The mega-trendy Jennifer Aniston Saladis a powerhouse salad combining quinoa (or barley) with chickpeas, herbs, veggies, pistachios, feta cheese, and a simple lemon vinaigrette. You’ve gotta try it!
What Is The Jennifer Aniston Salad?
In collaboration with a company on Instagram, Jennifer Aniston created and shared a salad recipe that she proclaimed to be her ideal salad combining barley, chickpeas, herbs, pistachios, and feta. Versions of this salad have gone viral all over TikTok.
What Did Jennifer Aniston Eat Every Day On The Set of Friends?
(And did Jennifer Aniston eat the same salad every day?!)
Even though this is described as her ideal salad, it’s actually not the legendary salad she ate every single day during the filming of the Friends TV series. Jennifer’s co-star, Courtney Cox, shared with the LA times that she, Lisa Kudrow (another co-star), and Jennifer enjoyed a Cobb Salad together for lunch every single day.
(More on this: read the Jennifer Aniston salad interview confiding that the viral Tiktok salad isn’t actually the one she ate daily.)
So, while this salad recipe is not the salad she ate every day for nearly 10 years, it is her dream salad recipe NOW, and the recipe that has taken the internet by storm. We, of course, added a few of our own tweaks and might just eat this daily for the next few months. 😉
The Jennifer Aniston Salad TikTok Trend
A lot of viral Tiktok recipes can be, well, hit or miss. But not this one! Not only can I get behind it, but I’m also pretty obsessed with it!
It’s fresh, flavorful, textural, and packed with good nutritious ingredients. No wonder Jennifer loves it!
Is The Jennifer Aniston Salad Healthy?
This salad is a powerhouse of great ingredients. Not only do I think quinoa tastes amazing, but it’s also considered a superfood – meaning it’s exceptionally nutritious for you. It is high in fiber and protein and one of the most nutrient-dense carbohydrate sources. Chickpeas are a great source of plant-based protein and fiber, making them very satiating. There are loads of other benefits from the ingredients in this recipe.
What Is In The Jennifer Aniston Salad?
This salad combines cooked quinoa, chickpeas, veggies, herbs, pistachios, and feta. More details on the ingredients are shown below and we’ll chat about the dressing further down in this post.
- Cooked quinoa: (Here’s how to cook quinoa.) We love tri-colored quinoa best and for a nice shortcut, you can use Microwaveable Packaged Quinoa. Microwaveable quinoa is already cooked and just needs to be heated.
- Chickpeas: Also known as garbanzo beans (they’re one and the same). If you don’t love chickpeas, try white beans instead.
- Fresh herbs: We love parsley and mint, but you could use just one herb if preferred. Another nice option here is fresh basil.
- Red onion: If you’re sensitive to the flavor of raw red onion, soak the diced onions in salted ice water for 10 minutes. Drain thoroughly before adding.
- Pistachios: Dry-roasted and salted is our favorite here — tons more flavor without extra work on your end. If you are using raw nuts, we recommend roasting them first for better texture and flavor in this Jennifer Aniston Salad.
- Cucumber: We recommend Persian (sometimes labeled as mini cucumbers) or English cucumbers. These cucumbers are nearly seedless and very crisp (instead of watery) with a sweeter flavor.
- Feta: Feel free to leave this out if you wish. Goat cheese is another really nice and flavorful option in this salad.
QUICK TIP
Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) is an ancient seed that’s often called a grain because of the way it cooks. It’s higher in protein than regular grains, and that’s what makes it such a great vegetarian addition to this salad!
Jennifer Aniston Salad Dressing
This is where we changed things up a bit and added a few more ingredients to inject some pizzazz. Instead of just combining lemon juice and olive oil, we add a few more things:
- Dijonmustard. We love Grey Poupon® Dijon best. Make sure to use Dijon, not yellow mustard.
- Red wine vinegar. This adds a nice punch of flavor to the salad.
- Garlic. If you don’t have garlic on hand, add 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder.
- Oliveoil. We recommendextravirginolive oil for this recipe. Better oil = better flavor.
- Honey. Add less for a tangier dressing, and more for a sweeter one.
- Lemons. We use fresh lemon juice because bottled lemon juice doesn’t pack the same flavor as fresh, and we need the lemon zest, too.
- Salt & pepper. No dressing is complete without salt and pepper, and this vinaigrette is no exception. Add to taste preference, remembering that an extra pinch can be the difference between agoodand astellardressing!
STORAGE
Storage
The Jennifer Aniston Salad lasts for 3-4 days in an airtight container in the fridge. The onion flavor does become more prevalent the longer it sits, so if you’re sensitive to this flavor keep the onion separate and add it to individual servings. This salad doesn’t freeze and thaw well.
More Delicious Salads:
- Tuna Nicoise Saladwith a lemon vinaigrette
- Peach Saladwith a balsamic vinaigrette
- Garden Saladwith a simple vinaigrette
- Cucumber Feta Saladwith a lemon vinaigrette
- Summer Couscous Saladwith a white balsamic vinaigrette
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Jennifer Aniston Salad
5 from 4 votes
- Review this recipe
This Jennifer Aniston Saladis a powerhouse salad combining quinoa (or barley) with chickpeas, herbs, veggies, pistachios, feta cheese, and a simple lemon vinaigrette!
Print Recipe
Jennifer Aniston Salad
5 from 4 votes
- Review this recipe
Print Recipe
This Jennifer Aniston Saladis a powerhouse salad combining quinoa (or barley) with chickpeas, herbs, veggies, pistachios, feta cheese, and a simple lemon vinaigrette!
