The Summer Fridge Salad

A version of the acclaimed “Jennifer Anniston” salad – healthy and delicious!

This salad is exactly what you want around for the next few months.  It’s a full meal in itself, tho goes great with anything on the grill, and sits happily for days in the refrigerator, never losing integrity.  It’s uber healthy, and full of things you likely will have on hand anyway.  I scaled this for our family of 6 plus leftovers, so you may want to cut it in half if you don’t have that many eaters.

The fresh herbs pictured are interchangeable, based on what you prefer – I use basil, mint and parsley, but cilantro would be great here too.  I also like to add chopped cherry tomatoes, but they won’t sit as well in the salad over a period of time, so just throw them in when you make a plate.  

The Summer Fridge Salad

Print Recipe
Hearty Quinoa, Cucumbers, fresh herbs, feta and pistachios
Course Salad, Lunch, Dinner, snack
Cuisine American
Keyword quinoa salad, summer salad, make ahead salad
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
30 minutes
Servings 8 people

Ingredients

  • 2 cups cooked quinoa I use white, but you can use any kind
  • 2 cups chopped English cucumber
  • 3/4 cup chopped red onion
  • 1-2 cans chickpeas (to your liking)
  • 1 cup chopped mixed parsley, basil and mint
  • 2 lemons, juiced
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • kosher salt and black pepper
  • 8 oz broken fresh feta (from a block)
  • 1/2 cup roasted and salted pistachios

Instructions

  • In a large bowl, combine the cooked and cooled quinoa, cucumber, red onion, chickpeas, and fresh herbs, tossing to mix. In a small jar, shake up the lemon juice and olive oil with 3/4 tsp kosher salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper, then pour over the salad, again tossing to combine.
  • Add the crumbled feta and pistachios to the salad, then check for seasoning.
  • As the salad sits in the fridge, you may need to add a splash of extra lemon juice and olive oil, salt and pepper. This will keep for days and be delicious and ready to eat whenever you need a snack!

Notes

There are countless versions of this famed salad, and this mixture hits all the notes I love.  I tend to like fewer chickpeas, but you can use up to two cans here to beef up the protein content.  

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