This salad is SUPER basic, but I literally ate it every day last week and will happily be eating it again all this week, so I think that alone makes it worth sharing. The great thing about this Spinach Chickpea and Quinoa Salad is that it holds up extremely well in the fridge and is super versatile. This is a great salad to just keep on hand to build different meals throughout the week, or to just eat as a quick bite when you’re short on time.
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How Long Does This Quinoa Salad Keep?
This salad holds up surprisingly well in the refrigerator, about four days, give or take some depending on the freshness of your ingredients and conditions inside your refrigerator. If you plan to make this salad ahead and eat it throughout the week, just keep the dressing separate and add it just before serving.
Can I Use Other Grains?
This salad is super versatile. You don’t have to use quinoa, in fact I’ve made this salad using other grains, like brown rice. You could even use cooked pasta. Just about any cooked grain or small pasta will work in place of the quinoa, so have fun!
Make it a Meal
This Quinoa Salad is more than just a side dish. To add variety to this salad throughout the week, try topping it with a hard or soft boiled egg, adding some grilled chicken, tofu, or even chopped lunch meat.
Spinach Chickpea and Quinoa Salad
Servings 4 about 1.5 cups eachIngredients
- 2 cups cooked quinoa (or other grain) ($0.94)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.26)
- 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar ($0.10)
- 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice ($0.03)
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano ($0.05)
- 1/8 tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- Freshly cracked black pepper ($0.02)
- 4 cups fresh spinach ($0.80)
- 1 pint grape tomatoes ($1.99)
- 1 15oz. can chickpeas ($0.55)
- 2 oz. feta ($1.50)
Instructions
- While your quinoa (or other grain) is cooking, prepare the vinaigrette so it has a few minutes for the flavors to blend. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, oregano, garlic powder, salt, and some freshly cracked pepper. Set the dressing aside.
- Roughly chop the spinach into smaller pieces, then place them in a large bowl. Slice the tomatoes in half, then add them to the bowl with the spinach. Rinse and drain the chickpeas, then add them to the bowl. Lastly, crumble the feta over top. Give these ingredients a brief stir until they’re combined.
- Allow your quinoa or grains to cool slightly, or just to the point where it’s no longer steaming. Add the warm quinoa to the salad and stir to combine. The heat from the quinoa will slightly wilt the spinach.
- Finally, drizzle the dressing over top and stir briefly once more. Serve the salad immediately, or refrigerate up to 4-5 days.
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Equipment
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make Spinach, Chickpea, and Quinoa Salad – Step by Step Photos
This salad starts with two cups of cooked quinoa, or other grain or pasta. Quinoa only takes about 15 minutes to cook, so I simply cooked my quinoa while I prepared the rest of the salad. You’ll want to let your quinoa (or other grain) cool slightly before adding it to the salad, but it’s okay if it’s still quite warm.
While your grain is cooking, prepare the vinaigrette. In a small bowl, whisk together 2 Tbsp olive oil, 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar, 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice, 1/2 tsp dried oregano, 1/8 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp salt, and some freshly cracked pepper. Set the dressing aside so it has time to blend.
Chop about 4 cups of fresh spinach. I say four cups, but fresh spinach is very hard to accurately measure. Thankfully, this ingredient is very flexible in the salad, so don’t stress about it. I ended up using about half of this 10 oz. bag from Kroger.
Also slice 1 pint of grape tomatoes in half, rinse and drain one 15 oz. can of chickpeas, and crumble 2 oz. of feta. Stir these together briefly.
Finally, add the warm quinoa. Make sure it’s not still steaming hot, but you do want it to be slightly warm so that it will just barely wilt the spinach. Stir everything together.
Finally, drizzle the dressing over top, and give it a stir one more time.
And that’s it! And I swear, the salad looks exactly the same after four days of refrigeration, which is AWESOME. I love being able to just grab the container, fill a bowl, and have a healthy meal ready to go. :)
Lunch is served!
