This warm quinoa salad uses wilted parsley, onions and garlic. Everything is topped with feta making it a delicious side dish!
What Type Of Quinoa to Use
I love a good grainy salad. Quinoa isn’t technically a grain, but it works like one in this side dish.
I’ve used red quinoa here because I love the color, but any kind will work. And honestly, red quinoa is a tad more bitter than the usual kind, so if you find quinoa bitter usually, you might not like the red.
How To Make This Side Dish
To make this, you wilt a lot of fresh parsley into hot cooked quinoa that was cooked with onion and garlic. It’s so simple but the flavors of the fresh parsley and a bit of lemon added at the end are fresh and light. The feta on top brings in some creaminess. It really couldn’t be easier.
Crumbly feta cheese is the perfect finishing touch for what I’m claiming to be one of my favorite side dishes ever.
Cooking Tips
I do want to say that it’s important that you rinse quinoa well before cooking it.
I actually did a taste-test of cooked quinoa that hadn’t been rinsed versus quinoa that had been rinsed for 30 seconds, 2 minutes, and 5 minutes. The 5 minute rinsed quinoa actually tasted less bitter than the others. I also rub the quinoa while rinsing it to really help remove that bitter saponin coating (the dust that causes the bitter flavor). You can read more in my How to Cook Quinoa post.
Also, flat-leaf parsley has a much nicer flavor than curly parsley. So, please use that. A lot of times people think of parsley as just a garnish, but I promise you that you will love it in here. I find that adding it to all kinds of things makes such a difference. For instance, my garlic butter recipe is seriously amazing and I think it’s due to the addition of the flat-leaf parsley.
I really like this side dish served warm. However, if you want it cold, here’s what to do. You’ll want to cook the quinoa as instructed but then wait for it to cool before adding the parsley. Wilted parsley is good in warm dishes but not in cold, fresh dishes. Then it’s best to have it be bright and springy, not soggy. Then top with the feta at the end so that it doesn’t melt at all either.
More Quinoa and Grainy Recipes
If you’re like me, you’re always looking for healthy side dish recipes. I’m linking to a few of my favorites below, and you should definitely go and browse through all of my side dish recipes over here.
- Cauliflower and Quinoa Bake
- Quinoa Salad Bowl
- How to Cook Farro
- Beef and Farro Soup
- Creamy Farro Side Dish
- Instant Pot Rice
- Lemon Broccoli
Podcast Episode: Making This Quinoa Side Dish
Listen to me explain briefly about how to make this side dish, with some great tips along the way, by clicking the play button below:
If you love cooking podcasts, my podcast Recipe of the Day comes out every single day. Browse over 700 episodes over here.
Print
Quinoa with Feta Side Dish Recipe
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
DESCRIPTION
This warm quinoa salad uses wilted parsley, onions and garlic. Everything is topped with feta making it a delicious side dish!
Ingredients
- 12 oz. (340g) of quinoa, the regular kind or the Red Inca variety
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken stock, vegetable broth, water or a mixture
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 and 1/2 cups chopped fresh parsley, plus a bit more for garnish
- 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
- 8 oz. feta cheese, crumbled.
Instructions
- Pour the quinoa into a fine mesh sieve and put it into the sink. Rinse it for 5 minutes while rubbing it between your fingers to really remove the dusty saponin layer. Leave it to drain for a few minutes while you do the next step.
- In a medium saucepan that has a lid warm 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium-high heat.
- Add the onion and cook stirring occasionally until translucent, 4-5 minutes.
- Add the minced garlic and cook while stirring for 30 seconds or so.
- Add the drained quinoa and stir for a moment before adding the stock or water and the salt. Bring it to a boil over high heat.
- Reduce heat to low, stir and cover letting it simmer gently for 15-20 minutes, until the quinoa is tender. If the liquid was not all absorbed, drain the quinoa in a fine-mesh sieve and then return it to the hot saucepan for a minute or two to help it dry out a bit.
- Add the lemon juice, parsley and the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Stir it and taste it. Add more salt if it’s a bit bland and more olive oil if it’s a bit dry. Stir again.
- Serve warm topped with the feta cheese and a bit more chopped fresh parsley.
This post originally appeared in January 2013 and was revised and republished in August 2022.
My trainer has suggested that I include quinoa and kale and oats into my diet and I don’t know if I have ever been this miserable. LOL. Anyways, I am looking for quinoa recipes, and trust me, this is the first one that looks appealing. Gonna print this out and try it for Monday routine. Will come back and share thoughts, dear. Thanks.
Hey Jenna, quinoa can be really great if you combine it with the right things. I’ll tell you that my simplest trick is to mix 1 cup of hot quinoa with 1/2 teaspoon (or as much as 1 teaspoon) of ghee. Ghee is clarified butter and you can buy it at the regular grocery store near the cooking oils. It has an amazing flavor and goes really well with quinoa. Good luck!
You know I was actually thinking of how I could make a winter version of tabbouleh the other day as well! I miss it too and was thinking I could make a seasonal version to enjoy now.
Great minds, Sylvie! Let me know what you do to winterize it. The possibilities are endless.
I love that you “winterized” this dish. Brilliant!
I love that you used quinoa in this–such a good idea! My husband isn’t crazy about traditional tabbouleh, but I bet I can win him over with this one. :)
Thanks Kiersten! If you try it and he loves it, let me know. (lol. If he doesn’t love it, let me know also. I’m always up for constructive criticism).
This looks fantastic and like the perfect hearty dish for winter! And I never say “no” to anything involving feta cheese :)
Kelly, I couldn’t agree more. There’s nothing like a bit of feta to make even the blandest, healthiest, most boring dish sing.
I love tabbouleh and i think that serving it warm and with quinoa is the perfect twist. Sounds so good!
I miss watermelon and I cannot really substirute it with anything so I just wait with patience for the summer to come! Your tabbouleh’s cousin looks so delicious!
We get watermelon all year here. When I see it at the store I’m always tempted by it but I know that it’s not as good in the winter. Makes me crave it even more!
Ice cream is the best and all you have to do to make it winter-friendly is change the flavors! Or not. Either way, it’s a winner….
Love the look of this tabbouleh!
Oh, I agree! I love having ice cream in the winter. My favorite way to winterize it is to drizzle it with maple syrup. Mmmm!