I tried the viral salad and it is worth the hype! Delicious blend of flavors with so much freshness, and so easy to make. I’m obsessed and cannot wait to have this in my lunch prep rotation!

Prep Time: 10-15 minutes

Cook Time: 2 minutes

Total Time: 12-17 minutes

Makes 4 servings

• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• 1 cup cucumber, chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/3 cup fresh mint, chopped
• 1/3 cup red onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup roasted + salted pistachios, chopped
• 1 can chickpeas (15 oz can), drained and rinsed
• 2 lemons, juiced (about 4-5 Tablespoons)
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Sea salt, to taste
• Pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

• Start by cooking the quinoa according to the package directions.
• While the quinoa is cooking, chop the rest of your ingredients and combine them all in a medium sized bowl, except the feta cheese.
• Once quinoa is cooked, let cool s,lightly and add to bowl. Stir gently to combine all ingredients well.
• Serve immediately or chill in fridge a couple of hours before serving.
• Story in airtight container up to 3 days in fridge.

• For cucumbers, I like English cucumbers because they tend to be less watery with fewer (or no) seeds. They’re a little more expensive, but worth it, I think.
• Except for the quinoa, you could easily combine all the ingredients into a food processor to chop and combine all at once to save some time, especially the pistachios, which are difficult to chop by hand.
• I have tried the salad warm (not chilling after the quinoa cooked) and cool, and both are good, in my opinion.
• If you like the crumble of the feta cheese, I recommend cooling the salad before adding the cheese so it doesn’t melt down from the heat of the quinoa.
• Other recipes call for bulgur wheat instead of quinoa. I personally used quinoa because the store I bought everything from did not carry bulgur wheat. If you happen to shop somewhere that carries that item, by all means sub the quinoa for it.
• However you want to cook your quinoa or bulgur wheat is entirely up to you. As long as it’s cooked when you add it to the bowl, it doesn’t matter how you get there. I use the recipe on the back of the package, but I know some use an Instapot or pressure cooker. Whatever cooks your quinoa!
• I just eat this as is, with a spoon or fork, however I did have some extra cucumber and sliced it into rounds just to snack on and thought, “hey I bet it would be good on a cucumber.” And it is. So if you want it to be more like a dip, cucumbers are great as scoops. Pita chips would also likely be good, but cannot confirm yet.

I love a good salad, and this one is definitely worth all the hype you’ve seen. If you haven’t seen any hype like me when I found it, I can say with certainty it is worth making and very light tasting, and packed with protein and fiber, making it a great lunch, light dinner, or even a generous snack! Even my husband loves it and I normally have to convince him to try new, healthy recipes–especially salads. After one bite, he needed no convincing and even chose to have it with our dinner that night! All that to say, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Cheers,