Quinoa with cherry tomatoes & feta dressing
The dressing makes this bowl. Feta, yogurt, garlic, dried oregano, cumin, and lemon go into a blender and come out as a thick, tangy pour that coats every grain of quinoa. The base is simple: quinoa cooked in vegetable broth, halved cherry tomatoes, diced cucumber, sliced scallion. That simplicity is the point.
One bowl, 15 minutes, 29g of protein from the quinoa-and-dairy combination, and 9g of fiber. A Mediterranean grain salad that earns its keep without a single complicated step.
The dressing makes this bowl. Feta, yogurt, garlic, dried oregano, cumin, and lemon go into a blender and come out as a thick, tangy pour that coats every grain of quinoa. The base is simple: quinoa cooked in vegetable broth, halved cherry tomatoes, diced cucumber, sliced scallion. That simplicity is the point.
One bowl, 15 minutes, 29g of protein from the quinoa-and-dairy combination, and 9g of fiber. A Mediterranean grain salad that earns its keep without a single complicated step.
Ingredients
- quinoa 84 g
- vegetable bouillon cube 0.25 piece
- cherry tomatoes 8 piece
- cucumber 0.5 piece
- scallion 1 piece
- garlic 0.5 clove
- feta cheese 42 g
- nonfat yogurt 75 ml
- lemon juice 5 ml
- water 30 ml
- oregano dried 2 g
- ground cumin 1 g
Method
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Cook the quinoa according to package directions with the vegetable bouillon cube.
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Cut the cherry tomatoes in half, dice the cucumber, and slice the scallion.
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For the dressing, blend the feta cheese, nonfat yogurt, garlic, lemon juice, water, oregano, and cumin with an immersion blender until smooth.
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Combine the cooked quinoa with the cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and scallion.
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Drizzle the feta dressing over the quinoa salad and serve.
Break the feta into rough chunks before blending. Starting with a solid block makes the immersion blender work harder and can leave chalky pockets that never fully integrate into the dressing.
The garlic in this dressing contacts live yogurt cultures directly during blending. Research found that Lactobacillus acidophilus, the strain on most yogurt labels, showed zero inhibition from full-strength garlic juice. At the concentration in a garlic-yogurt dressing, garlic's natural fructans may actually serve as prebiotic fuel for those same bacteria.
Garlic & Yogurt Probiotics · DOIBehind this recipe
Is quinoa a complete protein?
Yes. Quinoa contains all nine essential amino acids, which is unusual for a plant-based food. The 84g of dry quinoa in this bowl is the primary contributor to its 29g of protein, with feta and yogurt adding the rest.
Read the full evidence reviewCan I make this dressing without a blender?
Absolutely. Fork-mash the feta in a bowl, then stir in the yogurt, garlic, lemon juice, oregano, and cumin until combined. The texture will be chunkier than a blended version, but it coats the quinoa just as well.
How long does this quinoa salad keep in the fridge?
The assembled salad keeps for 2 days in a sealed container. If you are prepping ahead, store the dressing separately and pour it on right before eating. The yogurt-feta blend thickens overnight, so stir in a splash of water to loosen it.
