruce / Zorica Lakonic

  9. Add garlic and cook 1 to 2 minutes more. Season lightly with salt.

    Add garlic
    The Spruce / Zorica Lakonic

  10. Spoon the quinoa onto a large serving platter. Put the warm feta in the middle. Surround with zucchini and tomatoes.

    Spoon quinoa
    The Spruce / Zorica Lakonic

  11. To eat, break the feta up into large chunks and crumble over the quinoa, tomatoes, and zucchini.

    Break feta up
    The Spruce / Zorica Lakonic

Do I Have to Rinse Quinoa?

Before cooking quinoa, it is usually recommended that you rinse it in water. This is because quinoa can have a slightly bitter flavor if not rinsed. To rinse quinoa, swish it around in a bowl of water then drain using a fine mesh strainer, or just run water over the quinoa while it's in the strainer.

However, rinsing quinoa isn't as crucial as you might think. Many brands of quinoa have been polished or pre-washed to remove the bitter but harmless coating (called saponin).

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