I just got around to making this recipe. I added things that I had aready in the fridge. I added water cress, spinach, vidalia onions, beans and quinoia Aldi has it on clearance for 2.31 a bag. I think to change up the flavor next time I am thinking maybe a mango or pinapple with jalep. and maybe cilantro. The possibilities are endless. Thank you for the tip on cooking quinoia my tends to burn as well.
Finally got around to making this, added some cucumber and parsley too, kind of a taboulleh salad. Sooo good! Quick and easy, too. Will try with farro and millet and see how that works out.
So yummy! I’m a baby about tomatoes, so I subbed in red bell peppers like the “inspiration dish” and both hubby and I loved it.
Hi!
I LOVE your blog– it has been a lifesaver for me over the past 3+ years.
What do you think about substituting lentils for quinoa? Bad idea?
I think that would be pretty tasty. :) Lentils are great in salads.
Delicious! My hard-to-please family approved. Actually made it twice in the last week. It’s a keeper! Thank you for the recipe.
Added cucumber and topped with yogurt marinated chicken breast to round it out for dinner. Would def be a good lunch salad as is. So good!
This was good! I accidentally left out the garbanzos but think I like it better that way. It’s a very light refreshing salad. I did have to add some salt and think it could use some extra dressing, but as is it’s pretty tasty and holds up in the fridge well as stated.
I forgot to ask, do you have any good substitutes for feta? I love it but it’s pretty expensive here in Cali.
Goat cheese would be awesome, but that’s usually pretty pricey as well. You could do some cubed mozz, especially if you’re doing extra dressing because then it will soak up some of the flavors from the dressing and won’t be so mild. :)
What other type of green would you recommend besides spinach?
Very finely chopped kale would work nicely.
Does anyone have any times/tips/exact measurements on cooking quinoa? Mine burns every time. I might sub pasta. The salad was tasty on it’s own, though.
Cooking quinoa is a lot like rice. I use a ratio of 1 cup quinoa to 2 cups water. Combine both in a sauce pan and bring it to a rolling boil. Once it hits a rolling boil, cover, turn burner as low as possible and just don’t touch it for 15 minutes. After that time, it should be good to go. If it’s still a little wet, just re-cover and put on real low heat for 2-5 minutes or so.
If you want to get a little fancy, you can toast the quinoa with a Tb of oil in the pan before adding the water. A little salt with the water can help the flavor as well.
I have a new way to cook quinoa if you have time to do it. I found the suggestion on another website. Bring your water/broth to a boil, add the quinoa, cover and turn off the heat. It takes a bit longer to absorb the liquid but you never burn it!
Just made this and it is soooooo good! I added cucumber and red onion to mine and omitted the chickpeas (it’s a texture thing) and I absolutely love it! Will definitely be making this again!
Made this for dinner last night to accompany a grilled salmon and grilled summer squash. Now I’m eating it for lunch. Very good! Definitely a keeper!
Another great recipe! I added shrimp and zucchini to mine and have been taking it for lunch. It’s delicious and really filling as well! Also saw someone hesitant about the spinach not being soggy. I’m on day 3 and the spinach still isn’t soggy!
Used this recipe as my meal prep for this week. The salad is super fresh and tasty. I eat mainly plant based and this packs protein and flavor. Couldn’t ask for more.
This is a great, simple recipe and really hit the spot for yesterday’s dinner and today’s lunch. Next time I’ll probably increase the amount of dressing a bit since the flavor is so delicious. Also, I might toss the spinach into the hot quinoa sooner so it wilts more. Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
Do you think millet would work? I was given a bag and don’t know what to do with it.
I’ve never cooked millet, but I really think any cooked grain would work well here. :)
I cook millet on a semi-regular basis, as it is my grain of choice. Haven’t tried this recipie here, but it basically works almost everywhere in place of quinoa. It would work here.