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This Jennifer Aniston Salad is the perfect salad to make as part of your meal-prep. The ingredients in this salad are light and fresh and work perfectly together. The salad mixes together quinoa, chickpeas, cucumbers, red onion, pistachios and feta cheese along with a light, lemony sweet dressing. This is gluten-free and Jennifer Aniston’s favorite salad!
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JENNIFER ANISTON SALAD
I have heard about this Jennifer Aniston Salad for some time now and wanted to give it a try.
I have been trying more lately to incorporate salads into my meals everyday.
I also really like to meal prep salads on the weekends and this one holds up well all week making it great for that.
This famous jennifer aniston salad was one she posted on Instagram years ago and mentioned how much she liked it. Her original version had bulgur wheat in it which is actually what I use in Tabbouleh.
It is also a great option in this salad but I used quinoa this time.
This salad is healthy and light but also filling.
It mixes quinoa {or bulgur wheat} with crunchy cucumbers and red onions, garbanzo beans, creamy feta cheese, fresh herbs and healthy fats from the pistachios.
The salad is tossed in a lemon honey dressing that is perfect for this salad.
If you are prepping this salad ahead of time I suggest adding half of the dressing and then the remaining dressing when you serve the salad.
The salad tends to soak up the dressing otherwise.
I really enjoy using quinoa in salads.
Some of my favorite quinoa recipes are this Zucchini Chickpea Quinoa Salad, Apple Kale Quinoa Salad, Greek Quinoa Salad, Mediterranean Quinoa Salad, Tomato Cucumber Feta Quinoa Salad and this Tropical Kale Quinoa Salad.
WHAT INGREDIENTS ARE IN A JENNIFER ANISTON SALAD RECIPE
QUINOA
CHICKPEAS
VEGETABLES: RED ONION, LARGE ENGLISH CUCUMBER {OR TRY PERSIAN CUCUMBERS}
HERBS: MINT, PARSLEY & DILL
PISTACHIOS, SALTED AND ROASTED
FETA CHEESE
FOR THE DRESSING:
EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL
FRESH LEMON JUICE & LEMON ZEST
HONEY
OPTIONAL SPICES: SUMAC OR ZA’ATAR
SALT & BLACK PEPPER
HOW DO YOU MAKE THIS QUINOA SALAD
COOK THE QUINOA: In a medium saucepan add the water, vegetable broth or chicken broth and bring to a boil over medium heat.
Rinse the quinoa and then add it to the boiling broth or water.
Turn the heat to low, place a lid on the pot and simmer until the quinoa is tender and the liquid is absorbed, for about 10- 15 minutes.
Use a fork to fluff the cooked quinoa and add to a large mixing bowl to cool.
CHILL THE QUINOA: Once the quinoa is cool cover the quinoa and chil in the refrigerator.
ADD THE REMAINING INGREDIENTS: Add the chickpeas, red onion, cucumbers, mint, parsley, dill, pistachios and feta cheese and mix well.
MAKE THE SALAD DRESSING: In a salad dressing container or mason jar add the olive oil, lemon juice, honey and mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste and the optional sumac or za’atar.
ADD THE DRESSING: Pour half of the dressing over the salad and mix well. Tatse and add more dressing to your liking.
Serve or store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
WAYS TO MODIFY THIS SALAD
BEANS: This salad has chickpeas in it. You can use black beans, white beans or red beans in the place of those if you want.
VEGETABLES: There are a lot of vegetable options you can add in. Try carrots, green onion, radish, celery, bell pepper, cherry tomatoes or avocados.
GRAIN: Quinoa is the grain in this salad. It is a nice gluten-free option. You could swap that for bulgur wheat, brown rice, farro or
HERBS: This salad already uses fresh parsley, fresh dill and fresh mint. You could also add in fresh basil.
SPICES: The original Jennifer Aniston Salad doesn’t use spices but I really like adding sumac or za’atar into this. You also could try like cumin, paprika, chili powder, or red pepper flakes for added spice.
PROTEIN: You can include a protein source such as grilled chicken, salmon or shrimp.
DRIED FRUIT: To add sweetness try dried cranberries, apricots, raisins or pomegranate seeds.
NUTS & SEEDS: If you want to add a crunchy texture try almonds, pine nuts, walnuts, or seeds such as sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds.
OTHER INGREDIENTS: Some other ingredients that would be nice are lentils, goat cheese, roasted red pepper, artichokes, olives, or sun-dried tomatoes.
WHAT TO SERVE IT WITH
MOROCCAN CARROT RED LENTIL SOUP
AIR FRYER COD
LEBANESE LENTIL SOUP
MEDITERRANEAN TURKEY MEATBALLS
EASY PAN FRIED FISH
GREEK LEMON CHICKEN
GREEK MARINATED CHICKEN WITH TZATZIKI
BLACK SEA BASS
OTHER SALAD RECIPES YOU MIGHT LIKE:
LEMON ARUGULA SALAD
MEDITERRANEAN WHITE BEAN SALAD
MEDITERRANEAN FARRO SALAD
PERSIAN TOMATO CUCUMBER SALAD
GREEK CHICKPEA SALAD
EASY LEBANESE SALAD
MEDITERRANEAN BEAN SALAD
SUMMER ORZO PASTA SALAD
Yield: 4-6
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
This Jennifer Aniston Salad is the perfect salad to make as part of your meal-prep. The ingredients in this salad are light and fresh and work perfectly together. The salad mixes together quinoa, chickpeas, cucumbers, red onion, pistachios and feta cheese along with a light, lemony sweet dressing. This is gluten-free and Jennifer Aniston's favorite salad!
Ingredients
- 2 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth
- 1 cup dry quinoa {or bulgur wheat}
- 1 -1 5 ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 small red onion, diced
- 1 large english cucumber, diced
- 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
- 1/2 packed cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 3 tablespoon dill, minced
- 1/2 cup roasted, salted pistachios, chopped
- 4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
- salt and pepper, to taste
FOR THE DRESSING
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 lemons, juiced + zest of 1/2 the lemon
- 1-2 tablespoons honey
- salt & pepper to taste
- optional: 1 teaspoon sumar or za'atar
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan add the water, vegetable broth or chicken broth and bring to a boil over medium heat.
- Rinse the quinoa and then add it to the boiling broth or water.
- Turn the heat to low, place a lid on the pot and simmer until the quinoa is tender and the liquid is absorbed, for about 10- 15 minutes.
- Use a fork to fluff the cooked quinoa and add to a large mixing bowl to cool.
- Once the quinoa is cool cover the quinoa and chil in the refrigerator.
- Add the chickpeas, red onion, cucumbers, mint, parsley, dill, pistachios and feta cheese and mix well.
- In a salad dressing container or mason jar add the olive oil, lemon juice, honey and mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste and the optional sumac or za'atar.
- Pour half of the dressing over the salad and mix well. Tatse and add more dressing to your liking.
- Serve or store in an air tight container for up to 4 days.
Notes
If you aren't serving the salad right away I suggest just adding half of the dressing and saving the remaining dressing when you serve the salad.
You can sub the pistachios with sliced almonds, pine nuts, sesame seeds or walnuts.
You can leave the feta cheese out or use goat cheese.
Related Posts:
- Shirazi Salad Recipe
- Mediterranean Farro Salad
- Italian Pasta Mason Jar Salad
