Jennifer Aniston vibrant salad (Printable Version)

Mediterranean salad featuring quinoa, chickpeas, cucumber, feta, herbs, and toasted nuts.

# What You Need:

→ Grains

01 - 1 cup uncooked quinoa or bulgur
02 - 2 cups water (for cooking grains)

→ Legumes

03 - 1 can (15 oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed

→ Vegetables

04 - 1 large cucumber, diced
05 - ½ small red onion, finely chopped

→ Dairy

06 - ¾ cup (3.5 oz) crumbled feta cheese

→ Herbs

07 - ½ cup fresh parsley, chopped
08 - ¼ cup fresh mint, chopped

→ Nuts & Seeds

09 - ⅓ cup pistachios or slivered almonds, toasted and roughly chopped

→ Dressing

10 - 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
11 - 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
12 - 1 clove garlic, minced
13 - ½ tsp sea salt
14 - ¼ tsp black pepper

# Step-by-Step:

01 - Rinse quinoa or bulgur thoroughly. In a medium saucepan, combine with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until tender, about 12 minutes for quinoa or 15 minutes for bulgur. Fluff with a fork and let cool.
02 - In a large bowl, mix cooled grains with chickpeas, diced cucumber, chopped red onion, crumbled feta, parsley, mint, and toasted nuts.
03 - Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, minced garlic, sea salt, and black pepper in a small bowl until emulsified.
04 - Pour the dressing over the salad mixture and toss gently to combine all ingredients evenly.
05 - Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It comes together in 30 minutes but tastes like you spent hours thinking about lunch.
  • The fresh herbs and lemon make it feel light, but the chickpeas and grains actually fill you up.
  • You can eat it warm, cold, or somewhere in between, which means it works for meal prep, potlucks, or just when you need something real to eat.
02 -
  • If you rinse the grain in warm water instead of cold, the heat can continue cooking it and you'll end up with mush—cold water stops the cooking process completely.
  • The salad gets better as it sits because the grains continue absorbing the dressing, but if you're making it ahead, hold back a quarter of the dressing and add it right before serving so it stays bright instead of looking tired.
03 -
  • Toast your own nuts if you have five minutes—it transforms them from background to foreground and makes the whole salad taste more intentional.
  • Make the dressing while the grains are cooling so everything is ready to come together the moment you need it, and don't be afraid to taste and adjust seasoning at the very end because every element brings its own salt and flavor to the party.
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