This easy One-Pot Mediterranean Quinoa is a flavorful dish that's made in 30-minutes on your stovetop. Healthy, quick, and easy to clean up! It's a vegetarian and gluten-free recipe.
One-Pot Mediterranean Quinoa
Finding easy dinner dishes that everyone in the family will love isn't always the easiest task. On top of looking for recipes that are quick to make on a busy weeknight, we also want healthy and flavorful dishes.
That’s what we love so much about this easy and speedy dinner idea! This simple dish made with wholesome whole grains, packed with veggies, and filled with flavor is sure to be a hit with your family.
This amazing one-pot Mediterranean Quinoa recipe is so easy and flavorful, you’ll want to make it every week!
If you love the nutrition and ease of quinoa, try Kid-friendly Quinoa Pizza Bites, spicy Thai Chicken Quinoa Bowls, or mini Quinoa Frittatas!
Jump to:
Ingredients
Making this quick one-pot Mediterranean quinoa recipe is so effortless. The first step to making your dinner lunch is to gather all the ingredients.
For this one-pot quinoa recipe, you’ll need:
- Quinoa - a whole grain, complete protein that fills you up!
- Cherry Tomatoes -
- Kalamata Olives - these olives really give this dish its Mediterranean flavor.
- Baby Kale - another superfood that adds color to the recipe. You can substitute spinach.
- Red Onion - chopped or diced.
- Olive Oil - extra virgin olive oil is what we recommend.
- Red Wine Vinegar - for a little acidity.
- Lemon Juice - freshly squeezed.
- Oregano - an herb that gives this dish a nice flavor.
- Thyme - a dried herb that compliments the other herbs in the recipe.
- Marjoram - another dried herb that adds flavor.
While this straightforward list of ingredients is perfect for adding Mediterranean flavor to your quinoa, you can make a few simple variations to your ingredient list.
You can add other fresh ingredients or make a few kid-friendly swaps. Keep reading to find some fun ways to change these Mediterranean quinoa bowls to suit your family's tastes.
Variations
While this recipe is delicious all on its own, you can make a few adjustments to suit your family's tastes.
Try these Mediterranean quinoa bowl variations for a new take on this quick and easy recipe:
- SERVE YOUR QUINOA BOWLS WITH ADDITIONAL VEGGIES AND ADDED NUTRIENTS. While this dish is packed with flavor, there’s no reason you can’t add more vegetables to the mix! Serve your quinoa bowls with thinly sliced onions, diced cucumber, or chickpeas to enhance the dish.
- DRESS IT UP WITH HERBS. Another simple way to add to the flavor of this delicious dish is to add some fresh herbs. Chop up fresh basil or parsley and garnish your Mediterranean quinoa bowls with fresh herbs to up the flavor profile.
- ENHANCE THE SAUCE FLAVOR AND ADD PROTEIN WITH HUMMUS. To add another level of taste to the Mediterranean sauce in this one-pot quinoa, mix in a bit of hummus. Or top the dish with hummus when serving to add even more flavor.
- SWAP OUT THE FETA. Not a fan of the flavor of feta cheese? Make a simple swap of recipe ingredients and use mozzarella cheese instead of feta cheese.
- MAKE A KID-FRIENDLY VERSION OF THIS ONE-POT MEAL. While this dish is packed with flavor, your kids may not be a fan of the Mediterranean concept. To make a kid-friendly version of this dish, mix the quinoa with a few cherry tomatoes, mozzarella chunks, and Italian salad dressing.
Step-By-Step Instructions
This delicious one-pot Mediterranean quinoa dish will become a staple in your house. In fact, the hardest part about this Mediterranean quinoa recipe is cooking the quinoa.
Step 1 - Prepare Your Quinoa
To prepare your quinoa, start by rinsing the grain under cold water for around two minutes to prevent the quinoa from becoming bitter.
Here is a full tutorial on how to cook quinoa perfectly every time.
