Quinoa Salad Mashup: A Tabbouleh And Nicoise Love Story (Video)

This Summer Quinoa Salad with Tuna & Veggies Is the Best Way to Use Up Your Farmers' Market Haul

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Now onto the recipe…

If you’ve sat at a beachside cafe in the South of France, you’ve no doubt enjoyed Salade Niçoise. It’s a classic French salad that typically includes ingredients like tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs, Niçoise olives, and tuna dressed with a Dijon vinaigrette.

A couple of weeks ago I posted Chicken Souvlaki with all the Mediterranean Sides including a Quinoa Tabbouleh, the lemony, herby, grainy salad that’s especially addictive with a good and peppery olive oil.

Today, I saw all the makings of both hanging around my kitchen and decided they somehow had to be good together.

What Shall We Call This Main Dish Salad Mashup?

Naming recipes is sort of like naming cocktails. You want it to be a little clever, but not so much you have no idea what’s in it. So unless you suggest a better name (Hit me up in the Chat with any ideas) I’m just going simple and literal calling it Summer Quinoa Salad with Tuna & Veggies. Regardless of what you call it, it’s the perfect main dish summer salad that you can eat for days or take to a summer party.

The Ingredients

All the Summer Veggies

If you’re a farmers’ market frequenter like me, you’ve probably got an overload of tomatoes, cucumbers, tender herbs, and beans. These are what I used but you can include any other veggies you have on hand like corn or peppers.

• Tomatoes

• Green Beans

• Basil

• Cilantro

• Radishes

• Garlic

Other Ingredients

• Canned Tuna

• Lemon Juice

• Quinoa

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil

The Method

First things first, make the quinoa. Use my fail-proof method for fluffy quinoa and let it cool. Add herbs, olives and lemon juice.

Next, make the lemon garlic dressing. If you’ve been reading throughout the summer, you probably have noticed lemon is my dressing darling. Typical vinegar-based dressing (AKA vinaigrettes) are amazing, but for the summer, I love how lemon augments the sweetness of summer produce. Making the dressing first then adding the other ingredients in the same bowl allows the dressing to permeate everything.

Add the veggies and tuna to the dressing and stir gently.

Serve the tuna and veggies over the herbed quinoa or mix together.

Notes

• Make Ahead - Everything about this recipe can be made ahead. The quinoa and veggies without tuna will last for at least a week. With the tuna, it will last up to 5 days.

• Party Ready - Toss everything together in one bowl but hold back some of the fresh chopped veggies to scatter over the top and make it look pretty.

• Make It for Lunches - Mix together or layer and store in 4 individual bowls.

• Vegan/Vegetarian - Leave out the tuna and add lentils or chickpeas for a main dish salad.

• Keto/Paleo/Whole30 - Use fresh cauliflower rice instead of quinoa.

• Other Protein Options - Use cubed grilled chicken or cooked shrimp.

Full Recipe PDF and Video