A bright, filling, and herbacious salad made with chickpeas, pistachios, quinoa, cucumbers, red onions, feta, and loads of fresh parsley and mint, this refreshing, crunchy salad is not so unlike Jen herself: practically perfect in every way! Serve this easy plant-based recipe for lunch or a light dinner.
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The salad that went viral (BUT IS IT HER SALAD???).
The “JA Salad” went viral on TikTok, when Jennifer Aniston shared it as her go-to lunch. Around the same time, Courtney Cox mentioned that Jennifer ate the same lunch every day on set for 10 years when they filmed Friends.
The internet went CRAZY. A salad good enough to eat every day for a decade? We had to try it!
BUT THEN, Jennifer revealed in an interview that, no the “viral Jennifer Aniston salad” was not actually what she ate for 10 years (she did, however, confirm that she ate the same thing every day, so that part of the story is true!).
Her “real” Friends lunch was similar to a Cobb Salad, but with turkey bacon and chickpeas.
So which salad is the REAL JA salad????
My vote: let’s eat both!
My Version of the “JA Salad”
The recipe I’m sharing today is for the first version of the salad that went viral (the pistachio/chickpea/feta one). I have to say, it deserves the hype.
It’s light but filling, fresh and crunchy, and the texture combination is incredibly pleasing.
This makes a perfect, feel-good lunch. I can also see it alongside some Grilled Chicken Breast or Air Fryer Salmon for dinner.
Jennifer used bulgur wheat in her video about the salad, which is a delicious choice. I swapped it for quinoa, which is higher in protein, as well as what I had on hand.
Meal Prep Tips
To portion this salad for meals during the week, divide it into three jars, placing the dressing, quinoa, and chickpeas at the bottom.
The quinoa and chickpeas marinade in the dressing, making the salad even more flavorful as time goes on.
Add the pistachios on top, or right before serving so they stay crunchy.
For more salad prep tips, check out my Mason Jar Salads.
More Filling Salad Recipes
Jennifer Aniston Salad
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Ingredients
For the Salad:
- ½ red onion diced
- 1 ½ cups cooked, cooled quinoa see How to Cook Quinoa
- 1 15- ounce can reduced sodium chickpeas rinsed and drained
- 3 mini cucumbers diced
- ⅓ cup lightly packed fresh mint leaves chopped
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley leaves and tender stems
- ⅓ cup toasted pistachios roughly chopped
- ⅓ cup feta cheese
For the Dressing:
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon honey
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Place the red onion in a small bowl and cover with cold water. Let sit 5 minutes, then drain and set aside. (This softens the red onion's lingering afterbite).
- In a big bowl, place the quinoa, chickpeas, cucumbers, mint, parsley, pistachios, and feta.
- In a liquid measuring cup with a spout, stir together the dressing ingredients: olive oil, honey, salt, and pepper.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Serve chilled or at room temperature.
Notes
- To make the salad in mason jars, stir the dressing together in the bottom of 3, 16-ounce jars (I eyeball the amounts for the dressing). Divide the remaining ingredients between the 3 jars, starting with the quinoa and chickpeas and ending with the pistachios and feta.
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TO STORE: Refrigerate for up to 4 days. The pistachios will soften as the salad sits in the refrigerator, so if you will be refrigerating for more than 2 days, consider adding just before serving.
Nutrition
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After trying your quinoa salad, I knew I had to try this Jennifer Aniston salad. I was not disappointed! Excellent flavors. Love how refreshing the mint is and the crunch of the roasted pistachios adds perfect texture. Loved it! I think I will just try all your salad recipes for fun. Eating healthy can be so easy when it’s this delicious. Thank you!
Yay! So glad you enjoyed it, Elizabeth! Thank you!
I was curious to see if this salad was worth the hype. In my opinion, it is. It tastes really good! The only changes I made were to omit the red onions & mint. It is light and fresh tasting, but still filling. This will definitely be on repeat in my house!
So glad you enjoyed it, Georgina! Thank you!
This was a great recipe! I like spice and flavor, so I added chili and cayenne to the quinoa. I also found jalapeño/lime flavored pistachios and it added that perfect flavor. The only thing I will do differently next time is go less on the lemon. Thanks for the recipe!
So happy to hear it Danica, thank you!