Course Dinner, Main Course, Salad, Vegetarian
Cuisine American, Healthy, Vegetarian
Keyword Jennifer Aniston Salad
Prep Time 30 minutes minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes minutes
Total Time 45 minutes minutes
Servings 6 servings
Chelsea Lords
Calories 297kcal
Author Chelsea Lords
Cost $9.41
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked tri-colored quinoa OR bulgur wheat, plus the water needed to cook
- 1 cup diced cucumber chopped (~1 English cucumber)
- 1 cup diced red onion (~1/2 large onion)
- 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley (~1 bunch)
- 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh mint chopped
- 1 can (15 oz.) chickpeas, drained & rinsed
- 1/2 cup finely chopped roasted pistachios
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta
Dressing
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (~1 lemon), plus 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1-1/2 teaspoons honey
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
US - Metric
Instructions
QUINOA: Rinse the quinoa in a fine-mesh sieve in cold water for about 30 seconds. In a small saucepan, combine rinsed quinoa with 2 cups water. Season with salt (I add 1/2 tsp). Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and cover the pan with a lid. Turn heat to the lowest setting, cover, and cook for 15 minutes or until the water has completely absorbed in the quinoa. Turn off the heat and let stand covered for 5-10 minutes. After it's finished steaming, remove the lid and fluff the quinoa gently with a fork. Set aside to cool to room temperature.In a hurry? Spread it on a sheet pan and slide it into the freezer for 15 minutes.
DRESSING: In a small mason jar, combine all the dressing ingredients. Season to taste with salt and pepper (we add 1/2 tsp pepper and 1/4 tsp salt). Shake to combine and emulsify. Refrigerate while you finish the salad.
SALAD: Combine the cooked and cooled quinoa with the rest of the salad ingredients except the feta. Drizzle on dressing and toss everything together. Top with feta and gently mix through. Enjoy!
Video
Recipe Notes
Note 1: Cooked quinoa: (Here's how to cook quinoa.) We love tri-colored quinoa-- and for a nice shortcut, you can use Microwaveable Packaged Quinoa. Microwaveable quinoa is already cooked and just needs to be heated.
Note 2: Cucumber: We recommend Persian (sometimes labeled as mini cucumbers) or English cucumbers. These cucumbers are nearly seedless and very crisp (instead of watery) with a sweeter flavor.
Note 3: Red onion: If you’re sensitive to the flavor of raw red onion, soak the diced onions in salted ice water for 10 minutes. Drain thoroughly before adding.
Note 4: Fresh herbs: We love parsley and mint in this recipe, but you could use just one herb if preferred. Another nice option here is fresh basil.
Note 5: Pistachios: Dry-roasted and salted is our favorite here -- tons more flavor without extra work on your end. If you are using raw nuts, we recommend roasting them first for better texture and flavor.
Note 6: Feta: feel free to leave this out if you wish. Goat cheese is another really nice and flavorful option in this salad. If you want some vegan creaminess, consider adding a ripe diced avocado! Without the cheese, this recipe is vegan.
Nutrition Facts
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 297kcal | Carbohydrates: 24.9g | Protein: 9.5g | Fat: 18.8g | Cholesterol: 11.1mg | Sodium: 394.3mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 4.1g
We do our best to provide accurate nutritional analysis for our recipes. Our nutritional data is calculated using a third-party algorithm and may vary, based on individual cooking styles, measurements, and ingredient sizes. Please use this information for comparison purposes and consult a health professional for nutrition guidance as needed.
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Insights, advice, suggestions, feedback and comments from experts
Introduction
As an expert and enthusiast, I have access to a vast amount of information on various topics. While I have personal experiences or preferences like a human, I can provide you with detailed information about the concepts used in the article about the Jennifer Aniston Salad.
Jennifer Aniston Salad
The Jennifer Aniston Salad is a popular salad recipe that combines quinoa or barley with chickpeas, herbs, veggies, pistachios, feta cheese, and a simple lemon vinaigrette. It gained popularity through a collaboration between Jennifer Aniston and a company on Instagram, and versions of the salad have gone viral on TikTok.
Quinoa and Chickpeas
Quinoa is a nutritious grain-like seed that is often referred to as a superfood. It is high in fiber and protein, making it a healthy addition to the salad. Chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans, are a great source of plant-based protein and fiber, adding satiety to the salad.
Herbs, Veggies, and Pistachios
The salad includes fresh herbs like parsley and mint, which add freshness and flavor. Other vegetables like cucumber and red onion provide additional crunch and taste. Pistachios, either dry-roasted and salted or raw and roasted, contribute a delightful nuttiness to the salad.
Feta Cheese and Dressing
Feta cheese is an optional ingredient that adds a creamy and tangy element to the salad. The dressing for the Jennifer Aniston Salad includes a combination of lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, Dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, garlic, honey, salt, and pepper. These ingredients create a flavorful vinaigrette that complements the other components of the salad.
Nutritional Value
The Jennifer Aniston Salad is considered a healthy and nutritious option due to the combination of ingredients it contains. Quinoa is a nutrient-dense carbohydrate source, while chickpeas provide plant-based protein and fiber. The salad is also rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants from the fresh herbs, vegetables, and nuts. However, it's important to note that the nutritional value can vary based on portion sizes and individual dietary needs.
Conclusion
The Jennifer Aniston Salad is a popular and nutritious salad recipe that has gained popularity through social media platforms like TikTok. It combines quinoa or barley, chickpeas, herbs, veggies, pistachios, feta cheese, and a flavorful lemon vinaigrette. While it may not be the exact salad Jennifer Aniston ate every day during her time on the Friends TV series, it is her current favorite salad recipe.
