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Quinoa and Feta Side Dish

Red quinoa on a white dish topped with crumbled feta and parsley

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.

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

  • Author: Christine Pittman
  • 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

Scale
  • 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

  1. 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.
  2. In a medium saucepan that has a lid warm 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium-high heat.
  3. Add the onion and cook stirring occasionally until translucent, 4-5 minutes.
  4. Add the minced garlic and cook while stirring for 30 seconds or so.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.