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Mediterranean Quinoa Bowl

By Brittany Mullins

5

12

Published Jan 02, 2023, Updated Jan 10, 2025

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GFGluten-FreeVGVegetarian

This mediterranean quinoa bowl combines quinoa, roasted chickpeas, spinach, red onion, kalamata olives and feta cheese all drizzled in a lemon dressing and tzatziki sauce. Great for meal prep!

If you haven’t been able to tell by now I’m a huge fan of bowl meals and this mediterranean quinoa bowl might just be my favorite EBF bowl recipe to date!

This particular bowl is packed with plant-based protein in the form of chickpeas and quinoa and typical mediterranean ingredients like feta cheese, fresh parsley, cherry tomatoes, olives, hummus and tzatziki sauce.

The great thing about this recipe (and all bowl meals) is that it’s great for meal prep and completely customizable. You can follow this recipe to a tee or swap in your favorite veggies, dressing and sauces – either way it’s guaranteed to be a new family favorite!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Healthy and nutritious. With a base of quinoa, chickpeas and a variety of fresh vegetables, this dish is a great source of plant-based protein, vitamins, minerals and fiber.
• Full of flavor. With the addition of feta cheese, hummus, fresh herbs and lemon dressing this dish is jam-packed with flavor!
• Customizable. You can easily customize this recipe to your liking!
• Perfect for meal prep. Prep the components of this bowl ahead of time for quick and easy lunches throughout the week!

Ingredients Needed

• quinoa – this is the base of the recipe and adds some good plant-based protein! You can use any type of quinoa you like from white, black, red to tri-color. Any variety will work for this recipe.
• chickpeas – for some more plant-based protein. We’re coating the chickpeas in lemon juice, olive oil and spices and roasting them until crisp! I used canned chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans) for ease, but you can cook your own if you have the time.
• baby spinach – baby spinach has a mild flavor that works perfectly in this quinoa bowl. Arugula is another great option for this recipe if you’d rather not have spinach.
• cucumber – adds a nice, fresh crunch to the bowl that pairs well with the other ingredients.
• cherry tomatoes – these little guys add a burst of sweetness to these bowls.
• red onion – for some zest and more crunch!
• feta cheese – adds some creaminess and tang!
• kalamata olives – make sure you’re buying pitted olives so you can easily chop them up.
• lemon dressing – a super simple lemon vinaigrette made with olive oil, apple cider vinegar, fresh lemon juice, dijon, honey, oregano, black pepper, salt and garlic!
• hummus – I love making my creamy hummus, but your favorite store-bought flavor will work!
• tzatziki sauce – for drizzling on over the bowl in addition to the dressing. I love my easy tzatziki sauce, but store-bought will work as well.
• fresh parsley – I love adding fresh herbs to my dishes! It really elevates the flavors.

How to Make

Cook quinoa: Rinse and drain quinoa, if desired. Add quinoa and water to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork and let cool for 5-10 minutes.

Cook chickpeas: Add the chickpeas to a mixing bowl with oil and seasonings. Use your hands to coat the chickpeas well. Pour chickpeas onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes at 400°F, flipping halfway. Once cooked, set aside to cool. 

Make dressing: Make the dressing by whisking together all the ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.

Assemble and serve: To make the bowls, add about ½ cup quinoa, 1 cup greens, ¼ cup cucumber, ¼ cup tomatoes, 2 Tablespoons onion, 2 Tablespoons feta cheese, 1 Tablespoon kalamata olives and scoop of hummus to 4 medium bowls. Divide chickpeas evenly and add to bowls and drizzle with tzatziki and lemon dressing. Serve immediately.

Customize Your Bowl

The best thing about bowl recipes is that they are completely customizable!

• Grain – feel free to swap the quinoa for any grain of choice. This bowl would be delicious with brown rice, barley or even farro!
• Protein – I used chickpeas for this recipe, but any protein will work! You could swap the chickpeas with another bean like black beans or cannellini beans or try lentils, tofu or tempeh. If you don’t need this recipe to be vegetarian it would also be delicious with chicken or salmon. Try my apple cider vinegar chicken or honey lemon garlic salmon for a delicious protein addition!
• Fresh vegetables – the sky’s the limit when it comes to fresh vegetables. I like to add veggies that provide color and crunch but aside from that, have at it!
• Greens – feel free to swap the spinach with your favorite green. Arugula or kale would be my second choice.
• Cheese – if you’re not a fan of feta cheese you could swap it with another cheese like goat cheese, blue cheese or mozzarella. If you need this recipe to be vegan, use vegan feta cheese. You could omit the cheese, but you’ll lose a lot of flavor.
• Dressing – I love the lemon dressing, but you can totally switch it up! This bowl would also be delicious with my tahini sauce, greek salad dressing, italian dressing or apple cider vinaigrette dressing.

