Strawberry Quinoa Salad with Feta

Strawberries with feta is my favorite summer pairing. Sweet, salty, creamy, crunchy in every bite. And when you add nutty quinoa, pistachios for the crunch, and quick homemade poppyseed dressing, you’ll understand why this has become a lunch staple for me.

Do you love fresh salad recipes? You’re in the right place. Try our strawberry spinach salad with candied pecans or summer orzo salad with basil pesto and goat cheese.

Here’s why this version works on a weeknight. The dressing comes together in 2 minutes with pantry staples (olive oil, white wine vinegar, honey, mustard, mayo, poppy seeds). The kale gets massaged with olive oil so it actually softens instead of fighting the fork. And the whole thing tastes better on day 2, which makes it the kind of salad that earns its place in the meal prep rotation.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Make Sunday, eat through Friday. The flavors actually deepen by day 2 if you store the dressing separately.
• Sweet plus salty plus creamy plus crunchy. The four-way combo most quinoa salads miss.
• It scales. Half for two, double for a cookout, triple for a graduation party.
• High-protein when you add grilled chicken, blackened salmon, or marinated chickpeas. Keeps you full without the lecture.
• The kale move makes it kid-friendly. Massaged with olive oil, it stops tasting like a stem.

Are you a fan of quinoa? After you make this quinoa salad with feta, try our savory quinoa breakfast bowl or this slow cooker Mexican chicken quinoa casserole for dinner.

Ingredients

Here’s what you need. Everything is at the regular grocery store, no special trip.

• Quinoa. Any color. I use white because it’s mildest. Cook it, rinse it cold, let it dry out a little before tossing so it doesn’t water down the dressing.
• Strawberries. Hulled and halved. Bigger berries quartered. The fresher the better.
• Feta. Block feta crumbled is best. The pre-crumbled kind is drier and chalkier. Goat cheese works in a pinch.
• Avocado. Adds the creamy. Hold this until you’re serving if you’re prepping ahead.
• Pistachios. Raw, unsalted, chopped. Almonds or pecans also work.
• Red onion. A small handful, finely diced. Soak it in cold water for 5 minutes if raw red onion is too sharp for you.
• Fresh basil. Don’t skip it. It pulls the strawberries and feta together.
• Shredded kale. Massage it with olive oil to soften. This is the move that makes the kids eat it.
• For the dressing: light olive oil or avocado oil, white wine or champagne vinegar, honey, poppy seeds, mustard powder, salt, and mayo. The mayo emulsifies everything and adds the creamy body.

How to Make Quinoa Salad with Feta

Let’s walk through the steps with some photos and a video so you can see how to make it. Jump down to the recipe card for exact measurements and printable instructions.

Cook and Cool the Quinoa: Cook 1 cup of quinoa according to the package directions. Rinse it cold once it’s done so it doesn’t wilt the kale. Spread it on a sheet pan to dry out a little while you prep everything else.

Success tip: cold quinoa is the goal. Warm quinoa breaks down the feta and bruises the basil.

Massage the Kale: Drizzle the shredded kale with a tablespoon of olive oil and use your hands to rub it for 30 seconds. It’ll soften and turn a deeper green. This is the difference between kale that fights you and kale that disappears into the salad.

Shake the Dressing: Add everything to a mason jar with a lid and shake. Two minutes, done. Store in the fridge until you’re ready to toss.

Toss and Serve: Add the cooled quinoa, strawberries, feta, avocado, pistachios, red onion, basil, and massaged kale to a big bowl. Pour about three-quarters of the dressing on, toss, taste, and add more if you want.

Recipe Variations

1. Greek style. Swap the strawberries for cherry tomatoes, add Kalamata olives and cucumber, switch the dressing for a lemon-olive-oil vinaigrette.
2. Tropical. Diced mango instead of strawberries, toasted coconut flakes, macadamia nuts, lime-honey dressing.
3. Garden surplus. Toss in whatever’s overflowing in the garden. Cucumbers, fresh parsley, torn mint.
4. Vegan. Skip the feta or use crumbled tofu, swap the mayo in the dressing for cashew cream.

Frequently Asked Questions

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5 from 8 votes

Strawberry Quinoa Salad with Feta

Prep: 10 minutes mins

Cook: 20 minutes mins

Total: 30 minutes mins

This strawberry quinoa salad has ripe strawberries, salty feta, crunchy pistachios, and nutty quinoa tossed in a 2-minute poppyseed dressing. This is the salad I make when I want a side that looks like I tried and tastes like summer. It holds up for cookouts, lunch all week, or a full dinner with grilled chicken on top.

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Molly Thompson

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Molly Thompson

Servings: 8 servings

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Ingredients

Quinoa Salad

• ▢ 1 cup uncooked quinoa or 3 cups of cooked quinoa
• ▢ 2 cups strawberries hulled and halved
• ▢ 8 ounces feta cheese crumbled or cubed
• ▢ 1 large ripe avocado pitted and diced
• ▢ 1 cup raw unsalted pistachios (Note 1)
• ▢ 1/2 small red onion diced
• ▢ 1/4 cup fresh chopped basil
• ▢ 1 1/2 cups shredded kale
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon olive oil

Salad Dressing

• ▢ ½ cup light olive oil or avocado oil
• ▢ ¼ cup white wine vinegar or champagne vinegar
• ▢ 2-3 tablespoons honey
• ▢ 2 teaspoons poppy seeds
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ½ teaspoon ground mustard
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons mayonnaise

Instructions 

• Cook 1 cup of quinoa according to the package directions. They usually require you to rinse the quinoa well using a fine mesh strainer until the water runs clean. Add it to a medium saucepan with 1 cup of water Add 1 3/4 cup of quinoa, bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Fluff the quinoa with a fork and allow it to cool almost completely. You can also use 3 cups of pre-cooked quinoao.
• Add the quinoa, strawberries, feta, avocado, pistachios, red onion, and basil to a large salad bowl. Toss the shredded kale with the olive oil and use your fingers to rub it into the kale. This helps soften the texture and makes it easier to work with.
• Whisk together the dressing ingredients. Pour the dressing over the quinoa salad and toss well to coat. Serve right away or store in the fridge for up to 3 day.

Last step! If you make this, please leave a review letting us know how it was!

Notes

Note 1. Pistachios. You could also use chopped almonds or pecans.

Note 2. Make-ahead. Hold the avocado and dressing separately. Toss the salad through everything else and store up to 3 days. Add the avocado and dressing right before serving.

Note 3. Scaling down. Halve the salad and keep the full dressing recipe. The leftover dressing keeps in the fridge for 2 weeks.

Video

Equipment

• Large bowl
• Medium Saucepan

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 453kcal | Carbohydrates: 28.7g | Protein: 11.1g | Fat: 34.6g | Cholesterol: 26.5mg | Sodium: 440.6mg | Fiber: 5.4g | Sugar: 8.9g | Vitamin A: 58.5IU | Vitamin C: 28.8mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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