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This is my lunch all week! The copious amounts of fresh herbs totally make the dish!! Love!
Guys. Can’t stop won’t stop with this Lemony Herb-Loaded Chopped Greek Salad!
All the textures! Flavors! Colors!
It’s waking my mouth up in the best possible way.
Chopped Greek Salad situation: we’ve got quinoa, beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, greens if you want them, herbs by the bucket full, red onion, kalamata olives, and radishes if you’re feeling fancy. Toss that all up extra-generously with olive oil and lemon juice and salt and pepper (don’t be shy – a salty Greek salad is a good Greek salad), and you are ready to rock and roll your way to the most tangy, bright, can’t-get-enough, fresh n’ clean eating.
You totally could and should add feta cheese if you are into the whole CRUMBLY DELICIOUS CHEESE thing – I am very much into it, but I didn’t have any feta on hand any of the 90 times that I made this salad, so bonus clean eating points for me? Or something. But seriously. Add feta, or pepperoncini, or grilled chicken or shrimp or hummus – this combo is yours for the taking.
Chopped Greek Salad TRUE CONFESSIONS:
- Anytime a recipe calls for 3 cups – I repeat 3 CUPS – of herbs, you know it’s going to be lined up perfectly in our food zone. Guys, I love so much flavor that sometimes I probably overwhelm you. Thanks for sticking with me and this blog when I call for 3 cups of herbs. This recipe would totally get rejected from places like my beloved hometown church cookbook where every precious recipe is seasoned with the tiniest little amount of spice and flavor – Curry Chicken: 1/8 teaspoon curry powder. God bless the people who are just mild and regular about life, myself NOT being one of them. No, we go big on the lemon-onion-herb flavor game. This is very tabbouleh-like in terms of its taste and textural make-up, so embrace the herbs. Basil, mint, and parsley are my standbys but I sort of also love the idea of dill. Can someone make that happen?
- Okay disclaimer: I don’t love red onions. I mean, I do, but gah. I cry big fat tears every time I cut them (I know, it’s probably a technique thing, can someone teach me about these things?) and the flavor just completely overwhelms me. It’s the kind of thing where you open the fridge and you’re just completely knocked out by the smell of those seemingly harmless red onions, and then you have people over, and they can smell the red onions in your fridge mixed with the smell of the cookies that you’re currently baking, and it’s gross and weird. Love/hate relationship. So here’s what I do: I soak them in cold water. I don’t remember where I learned this trick, but I use it all the time and I love it. Cut those onions and then while you prep the rest of the vegetables, just let them hang out in a bowl of ice water to cut the bite down a little bit. No promises on the fridge smells, but they reduce the Red Onion Salad effect and make everything sing together in more of a Chopped Greek Salad way.
- I keep this salad for, like, a while. I mean, within reason, but it’s kind of like a tabbouleh which I feel can withstand a little more fridge time than your average salad, so even after I tossed the salad up with the oil and lemon juice and everything, I kept it around for up to 2 days and still found it just as delicious. The flavors sort of soak into the quinoa and, in my flavor-obsessed opinion, that is never a bad thing.
This Chopped Greek Salad is what I’m eating lately and I’m super love-love-loving it.
Come on in, the water’s fine!
Lemony Herb-Loaded Chopped Greek Salad bout ta make your day amazing.
Lemony Herb-Loaded Chopped Greek Salad
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 1x
Description
Chopped Greek Salad – clean eating with TONS of flavor! cucumbers, tomato, kalamata olives, red onion, mint, parsley, quinoa, and a lemon olive oil drizzle! vegan, vegetarian.
Ingredients
SALAD:
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa
- 1 14-ounce can white beans (lentil and garbanzos are yummy too)
- 3 cups chopped tomatoes
- 3 cups chopped fresh herbs – I like mint, parsley, and basil
- 2 cups chopped red onion (one should be enough)
- 2 cups chopped cucumbers (one should be enough)
- 1/2 cup chopped kalamata olives
DRESSING:
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
- lemon juice
Instructions
- Cook the quinoa according to package directions. While the quinoa cooks, chop all your veggies.
- Toss everything together!
- Dress to taste with olive oil, salt, pepper, and lemon juice.
Notes
This is so so so versatile. Add whatever you like. I actually kept it in the fridge for three days AFTER being tossed together and it was still really tasty. Just ate it for lunch today, actually. 🙂 It resembles tabbouleh in texture so it’s not a big deal if it sops together for a day or two. Also, if you want to liven it up, just toss in a handful of greens.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Category: Lunch
- Cuisine: Greek
Keywords: chopped greek salad, lemon greek salad, herb greek salad
Nutrition information includes 1/3 cup olive oil and 1 teaspoon salt / 6 servings.