How to Meal Prep Quinoa Bowl

This is the ultimate meal prep bowl. You can prep all of the components in advance and have a delicious, filling meal in minutes! Here’s what I would do:

Prepare this meal as instructed above and distribute the ingredients in separate meal prep containers. I like to use these glass storage containers. Layer the quinoa, spinach, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, red onion, feta, olives and chickpeas. Cover and refrigerate until you’re ready to enjoy. Pack the hummus, dressing and tzatziki sauce in separate containers so the quinoa and veggies don’t become soggy. When you’re ready to eat, simply uncover and add a scoop of hummus and drizzle of dressing and tzatziki sauce, if desired.

pro tip! The chickpeas will loose some of their crispness in the fridge, so if you prefer to have your chickpeas be crunchy you could store them separately and reheat them in the air fryer or oven and add to the quinoa bowl right before serving. 

More Bowl Recipes to Try

• Vegan Power Bowl
• Mashed Avocado Bowl
• Vegan Burrito Bowl
• Chicken Protein Bowl
• Caribbean Jerk Shrimp Bowls
• Falafel Bowls (Homemade Cava Bowls)
• Grilled Chicken and Quinoa Meal Prep Bowls
• Maple Mustard Tempeh Meal Prep Bowls
• Poke Bowl
• Coconut Curry SunButter Noodle Bowl
• Buddha Bowl
• Mother Earth Bowl (Flower Child Copycat)
• Salmon Burrito Bowl
• Easy Salmon Meal Prep Bowl
• Asian Noodle Bowl (for Meal Prep)
• Kale and Sweet Potato Brown Rice Bowl

More Quinoa Recipes to Try

• Quinoa Soup
• Quinoa Fried “Rice”
• Jennifer Aniston Salad
• Easy Quinoa Salad
• Greek Quinoa Salad
• Pineapple Fried Quinoa
• Sweet Potato Quinoa Cakes

Be sure to check out all of the quinoa recipes as well as the full collection of dinner recipes on EBF!

If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.

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5 from 13 votes

Mediterranean Quinoa Bowl

By: Brittany Mullins

This mediterranean quinoa bowl combines quinoa, roasted chickpeas, spinach, red onion, kalamata olives and feta cheese all drizzled in a lemon dressing and tzatziki sauce. Great for meal prep!

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients  

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Quinoa

• ▢ ⅔ cup dry quinoa
• ▢ 1 ⅓ cup water

Chickpeas

• ▢ 1 15 oz can chickpeas, drained, rinsed and patted dry
• ▢ 1 teaspoon olive oil
• ▢ 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• ▢ ½ teaspoon oregano
• ▢ ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon pepper

Bowl

• ▢ 4 cups baby spinach or arugula, loosely packed
• ▢ 1 cup cucumber, chopped
• ▢ 1 cup cherry tomatoes, chopped
• ▢ ½ cup red onion, chopped
• ▢ ½ cup feta cheese, crumbled
• ▢ ¼ cup kalamata olives
• ▢ Lemon Vinaigrette
• ▢ Hummus, for serving
• ▢ Tzatziki Sauce, for drizzling
• ▢ Fresh parsley, for serving

Instructions 

• Preheat oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Rinse and drain quinoa, if desired. Add quinoa and water to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork and let cool for 5-10 minutes.
  
• Add the chickpeas to a mixing bowl with oil and seasonings. Use your hands to coat the chickpeas well. Pour chickpeas onto a baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes flipping halfway. Once cooked, set aside to cool.
  
• If you haven't already, make the dressing and set aside.
  
• To make the bowls, add about ½ cup cooked quinoa, 1 cup greens, ¼ cup cucumber, ¼ cup tomatoes, 2 Tablespoons onion, 2 Tablespoons feta cheese, 1 Tablespoon kalamata olives and scoop of hummus to 4 bowls. Divide chickpeas evenly and add to bowls then drizzle with tzatziki and dressing. Serve immediately.

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1 bowl | Calories: 579kcal | Carbohydrates: 54g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 17mg | Sodium: 1153mg | Potassium: 687mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 6g

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

Additional Info

Course: Lunch/Dinner

Cuisine: Mediterranean

Keyword: mediterranean quinoa bowl

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