Greek Salad Upgrade in a Jar

A mash up of the Jennifer Aniston Salad and the salad-in-a-jar trends.
@hungryhappens

Greek Salad in a Jar with Roasted Chickpeas + Quinoa

♬ original sound – Stella Drivas

If you’re in the market for smart and delicious meal prep, you’re in the right place. Talk about making life easy. What’s better than a ready made salad in your fridge? Just pour it into a bowl, toss well and eat. This is similar to a traditional Greek salad but WAY better thanks to the quinoa, roasted chickpeas and pistachios.

So my personal favorite aspect of this Jen Aniston Friend’s Salad spin off, are definitely the roasted chickpeas. Most of these are being made with the straight of the can version. However, it’s so much better to toss these balls with some protein and generous seasonings and watch them crunch up while you prep the rest of the ingredients. I had to toss them half way thru the cook time. I also avoided turning on my oven and roasted them in my mini oven.

The dressing is beautiful because it’s simple and matches up perfectly with the salad. You can sub in lemon for the red wine vinegar. I just personally prefer the taste of red wine vinegar. If you’re adverse to onion breathe, you should try the viral hack of soaking them in water for 10 minutes. It definitely cuts the edge off.

Thank you for swinging by Hungry Happens! If you create this dish or any other from our site, we would greatly appreciate you taking the time to comment and rate the recipe! LOVE YOUR LIFE!

greek salad upgrade

Greek Salad Upgrade in a Jar

5 from 1 vote
Servings: 4
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients 

Salad:

  • 14 oz canned chickpeas, drained, rinsed + dried
  • 2 tbs olive oil
  • heavy dashes paprika, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder + salt
  • 1 cup uncooked quinoa
  • 1/2 medium red onion, sliced thin
  • 1 large cucumber, quartered + sliced
  • 12 oz cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
  • 1 cup pistachios, chopped
  • 5 oz feta cheese, crumbled

Dressing:

Instructions

Chickpeas:

  • Toss your chickpeas with the oil and seasonings. Be generous. Roast in a 400°F mini oven, air fryer or oven until crispy looking – about 10-15 minutes, tossing them halfway through.

Salad:

  • Cook your quinoa as per the instructions on the package.
  • For the red onions, slice them then place them in a small bowl submerged with water for at least 10 minutes. Remove and dry them.
  • In small spouted glass, whisk together the ingredients. Taste and adjust the tang or anything if needed.

Jars:

  • First add about 2-3 tablespoons of the dressing to the bottom of each jar.
  • Second, add in 1/4 of the feta to each jar so that it covers the dressing.
  • Divide the remaining ingredients equally amongst the jars. I used this order after the dressing and feta: quinoa, tomatoes, cucumber, chickpeas, red onion and lastly pistachios. Cover and store in your refrigerator until you're ready to eat. When your ready to consume, simply pour out the jar into a bowl and toss to coat all. You can drizzle with a little more olive oil if you like.

Notes

You can also add in diced chicken, tuna fish, anything you prefer. Instead of quinoa, you can do pasta (like orzo, or spiral) or rice. 
Kalamata olives also work well with this combination.

Nutrition

Calories: 763kcal | Carbohydrates: 57g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 51g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 28g | Cholesterol: 32mg | Sodium: 694mg | Potassium: 1028mg | Fiber: 12g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 773IU | Vitamin C: 25mg | Calcium: 292mg | Iron: 6mg
Author: Stella

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