PRO TIP: Cook your quinoa with chicken broth for even more flavor!
Step 2 - Prep Other Ingredients
While your quinoa is cooking, use the time to do a little prep work for your one-pot meal.
Slice your cherry tomatoes in half, crumble your feta cheese, and chop your onions.
Step 3 - Combine Ingredients
When the quinoa is finished cooking, stir all the ingredients into the same pan as the quinoa. Then, heat for a few more minutes until all the ingredients are warmed.
Once your one-pot meal is cooked through, you can serve it immediately. The recipe is great at room temperature, too.
If you're meal-prepping your Mediterranean bowl, transfer your quinoa recipe into 4 individual bowls for later.
Or place your meal in a covered serving dish for a quick make-ahead meal you can just take out of the refrigerator when ready to eat.
Can You Freeze This Quinoa Dish?
Yes, this quinoa dish can be frozen in an airtight container to prevent freezer burn and reheated or stored in the fridge for 4-5 days.
Just take it out of the freezer the night before to defrost.
To reheat the full meal, place the covered bowl in the oven at 350 degrees F. for 10 to 15 minutes.
To keep the quinoa from drying out as it cooks, add an additional ¼ cup of water or chicken/vegetable broth to the dish before baking.
Other Easy Dinner Recipes
Sheet Pan Sesame Chicken - flavorful and cooks in 30 minutes.
Pesto Pasta Salad with Spinach and Avocado - a 20-minute meal that is also vegetarian.
Healthy Chicken Tenders - a 30-minute family favorite that never disappoints.
Quinoa Pizza Bites - a great recipe for lunch or dinner. Kids love it!
Mediterranean Bowl Meal Prep
In addition to the quick and easy prep and simple ingredients in this one-pot Mediterranean quinoa, we also love how perfect this recipe is for meal prep.
Whether you're hoping to prepare some healthy lunches for the week or just want an easy make-ahead dinner idea, this simple dish is perfect for meal prep.
Use this one-pot quinoa recipe for your weekly meal prep and prepare the recipe according to the instructions.
Then, transfer the cooked dish to your 4 individually portioned, airtight containers. Allow the meal to cool before sealing the lids on the containers.
Store the prepared meals in the refrigerator and reheat them in the microwave when you're ready to enjoy it!
Let Us Know How It Goes!
If you try this Mediterranean Quinoa Salad or any other recipe on Suburban Simplicity, don’t forget to rate the recipe and let us know how it went in the comments below; we love hearing from you!
Better yet, use the hashtag #suburbansimplicity if you make the recipe.
You can also FOLLOW US FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, and PINTEREST to see more delicious food, fun crafts, parenting tips + DIYs!
Printable Recipe
One-Pot Mediterranean Quinoa Recipe
Equipment
- pot
- knife
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked quinoa
- ½ cup cherry tomatoes (cut in half)
- ¼ cup pitted kalamata olives
- ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1 cup baby kale (washed and dried)
- ½ red onion (chopped)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon thyme
- ½ teaspoon marjoram
Instructions
- Cut tomatoes in half and chop the onion and then crumble feta cheese if necessary.
- Place all other ingredients in the pot with your cooked quinoa, mix thoroughly and heat through. Enjoy!
Sara Welch says
Loved all the flavor and textures in this light dish! Paired perfectly with our barbecue dinner last night!
Erin Henry says
Yes! Ther perfect side dish for your BBQ! Thanks for stopping by!
Lily says
What an awesome dish, I loved how simple this was and this recipe makes it easy to use up leftovers. For example, I had some leftover grilled chicken and I added it to the bowl, it was perfect, so yummy and healthy.
Erin Henry says
We love how simple it is too. Grilled chicken is the perfect addition to this dish.
Melissa says
Delicious and healthy! We loved this dish, thanks for a great recipe!
Erin Henry says
One of the reasons we love this recipe so much is it is so easy and healthy!