One More Thing!
This recipe is part of our delicious quinoa recipes page. Check it out!
Um, looks delish. But I gotta say… those poor radishes! They are shining in glory on the photo, but then don’t make the recipe list? The unappreciated star of the salad bowl? Radishes make everything better with the little hint of refreshing pepperiness. Oh, the unsung heroes…. 😉
onions! I’ve been on a kick of using the inspiralizer to cut mine!! I like them super thin so I spiralize them and then store them in the fridge. when I need small little bits I just grab a handful and quickly chop them with a knife, makes it easy peasy (which I know you’re all about xoxo)
i’m not a huge fan of raw red onions either, so i love that trick of soaking them in water to remove some of their bite!
Heather, You are right, an entire chopped raw red onion is pretty harsh. You could probably cut that down to half an onion, or if you weant more more, definitely a water soak would mellow out the flavor.
Beautiful salad. I actually love the raw onions but not the after taste. When I want to avoid the powerful onion taste, I slice it round and thick and grill them. It might not give the crunch, but it is pretty amazing what a difference it makes:))
I would definitely just use half an onion and maybe finely minced. I like your idea about soaking them in water because i’m not a fan of raw onions either.
If you really want less bite, choose a flat red onion. The flatter they are, the sweeter they are. Some seasons it’s hard to find flat ones.
Whoa – three cups of herbs you are not joking around!! Sounds amazing!
I’m so with you on everything about this salad. But would you be mad if I tossed embarrassing amounts of herby feta cheese all over this bowl of lusciousness? Hope not. Cause when I make this on Saturday, that’s exactly what I gonna do! Thanks for the recipe!
This looks healthy and delicious.
Comments:
1 – for less experienced cooks, and giving some quantity guidelines for the olive oil and lemon juice would be helpful. Or at least a ratio, such as 2 to 1 oil to lemon juice.
2 – This will taste even better in late summer, when herbs and tomatoes are at their peak. Making this with flavorless off-season tomatoes takes away a major component of the dish.
3 – Radishes do look like an excellent addition. They are in most of your photos but not mentioned in the recipe.
I love this so very much, and I am totally making it for lunches this week! And I’m right there with you – the more herbs, the better!
So fresh and so simple. LOVE this!!
So excited we’re moving into salad season! I mean, I loves da soups, but salads with fresh, homegrown greens and veggies are da bomba! When I’m using red onions for a salad, I soak them in red wine vinegar (and then drain and rinse). It seems to speed up the de-onioning process a bit, and adds a tiny vinaigrette kick at the same time.
From a South American ceviche maker: I put some salt on the red onions and squeeze them while running cold water through them. Rinse well. Bite is gone!
Oh yes! Now, this my friend I need to try ASAP!
Hey Lindsay,
I feel the same about red onions, I squeeze some lime juice over them so they “cook” ceviche style before adding them to my tabouleh, it also adds flavor.
That onion soaking trick sounds genius! I hate onions, but sometimes I force myself to use them for aromatic purposes – can’t wait to try this trick! One thing I’ve learned that helps while cutting them is to burn a scented candle in front of you – I put mine at the corner of the cutting board. It helps!
I can’t promise that this will fix your red onion problem, but it should help. Make sure your knife is nice and sharp to start, and older onions will always make you cry more. When onions are chopped, they release a gas that makes us cry, and it does it by adhering to moisture – namely, our eyes. I always run my wrists under water and the gas sticks there instead. Good luck! And this salad looks beautiful.
Oh, that looks so good! I am on a salad spree this Spring and I will be giving this recipe a try very soon!
Thank you,
Maria
The photos are absolutely radiant! I wouldn’t normally see quinoa in a Greek recipe but I LOVE that you blended it into one of my favorite types of salads ever! This is wonderful!
This looks like a great lunch option. How long would you say it lasts in the fridge?
Kari
http://www.sweetteasweetie.com
This is totally my jam! LOVE this and your 3 cups of herbs.
I love greek salads and this version looks amazing!
Yum, what a great side for a leg of roast lamb!
This looks so simple and healthy! I bet chickpeas would be tasty in this dish too 🙂
Made this last night to eat for lunch today. I can always rely on your recipes. It was DELICIOUS with a bit of feta and a handful of spring mix salad.
I did cut the onion down by half and it seemed just right.
Looking good! Definitely picking this for my veggie-day next week 🙂 ! such a great tip about the onion btw, trying that out as well 🙂
xx B
I’ve just discovered baby San Marzano tomatoes in my markets, and they are seriously flavorful-even this time of year.